This Sunday was the second in our three-part sermon series on the opening chapters of Jeremiah.  The sermon was entitled "Cracked Cisterns" and used Jeremiah 2:1-13 as its scriptural basis.  Here is an excerpt: 

This theme of disloyalty, of digging out cisterns that are cracked and can hold no water, of choosing empty idols over God’s truth is an idea that should resonate with us today. While the kingdom of Judah was a place very different from our own nation, there are many parallels between the situation described in the book of Jeremiah and the current state of affairs in our country. Last week we talked about the disciplines of a prophet and how those disciplines could revitalize the church as a source of repair and reconciliation for the brokenness in our society today. If so, on what problems should we focus those disciplines? What are the cisterns in our own lives and communities that are cracked and can hold no water? There are many, but I want to briefly share four with you.

The first cracked cistern in our society today is greed. The abundance given to our nation has been taken for granted and now has become utter greed for many people. The acquisition of material things is now an all consuming quest for many people. We are bombarded by images almost constantly throughout our days with advertising intent on selling us more and more things. Advertisers promise great things from the products they sell and, in truth, some of these things are not so bad and are useful in our lives. The danger is not in acquiring those things you need. The danger is not being able to understand the difference between need and outright greed and it is here where I think most Americans at least have lost the ability to make the distinction. We have become a society in which the release of a new telephone makes more headlines in the news than starving children and where people will wait in line, sometimes for days, just to be the first to acquire something like the newest version of the iPhone. You may disagree, but think there is something seriously wrong, perhaps idolatrous, about the mania exhibited to get such things. In most other parts of the world, such activity would be unthinkable, because one, many could not hope to earn enough money quickly enough to afford a luxury such as the iPhone and two, most could not afford the time away from their work to do such a thing. But, in America, most of us have been freed from the worries of basic survival and have enough means to think of paying several hundred dollars for a telephone as a small purchase. There are many other things which I could use to illustrate this point, but I think we can move on by saying simply we have extreme greed infecting our world today.

The second cracked cistern is violence. We live in a society consumed by violence. America has always been different from most of the world in our attitudes toward violence for many reasons having to do with our history and the culture created out of that history. Yet today, violence seems to have seeped into virtually every corner of our lives. We are inundated with stories of violence and mayhem on the evening news to the extent that we take notice not when people are senselessly murdered in the streets but when such a horrible thing does not happen. We glorify violence today. The biggest hit movies are filled with it. The most popular television shows are often the most violence filled tales of murder and abuse and assault. One of the fastest growing sports in our country today is something called mixed martial arts in which two men climb into a cage and then fight until one many is beaten and bloodied to the point that he is unconscious or cannot otherwise continue. These modern day gladiators are surrounded by crowds that cheer them on with gusto as they bleed for the entertainment of others. All of this has served to make violence a cartoon-like activity that anesthetizes all of us, especially our children, from the real effects of violence on people. We don’t see the trip to the hospital and the long term brain damage experienced by the fighters. We don’t often see the funerals for the victims of violence in movies and on TV. We are even mostly barred from seeing the coffins of our war dead coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, our society glorifies violence, but shields itself as much as it can from seeing the results and consequences of that same brutality.

The third cracked cistern we see today is coarseness in our society. I am constantly amazed these days at how little effort and talent it takes to become famous in our nation. Where the keys to success once were having talent, developing that talent, and working hard to share that talent with others, the new keys to success in America seem to be to behave in an outrageously horrible manner, get a publicist who will make sure everyone knows all the bad things you have done, and repeat with even more outrageous and negative behavior to ensure you keep the headlines coming. The media endlessly pursues stories on people like Brittany Spears and Lindsay Lohan not because of the beauty produced by their talent, but because they wreck cars, put their children in danger, and abuse themselves with all sorts of illicit substances. There was once a time when sportswriters only had to know how to put together box scores and describe the action on the field because that is all we wanted to know about those who played sports. Now the sports pages are filled with stories of millionaires behaving badly and a sportswriter has to understand the legal system almost as much as he does the intricacies of what is going on the field or the court. Television is filled with so-called reality shows, one of the most popular having a story line that is nothing more than seeing how drunk and badly behaved a set of young adults can get each week. All these things serve to make our society more coarse and vulgar.

The fourth cracked cistern in today’s society is indifference. Our abundance, the desensitization to violence, and the vulgarity of our culture have all served to deafen us from real cries for help out there. We have become a society that largely does not take pity on others and believes compassion for the poor and the least of those in our society is merely coddling lazy people. Yes, it is true that Americans do open their wallets in times of crisis and send millions of dollars to places like Haiti and Pakistan, and New Orleans when they have been affected by disaster. Yet, most Americans engage in what I like to call long-distance charity. We will give money, but very little of ourselves. We will give things that cost us nothing and satisfy ourselves that we have done more than enough. As soon as the newspapers move onto the next disaster we forget that suffering remains in the place that was just the headline crisis because we have not truly invested ourselves in the plight and the hope for recovery of those who live in those places. We are made indifferent not so much from being materially selfish, but from a selfishness of the heart which prevents us from truly connecting with our fellow human beings in their times of greatest need and vulnerability.

Cracked cisterns. Cracked cisterns that can hold no water. Ancient Judah had their own set of cisterns that caused them to turn away from God and so do we. The basic offense of Judah and of America is simply idolatry. We have placed other things ahead of God. We put almost complete emphasis on satiating our greedy lusts and in doing so become indifferent not only to our fellow human beings, but also completely indifferent to whom God is and what he wants us to be in this world.

We began this past Sunday a three-week examination of the prophet Jeremiah.  The first sermon of this series was titled "The Disciplines of a Prophet."  Here is an excerpt:

So, what does a prophet who lived and spoke thousands of years ago have to do with us today? Should these prophetic disciplines be exercised by the church in the current age? What is the prophetic responsibility of the church these days?

In a world filled with so much hate and violence, it is easy to be afraid for our future. But the first prophetic discipline is centered on conquering fear. We should not forget that we have the Word. We have God’s Word and that Word is stronger than any hate or violence we will ever encounter in this world. We don’t need to feel afraid because we have the whole armor of God to put on in defense against evil. Ephesians 6:13 reads, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” So just a Jeremiah overcame his fear of speaking out, the church today should do likewise.

The church should exercise the second discipline and speak the Word of God today. As Methodists we have tools to help us discern the meaning of God’s Word. Wesley believed we recognize God’s authentic Word by reading scripture, examining our traditions, considering our own experience, and applying sound reason. There will obviously be debates within the Christian community about the meaning of scripture, but we do have recognized interpretations on which to rely in our disciple making and proclamation of the Word. Yet much of the world looks upon the Word as an invalid means to debate social and community concerns. I once had someone say to me that ‘if you have to quote scripture to make your argument, you don’t have a real argument.” This kind of statement is made out of arrogance and sinful pride. It is essentially saying that what the mind of a human can think to say is more valid than what God says in scripture. But, we know that the world would be a far better place if more people did listen to and let the Word of God direct their lives. The church should always be ready to share the Word of God with people for this purpose.

The church should be an active force in the world today and take the Good News of Jesus Christ from the church sanctuary to the street. This is about engaging in the third discipline of going where God wants you to go. Jeremiah did not just proclaim God’s Word in special corners of Judah so neither should we confine our witness of the majesty of Jesus Christ to just Sunday mornings in church. Jesus did not just pray silently in the mountains but also took on the moneychangers in the temple because their presence was an abomination before God. As Christians we need to let the world see Christ shining through us in everything we do, every day of the week. This can mean doing little things like showing extra courtesy to those we meet or saying hello to strangers we pass. Living for Christ in this manner can also mean doing bigger, more risky things as a witness of the Good News. It may mean speaking truth to power about an unjust law or policy or may mean spending money in a more socially responsible manner. Whatever form this outspokenness takes the church should exercise its prophetic voice in a responsible and God-centered manner.

There are few better role models for today’s church than Jeremiah as he exercised the fourth prophetic discipline of speaking hard news to those who needed to hear it. The example given to us by this man of God is one that can re-energize and provide vitality and direction for our church in an age when it seems the church has lost some of these things. Jeremiah stood for something. He stood for God’s justice and for keeping God’s commandments. Jeremiah called evil as evil when he saw it being committed in Judah. The church today does not always fill this role. While the mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ and most of the time such a goal is tracked in attendance numbers and the size of the church budget, the church should not sacrifice its prophetic role in order to maintain popularity within today’s culture. We need to be sure that the church does not become simply another agency of programs but ensure that it remains a prophetic influence on people who need to know God and be saved by his grace. The church should always express love for others and share the joy that is Jesus Christ, but the church must also speak truth to earthly power as necessary and stand up to evil when confronted by it. If popularity is the mark of the successful preacher, then Jeremiah was a stunning and complete failure. In later times, Peter and Paul could be considered failures if judged by these standards. Yet we know these men were not failures. We read and find inspiration in the words of Jeremiah still today and the fact that millions and millions and millions call themselves Christian today can be attributed to the work of Peter and Paul. They answered God’s call and followed that call faithfully no matter the cost to themselves. Whether they found themselves in prison, beaten by those filled with hate, or simply run out of town as troublemakers, the prophets and the apostles kept their faith and knew God’s call to them was more important than earthly comfort or popularity. If the church is to remain relevant in the 21st Century, it too must increase its willingness to speak out on the important issues no matter what the costs.

I believe people are hungry today for the church to exercise its prophetic voice and fulfill its prophetic call. In a day when confidence in institutions is at an all-time low, the church is uniquely positioned to fill a void. As government increasingly shows itself unwilling and unable to address some of the greatest threats facing our society, the church can stand in the gap. In a time when people seem to be growing more and more indifferent and callous to one another, the church can be a place of reconciliation and a house bound together by the bonds of Christian love which welcomes everyone who seeks to know God. The church, rather than retreating from a world gone mad, should be willing to plunge into the fray and bind up the wounds caused by human pride, senseless violence, and individual conceit. The root cause of all these things and all the other things plaguing the world is sin. Sin is the root cause of war. Sin is the root cause of abuse. Sin is the root cause of families breaking up. Sin is the root cause of hopelessness and fear spilling out all over our communities in this world. And because sin is the root cause of these things, there is only one answer. There is only one solution. That solution is Jesus Christ. We will never conquer sin with a new government program or a new twelve-step plan or by acquiring more and more material things. We have tried all those methods and found them completely lacking. Sin can only be overcome by Christ and until we make him the centerpiece of our approach, we will fail to make this world a better place. This is the church’s prophetic role—to speak the truth of Jesus Christ to every man, woman, and child on the planet until the whole world hears and worships the one true God that we serve in this place today.©Alan Felton, 2010

This past Sunday we had new members join Salem and the entire church participated in a reaffirmation of faith service.  My sermon was titled "Promises to Keep" and used Hebrews 11:29-12-2 as its scriptural basis.  Here is an excerpt:

The covenant we have made with God comes into clearer focus through the three questions we answer as part of the reaffirmation service. The first question is “Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?” In the early church some believers would literally turn in a different direction when asked this question to signify that they did in fact turn away from the world’s wickedness. In our modern day, there is less talk about evil than perhaps would have been heard at other times in history. Our modern tastes and sensibilities are less comfortable with calling something or someone evil. Yet, this important question acknowledges that there is real and present evil in our world and we as God’s people must turn away from that wickedness and genuinely repent of sin. Evil exists as a vast force in conflict with righteousness in a supernatural struggle usually unseen by human eyes. Evil exists in our society and in our institutions and is expressed as oppression, racism, and war. Evil exists on a personal level, creating sinful temptations that we must avoid as well as sowing seeds of distress and agony resulting from individual evil acts such as murder and child abuse. Whether our sins are great or small, we turn away from them and reject any form of evil when we answer this first question in an affirmative way.

The second question asked during the reaffirmation service is “Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?” God did not create us without the ability to make choices for ourselves. While communion with God is a natural and orderly state in which most humans long to be, some unfortunately do decide to go another way and reject God’s love. Sin is a powerful force that is amplified more and more by modern society. This question about accepting freedom and power from God allows us to literally choose between good and evil. We should understand that there is great power in choosing God’s way and accepting good over evil. But, we should also recognize that when we receive this power and freedom, we also have accepted a great deal of responsibility. Answering this question should never be done lightly or without the acknowledgment that struggling against evil and sin is an everyday activity of personal and social holiness. By saying “I do” to this question, we are accepting the obligation to engage in the practices of personal holiness such as prayer, scripture reading, and fasting as well as working for righteousness, justice, and mercy in our social and community lives.

The third question we are asked in the reaffirmation service is “Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?” We are a saved people only because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. There is no way to reach God except through a true faith in Christ. In today’s scripture reading from Hebrews, the great faith of many Hebrew heroes is recounted. Yet, despite the great faith they exhibited, they “did not receive what was promised, since God provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.” In other words, it took Jesus to provide something better to complete the reconciliation between God and humans and to make our faith life giving. The final question we respond to in the reaffirmation service points out that Jesus alone saves and that salvation is open to everyone who bows before the risen Christ and calls him Lord. The scripture calls Jesus “…the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…” He is worthy of our trust and by trusting in him we are claimed by God and celebrate that fact in the cool, revitalizing water of our baptism.

As we prepare to reaffirm our faith through these questions and remember our baptism and be thankful for it, keep in mind that we are not remembering a specific event in our Christian lives. Reaffirmation is not about remembering the day you were baptized. It is rather a call to remember the promises made during baptism and to recall the gift that God has given to us in Jesus Christ. When we touch the water in the baptismal font we are making serious vows with each other and before God. We are being set apart and joining God’s effort to reclaim his creation and perfect it. Author Susanne Johnson writes, ‘What ails the church in the first instance is not that we are not ‘spiritual enough.’ Starkly put, we are not Christian enough! I mean that we have not taken seriously the radical, countercultural, protracted process of Christian initiation.” Reaffirmation is a continuance of our long and difficult journey to Christian perfection. It is recognizing that we are sinful and our world is broken, but that there is hope for the future in Jesus. Reaffirmation allows us to “lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and lets us run with perseverance the race that is set before us…” Today, we will start that race anew, right here at the baptismal font. Today we will make promises that God expects us to keep. Today we will touch a water that will hold us for all eternity. Let us rejoice in this opportunity and remember, remember our baptism and be thankful. ©Alan Felton, 2010

We concluded our five-part sermon series on the Practices of Fruitful Congregations by looking at Radical Hospitality.  I used Luke 12:32-40 as the scriptural basis for this sermon. Here is an excerpt: 

 When we say yes to God and accept his grace, we are changed forever. How are we changed? First, we are changed by God’s hospitable grace by being made ready for action to advance God’s kingdom. The scripture today speaks of being “dressed for action” and having our lamps lit in anticipation of the return of the bridegroom. Luke writes, “…truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.” In the days of Jesus, long flowing robes were the predominant style of dress and to walk much or to prepare for battle or even to accomplish mundane chores of life, a person had to tighten a belt around their waist to secure the robe. Tightening the robe was preparation for action of some sort. Jesus is pointing our here our need to tighten our own robes in preparation for his call to action. We can never be certain when we will have the opportunity to offer radical hospitality to someone in need but this passage from Luke points out the importance of always being ready to offer it. Our acceptance of God’s grace softens our hearts and makes us more aware of opportunities to extend radical hospitality to those around us. As Christians who have said yes to God’ grace, we should always “be dressed for action and have our lamps lit.” in a spirit of loving hospitality flowing from God through us.

Second, we are changed when we say yes to God’s grace because our old life, the one dominated by worldly and selfish things is disrupted and turned upside down. Jesus talks about this disruptive force in Luke 12:39. He uses the unusual example of a thief in the night to describe the saving grace of God and our need to make ready for it. God’s grace can find us at the most unexpected hour and it is a good thing this happens otherwise we might run away from it. But just as the hour of Christ’s return is not known, we can never be sure when and under what circumstances we will first feel God’s prevenient grace brush our souls and open us to the rushing wind and power of the Holy Spirit. This transformation by the Spirit can be gradual or instant, early in life or late, greeted with shouts of joy or silent thanksgiving but no matter when or how it comes, it will be disruptive when we say yes to God’s saving grace.

I have experienced the disruptive power of grace in my own life. As you know, the call to ministry was one I felt early in life, probably before I was ten. God nudged me in countless ways and I slid away every time he nudged. Sometimes he gently nudged and sometimes he pushed, but I wasn’t willing to say yes to what God was offering me. It was about two years ago when God stopped nudging and stopped pushing and decided to start shoving! The Spirit came upon me and said you have run for a long time, but today you will run from me no more. You are going to be mine in ministry. And, once again, like so many times before, I said, O Lord, not now. Lord, can’t you see I have a pretty good thing going here. I have a family to feed and kids to send to college. I have a job most people work their whole lives to get and I got it before I was 35. My salary is six figures. I travel with governors and presidents. I speak to Congress. I’m interviewed in Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. I’m getting ready to run for elective office in two years and I’m going to be governor before I am 50. O Lord, don’t stop me now! God listened and just smiled at me and said, you have it good now, but I have something better. God said your career and ambition is great, but my kingdom is greater. You are important where you are, but I have something more important for you to do. You are providing well for your family and yourself, but my grace is sufficient for whatever you need. You have to say yes and stop your running. In that moment I finally said yes to God. That yes turned my life upside down. It changed everything for me and my family and that transformation is still underway, but saying yes to God and welcoming the positive disruption of his grace in my life is the best decision I have ever made. In an instant God changed me after so many years of trying. With the single utterance of the word yes, God disruptive grace wiped away years of selfishness and waste and opened up a future of service and greatness in service to the Lord.

Finally, we are changed when we say yes to God’s grace because in the acceptance of that grace we are redeemed from sin. God’s grace and hospitality is more than just an invitation to live a new and moral life under his law. Giving us that much would be a wonderful gift, but God says when you say yes to me, you can have much more. Responding to God’s prevenient grace allows God to give us abundant life. It is about having bountiful life today, tomorrow, and forever. Just as the master described in the passage today from Luke invites his loyal servants to sit down at a table for feast, God issues the same kind of invitation to us. We are not worthy to serve our Master at his table let alone dine with him, but God says if you love me, if you accept my son as the sacrifice for your sins, if you earnestly repent and turn from the evil that is in your life, you have a place of honor at my table. The 23rd Psalm says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” This is God’s eternal promise for the children he so faithfully loves.

God’s grace changes us when we say yes to his offer of salvation. God’s grace is not passive, it is a call to action. It is a call to action that unites us with God to cleanse this world and perfect it for the coming kingdom at the end of time. God does not wait for our ideal time to offer his grace. His grace is a disruptive gift given on God’s timetable that turns our world upside down, changing us so radically when we embrace it that nothing that comes after it can ever be same as what came before it. And, ultimately, God’s grace is truly our saving grace, redeeming us in a gift of blood that blots out our sin and allows us to rejoice with God for all eternity. This is the hospitality that God offers to us. As we are transformed by it, let us turn and extend the same life-giving, life changing, and soul shaking hospitality to each other and all whom we encounter in our lives. Keep the words of Luke’s Gospel fresh in your ears, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Praise God for his glorious hospitality. ©Alan Felton, 2010

My sermon today addressed Intentional Faith Development as one of the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.  The sermon was based on Colossians 3:1-11.  Here is an excerpt:

Third, intentional spiritual development is a way Christians learn how to live as Christ wants us to live. As we come to intimately know Christ through prayer, study, and welcoming the Holy Spirit into our hearts, we will be changed so that our lives reflect the values and ways of Christ. Making ourselves over into the image of Christ is not something that happens by chance or simply as a byproduct of faith development, but is the result of a conscious decision on the part of Christians to live as Jesus Christ wants us to live. The author of our scripture today writes in very direct and active terms about this transformation. “Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly…” And later, “But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with it practices, and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the creator.” It is through knowledge of God’s nature that we become more like Christ. Once we are justified, born again if you will, our eyes are opened and we can begin to acquire the knowledge and practice the ways of living that lead to eternal life. Faith development is not about learning enough to impress people or learning just for the sake of learning. Developing one’s faith and growing into spiritual maturity is the pathway that leads us into a true relationship with Jesus. When we know Christ, we can live like him, and be rewarded by God for our faith and help others with the fruits of that faith.

John Wesley was a strong proponent of spiritual development for those who called themselves Methodists. Wesley himself was a life-long student who hungered for knowledge about many things, most of which revolved around holy and healthy living. Wesley recommended his preachers read at least five hours a day to develop their knowledge. He organized Methodists into classes, chapels, and bands to help believers better develop a vibrant faith in God. The foundation for all these groups was spiritual development through Bible study and prayer. Wesley knew that such development would allow believers to become mature Christians and to support one another through the storms and tribulations of life. Wesley once wrote, “Christianity is essentially a social religion; and…to turn it into a solitary one is to destroy it.” Our founder knew that intentional faith development was the surest road to Christian perfection. He knew that the transformation of the heart that happens in the moments of justification can only have permanence when nurtured through intentional spiritual development with other Christians traveling on the same road toward a loving and welcoming God. ©Alan Felton, 2010

Today I preached on the generosity of God as the third part of our five-part sermon series on the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.  The practice we looked at today was Extravagant Generosity.  The scripture basis for the sermon was Luke 11:1-13.  Here is an excerpt: 

The third way God is generous to us is through the gift of the Holy Spirit. God’s extravagant generosity is on display every time we experience the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is a marvelous truth that God loves us so much that He not only created us and the world we live in and then sent his only son to die so that we might be saved, but He has now given us the Holy Spirit to live within and around us to serve as a guide and to provide a foretaste of the kingdom to come. The warmth of the Holy Spirit in our hearts is God’s daily promise that He will never leave us even in times of gravest danger and agonizing suffering. We just have to open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit’s power to receive this amazing gift. We need to be ready for a complete transformation to come about when the Holy Spirit enters our hearts and refreshes our sousl. Consistent, intentional, and sincere prayer is the path on which the Holy Spirit travels to us. Jesus tells us in Luke, “Ask, and it will be given to you, search, and you will find, knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks the door will be opened.” God knows what we need before we even utter the words to ask for it, but to receive God’s extravagant generosity requires us to do the asking. God gave His children free will and if we exercise that free will to ignore God and impede the movement of the Holy Spirit, we make a choice to block out the goodness that comes from God. I once knew a man who was very angry with God because of things going on in his life. His family had fallen apart and his health was suffering. He felt lonely and unfilled and thought himself to be a failure. When I asked him if he prayed for God to help him turn his life around, he indicated that he once prayed but, because things continued to go poorly for him, he had quit doing so. He said that because God wasn’t making things better, it was obvious that God didn’t care about him. It is too bad my friend quit praying because Jesus doesn’t say ask once and everything you need will be given to you. He doesn’t say search for a few minutes and all will be made right. He doesn’t say knock occasionally and I will come to the door. No….Jesus is saying to do these things constantly with a vigor and consistency that demonstrates our true belief that the Holy Spirit has a power to transform us and loves us enough to bless us in extraordinary ways. So many people like my friend feel disappointment with God because He has not made everything right in their life. Yet do they stop and ask themselves: Is my heart right with God? Am I allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to glow within me? Am I living in such a way that God can bless me? Do I show real appreciation for all that God has already given to me? Am I even trying to see how God might be showing me the path I need to be on rather than the one I want to be on?

An important point about God’s generosity is that although we may ask for things we think we need, God is going to give us only what we truly need. God’s generosity does not always result in a life of ease and happiness measured by the world’s standards of those things, but God’s love and generosity will always provide a life of infinite joy and blessings measured by the kingdom’s standards. This is why so many in the world do misunderstand God’s extravagant generosity. The world wants to make God into something He is not. Many want to make God into a genie in a bottle who grants all our wishes and whims on command. But God is going to generously bless us in a time and in a manner of His choosing. We just have to have patience and be persistent in our prayers and give God control. And, because all blessings come from God, they will always be good whether we recognize their goodness or not. This is what makes God’s generosity truly extravagant. Luke 11:13 tell us, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” ©Alan Felton, 2010

Today we continued our examination of the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by looking at the issue of Passionate Worship.  The sermon used Luke 10:38-42 as its basis.  Here is an excerpt.

There are four important points to consider with regard to passionate worship. First, passionate worship should allow us to offer our very best to God. Worship should never be a time when we dryly go through a set of rituals as quickly as we can in order to say we did them so we can move on to lunch. Rather, worship should be a time we are deeply engaged in moments of worship and praise. Worship is about creating the conditions that soften our hearts and open our minds so we can sense the loving presence of God. One thing I hear so many times when I ask someone why they do not attend church is “church doesn’t give me anything” or “I don’t get anything out of the sermon and there aren’t enough things for my kids to do.” While giving all due respect to activities and children’s programs and so forth, worship is not about getting something for ourselves. Worship is about giving praise and thanksgiving to our God. The culture we live in has become so selfish and narcissist that many actually believe everything is about the all-important “me.” Worship is different. Worship should be a time when we lay aside what we want, set down what we believe is important, forget the petty wants and desires that make us happy and comfortable, and focus all our attention on the God who loves us and ardently wants our praise. God has given His best for us. Worship is our opportunity to return our best to Him.

The second important point about passionate worship is that worship, at its very best, allows for full engagement with the Holy Spirit. Our Scripture reading from Luke today shows us an example of such engagement. The two sisters, Mary and Martha, are so happy that Jesus is visiting with them. They both feel extreme joy in their hearts that the Lord is in their midst. Yet each sister takes very different actions in response to Jesus. Martha dives into the frantic activity of preparing a meal that she believes is worthy of the Lord. Mary, on the other hand, sits quietly at Jesus’ feet and is engaged in his teaching and his presence. Eventually Martha grows angry that she has to do all the food preparation alone and appeals to Jesus to make Mary get up and do her share. Think back to a time when you had been left to do all the work by someone you thought was not doing their fair share and you will know how Martha felt in this situation. Jesus, however, does not seem concerned with any unfairness here. He says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need for only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Jesus may be telling Martha to not prepare such an extravagant meal. In other words, one dish will do rather than many. But, for us there is a deeper meaning in Jesus’ words. The word “distracted” is translated from the Greek word periespato which means “pulled away or apart.” Jesus is reminding Martha that our own works will not save us. Works are the outer manifestations of a living faith, but only faith in Jesus Christ can save and we should not let anything pull us away from connection with the source of that faith. Works of mercy are important, but not at the expense of engagement with God. In our own day, some churches have a list of activities so long that I wonder how they can free up their sanctuary long enough to hold worship services. Jesus says there is need for only one thing and that one thing is what saves us and makes us able to walk with our Lord now and in the day of salvation to come.

The third point about passionate worship is that worship is essential for building community. While we will look at the issues of intentional spiritual development in a few weeks and solitary prayer and Bible study will be important in that discussion, Christians were not meant to live in isolation. Jesus longed to be around people and he enjoyed being part of a family. God longs to have a relationship with us. We should not forget how amazing it is that our God wants to know us, talk to us, and love us as a parent. While so many other religions and belief systems teach that we must search for the truth, Christians believe the truth comes looking for us. God is searching for us because he wants us to be in community with Him and with each other. This is often an overlooked part of God’s nature. This week I was talking with a friend on Facebook and one of his posts read “you don’t have to go to church to find salvation.” While his statement is technically true, it points out a real gap in understanding the nature of God. The triune nature of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—first and foremost, shows that our God values relationships. God created us to live in community with Him and with each other. If we avoid the community of the worship service in favor of only individual faith development, we risk developing a selfish view of Christianity that addresses only our own needs. As Methodists, we believe sanctification or Christian perfection is achieved in part when we reach a point of caring for our brothers and sisters more than we care for ourselves. We cannot develop this love for others by keeping to ourselves. We must live, associate, and worship with each other and bear each other’s burdens. Rather than a long solitary road of self-denial, making ourselves perfect in Christ is a communal activity that uses worship as an essential practice.

A final important point about passionate worship is that there is a transforming power in the midst of worship. This power is known as justification and Methodists understand this to be the first step in being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. While this power can be made available to us in other settings, it is during worship where justification is most likely to happen because of our closeness to the Holy Spirit in the worship space. John Wesley was transformed by such a closeness while attending a Moravian society meeting in 1738. Wesley wrote, ‘…I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” This is the transforming power of being justified in Christ. Engaging in passionate worship opens us up to God’s power in strange and unpredictable ways. Wesley did not completely understand this power, but he did feel in the midst of worship the assurance of a loving God who forgives all sin. Methodists in America during the early 1800s would feel a similar power during camp meetings where attendees were struck by the Spirit and respond with shrieks, shaking, and falling out on the ground. These same reactions did not happen in private study and scripture reading, but came upon people like a mighty wind in the midst of moving and passionate worship. In our current day, many skeptics and even some believers question the validity of such experiences. And while we must be careful not to be seduced by false teachers and charlatans, there is a mystery in God’s power that can be surely only be felt within passionate worship and this power leads us down a path to Christian perfection. Even with all our knowledge and sophistication in the 21st Century, we have to accept that knowledge of God cannot be truly gained apart from simple and passionate worship. We have to understand that God is not contained in a book. He is not found in a sermon or a lecture. This kind of knowledge is bigger than science or history. It is truly transcendent.

If we are to find God and have our own hearts strangely warmed we are going to need something deeper and wider than conventional knowledge. We are going to have to enter God’s sanctuary with a humble spirit, a soft heart, and an open mind. We are going to have to stop wanting to always get something from God and take time to give Him our praise and thanksgiving. We are going to have to feel the mighty power of the Holy Spirit within the company of our fellow Christians. We are going to have to accept that God moves in mysterious ways and that our salvation is found in the midst of such mystery. We are going to have to be more like Mary, who despite all the work that needed to be done, paused from the scramble of daily life to passionately listen and worship at the feet of her Lord. We are going to have to choose the “better part” as Jesus called it and, in making that choice, find ourselves face to face with God. ©Alan Felton, 2010

Six months has passed since the devastating earthquake struck Haiti, killing and injuring thousands.  While Haiti has faded from the headlines in most newspapers in favor of other events, the needs there are still great.  There are 26 million cubic yard rubble still piled up and, in many cases, blocking the streets of Port-au-Prince.  Even with 300 trucks working daily to move the debris, 98% of it remains to be moved.  1.6 million people are still living in tents in the numerous relief camps that have sprung up since the disaster struck.  Nearly 700,000 tarps and 100,000 tents were sent in the days soon after the earthquake, but many of these are now becoming worn out and provide only meager shelter.

In November, Bishop Al Gwinn and other United Methodist leaders will travel to Haiti to provide help and relief.  Salem UMC is in prayer for this mission of mercy.  In the midst of our busy lives and so much need, do not forget the lingering suffering in Haiti.  The recovery there will be long and it will require years worth of effort.  You can help!  If you would like to make a donation through Salem UMC to help Haiti and support the Bishop's mission to Haiti in November, please call me at 919-603-5844.  If you cannot give financially, please be in prayer for the people of Haiti and the upcoming mission trip along with the thousands of angels of mercy already working every day in Haiti.  

We began today a five part sermon series on the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations based on the books of Bishop Robert Schanase.  Today we discussed Risk-Taking Service and Mission.  The Scriptural basis for the sermon was Luke 10:25-37.  Here is an excerpt:

There was another, perhaps greater, risk taken by the Samaritan when he stopped to help the fallen stranger. Samaritans and Jews did not associate with one another. Samaritans opposed the construction of the temple in Jerusalem and believed that God should be worshiped on Mt. Gerizim. Samaritans were outcasts, rejected by most of society, and viewed as religiously unclean by most Jews therefore the Samaritan makes an unlikely hero in a story told by a Jewish rabbi. Yet, here is where we can see the deeper significance of this story as told by Jesus and it gives us a clear picture of risk-taking service. Jesus teaches us that our neighbors are those we love and those we find it hard to love. Our neighbors are those who stand with us and those who oppose us. Our neighbors are those who look and believe as we do and those who look very different and believe in very different things than we do. Jesus believes we are all neighbors whether we live next door to one another or are separated by oceans. Service and caring is not something we reserve for those closest to us or those we know best, but it is something we should offer extravagantly to all we encounter in the world. Mission and service is not something we should confine to pre-defined mission trips or special times during the holidays, but it is the thing we should be doing every day. The Samaritan did not go out seeking someone to help. He was merely traveling along the road in the course of his daily business. The Samaritan did not choose to help someone he already knew and loved. He helped a total stranger who probably would have been appalled to know that a Samaritan was touching him. The Samaritan did not wait to help when it was convenient for him. Stopping to help the wounded man was probably a large inconvenience. It likely cost him money he needed for other things. The priest and the Levite who pass by fear becoming unclean and therefore making themselves unable to enter the temple if they touch the man’s wounds or touch a dead body. They make a decision that their obligation to the law is greater than any obligation they feel to help the suffering man. Yet, the Samaritan does not ignore the need that is right in front of him and he puts his personal cares and concerns aside to provide mercy to someone sorely in need of it. Risk-taking mission and service takes us beyond the situations we find comfortable and acceptable and puts in places where we would never otherwise go, doing things we would never otherwise do unless our actions are prompted by God’s enormous and all encompassing love.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior we agree to do the things that Jesus thinks are important. Love for God and love for our fellow human beings is the core of what Jesus taught. As followers of Jesus we are changed by him. We can no longer ignore suffering when we see it because of what Jesus has done in our hearts. Just as Jesus lived his life among those who suffered, we are also drawn toward those who suffer in our world. Christians have an understanding and intimacy with suffering and pain that others in the world do not have. We feel the hurts and pains of the world because of the intensity with which our Lord feels these things. We seek justice and to make things right in the world because this is what Jesus seeks also. Like the Samaritan traveling on a dangerous road who saw a beaten and dying stranger and stopped to treat his injuries, Christians are called to be a salve for the deep wounds of this world. We were meant to engage in risk-taking service and missions in the name of the Lord because expressing love and care to those most in need is the heart of the Gospel we proclaim.

From its earliest days, those called Methodists have engaged in risk-taking service. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism viewed the world as his parish. When Wesley and others formed the first Methodist societies during their college years in Oxford, England, they began to engage in activities that were considered extremely radical at the time. These early Methodists visited the sick, carried food to the poor, and visited the hopeless in prisons when no one else, including very devoted Christians, were doing so. These Methodists began to express their personal holiness as a social holiness to give care for those most in need. In this way, Methodists soon became known, “as doers of the word and not merely hearers…” to quote James 1:22.

Christians, whether they be Methodists or of some other denomination, are a missionary people. God sought to reconcile himself to His children by sending his son to earth to proclaim the kingdom come and to die as a holy sacrifice for our sins. After his death, Jesus commanded his followers to go into the world to make disciples. Committing to risk-taking service and mission is one critical way that we make disciples by showing the world that God’s love and compassion are more than words on the pages of the Bible. God’s love is action that will save the world by feeding the hungry, aiding the sick, loving the orphan, and comforting the grieving. Whether we feed a family in Haiti or a single mother in Oxford, North Carolina, whether we participate in a mission trip or simply help pay for one through our apportionment dollars, whether we pray for deliverance for those suffering from natural disasters or ride directly into the storm’s aftermath to hand out food and water, we Christians are the hands and feet of Christ and the world is our neighborhood. There are great needs in that neighborhood today. Let us be good neighbors and boldly serve others always. Glory be to God. Amen. ©Alan Felton, 2010

I preached on the healing of Naaman yesterday, a story found in 2 Kings 5:1-14.  Here is an excerpt from that sermon:

In the midst of all our power and wealth, we need to be humble enough to call on God for help and submit our troubles to his solutions. We read in the 60th Chapter of Isaiah, “For darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples, but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” While government has its responsibilities and each of us as individuals has responsibility to address and combat the evils in this world, we will never be successful in our work until we take the small step of humbling ourselves before the throne of our Lord. The problems of war, economic collapse, environmental disaster, poverty, disease, and hunger are too large for us to tackle on our own. We need God as the source of inspiration for our human activity in making our world a better place. We need to understand that it is not our power that brings about peace and stability, it is God’s power that does it. We need to acknowledge that we don’t bring about healing and reconciliation, God’s hand does that. We need to realize that prosperity and wealth will never fill us, only true communion with God can satisfy.
The problems we face as a nation and a world are large. They can seem overwhelming to us. The problems we have right in our own community and inside our families are sometimes equally daunting and frightening. These things can leave us feeling empty and without hope. In the face of such challenges, we are tempted to see answers only in bold, flashy, and expensive solutions. Yet, know this…God uses the simple things in this world to bring about the most startling transformations. He used the voices of simple servants and the dirty water from the Jordan River to heal the powerful Naaman. He anointed a skinny shepherd boy to be Israel’s greatest king. He selected a simple tree as the instrument that would save all humanity from sin and death. And one day, as mighty and powerful and sophisticated as our world leaders are, each one of them--kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers, governors and councilors—will all cast their symbols of authority at the feet of the one and true God and on that day each knee will bow before a simple peasant carpenter who is Lord and Master of all. ©Alan Felton, 2010

The title of my sermon on June 27 was "The Beauty of Obedience" based on Luke 9:51-62.  Here is an excerpt:

"I think sometimes, because we all love Jesus so much, we forget that so many people hate Jesus. We forget that although he preached to many while alive, only a few truly understood and followed him. We have become so accustomed to being able to worship freely and in safety we forget that in some places in the world you can go to prison for possessing a Bible. There are places in our world where Christians are assaulted and killed for no other reason than they are Christian. We forget that the Savior we adore was seen by most in his life time as heretic and a criminal. We sometimes forget that our Jesus was despised and rejected to the point that his own countrymen demanded his death even though he was guilty of no crime. Many today see Jesus no differently.

This is a hard lesson. Many hoped Jesus would usher in a kingdom that would throw off the oppression of Rome and bring about power and wealth his followers. Instead his life ends in ridicule and rejection. Even today, many Christians believe that if they accept Christ they are in for an easy road free of problems. Yet, in reality, if we follow Jesus, I mean really follow him, really understand what he preached and live what he preached, we can be sure that the world is going to reject us. The world is going to hate us. The world is going heap scorn on us and call us foolish and dumb. Yet in that rejection, amid those insults, in the face of all that hate, there is hope. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise: God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are.” There is a power and a promise in rejection that comes because we believe in a risen Savior. The world does not have the last word. God does. And His word says that you can have salvation by turning your back on what the world values and giving everything to what God values." ©Alan Felton, 2010