The Greatest Example of Self-Sacrifice

One word of advice continues to haunt me from a seminary preaching class. Our professor told us to feel free to leave out information in our sermon. In other words, many of us pastors tend to go too long and put too much information in our sermons. It is one of the hardest things for me when preparing a sermon to not put in everything that I have learned in my study of a passage. I dare say that I have not been very successful in following that advice. On occasion I heed it as I did this past Sunday when I preached a sermon called “What’s Up with Jesus?” from Philippians 2:5-11. The sermon can be listened to here on our church’s website. The sermon points out that Jesus is God, Man, and our Savior & Lord. This is the incarnation, Our Savior and Lord, God becoming a human being. It was a very intentional sermon unwrapping Christology, or the theological Jesus. But this was not the only point for Paul in writing these words about Jesus.

The Apostle Paul was writing to this wonderful church in Corinth and teaching them, in this section of the letter, the importance of living a life of self-sacrifice. As the perfect example of self-sacrifice, Jesus entered our history, our skin, to not only identify with us but also to be our Savior and Lord, our Forgiver, Redeemer, and Leader of our lives. With Jesus’ example in mind Paul says in Philippians 2:1-5, “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” (NLT) As followers of Christ, we are to live our lives incarnationally. What I mean is that we are to take every step possible to get into the skin of others, to first understand others before we are understood. The Apostle Paul did not ask us to be Jesus but to have the same self-sacrificing attitude as Jesus.

There are a wide variety of ways that we can lay down our lives for Christ. One very powerful example of someone trying to live with the attitude of Christ is found, interestingly enough, in a riot that occurred in the La Mesa Prison in Tijuana, Mexico. Thousands of inmates battled the guards with bottles and rocks, while the guards shot back with machine guns until a small American woman in her 70s walked into the middle of the war, raised her hands, and signaled for quiet. Remarkably, calm fell on the prison. That woman was Mary Brenner, who was raised in Beverly Hills. There she lived what she called “a glamorous life,” until she found Christ and followed him in a whole new direction. Now she’s known as Sister Antonia. She dresses in a nun’s habit and lives in a sparse 10-foot cell inside the prison. She moved there 25 years ago to live among murderers, thieves, and drug dealers. Sister Antonia has poured out her life for these prisoners, nursing their wounds, getting them eyeglasses and medicine, caring for their families, and washing their bodies for burial. Loving them doesn’t mean she ignores their crimes. In her words, “There isn’t anyone who hasn’t heard my lecture. They have to accept that they’re wrong. They have to see the consequences. They have to feel the agony…but I do love them dearly.” She refers to each prisoner as her son. Although she lives in a prison, the prison does not live inside of her. Her friends and the inmates all describe her incredible energy, joy, and hopefulness. She describes it as simply living out her calling. In a recent interview she said, “I wouldn’t trade this cell for any place in the world.” (Bill White, Paramount, California; source: “Antonia’s Mission,” Readers Digest - June 2004) She actually, voluntarily, lived in a prison cell in order to reach prisoners for Christ. I can’t imagine what it must be like to live that selfless of a life. Yet we are called to live lives of self-sacrifice in our own unique settings in life in whatever small or large way that God’s lead us. It all begins with hearts surrendered to God then God will take care of the details. If we as Christians would have hearts surrendered to God through lives of self-sacrifice our churches would be healthy, biblical communities that are overflowing with people flocking to be a part of these self-sacrificing communities of God. I invite you to prayerfully take inventory of your life and meditate upon the words of the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi as they are shared in this beautiful song by Sarah MacLachlan. Then may God grant us attitudes like Jesus that will change this world!

Time to Pray!

As Christians we are obviously to be people of prayer. Prayer was the lifeline of Jesus’ life. He could not exist without connecting with His Heavenly Father. As followers of Christ we walk in Jesus’ footsteps, therefore, prayer is as important as the air that we breath. We cannot exist without it! The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Never stop praying.” (NLT) Not only is prayer a lifestyle for us but there are also seasons or times when the church is to join in prayer and even fasting for special needs. Several times thoughout the year we at Community UMC call for prayer and fasting. This is such a time.

One reason that we need to be praying is that as United Methodists we are in the heart of our General Conference (April 23-May 2). The General Conference is held every four years at a different location in the United States and is attended by our Council of Bishops and 900 delegates from our Conferences, 1/2 clergy and 1/2 laity. This is a time of worship for United Methodists from all over the world as well as a legislative body where many reports are heard and important decisions are made concerning finances, church practice, theology, positions on a wide variety of social issues, and much more. We at home may not all be able to attend and may feel like we have no control over decisions made but we can pray! An example of a church that understands the importance of praying for our General Conference can be found in an article called, “Members from Florida church take prayer ministry to General Conference.” It is one thing to criticize General Conference from a distance but an entirely different thing to bring our church to God who sent His one and only Son to die for the creation of the church. I encourage you to read the article and allow it to inspire you to bring our Church to God who loves it far more than even we do.

Another reason that this is a special time for prayer is that this Thursday, May 1st, is our nation’s Annual National Day of Prayer. There are many resources found on the website to help you take full advantage of this powerful day of prayer whether you chose to pray alone or with others.

Let us join together as the church and put feet to our faith by joining together in unity seeking God’s face and God’s will in our lives and that of this world!

Dual Citizenship

This past week I had the wonderful opportunity of joining my son and his 8th grade class on a 5 day field trip to Washington, D.C. Two of those days consisted of twelve of us chaperones riding in two tour buses from Central Florida all the way to D.C. with approximately seventy fourteen year olds. We had a blast. Although, if I were to do it again I would much prefer to fly. This gave us three very full and fast days to tour the various highlights of this amazing city. What really stood out to me were the various war memorials: World War II, Iwo Jima, Korean War, and Vietnam pictured below in that order.

I came away with a much greater appreciation for the price that was paid so that I could live in this country of peace and amazing prosperity. It is hard to walk away from our nation’s capitol and not feel more patriotic. There is a great sense of pride in knowing that I am a citizen of the United States of America. I am not under the delusion that we live in a perfect country or that our country is a Christian nation nor one nation under God as much as I would like it to be. We are not a nation without significant problems yet I truly believe that I am greatly blessed to have been born into this country. I am also aware that being born an American, with such great prosperity, also comes with great responsibility.

This past Sunday I preached from Philippians 1:20-30 about the Win/Win situation that we are in as Christians where for us every day that we have breath is an opportunity to serve God in this great adventure of life. At the same time when we breath our last breath we will experience great gain, not because we might be a citizen of America but, because of being a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven through the work of Jesus Christ on my behalf. One verse that spoke volumes to me after having visited our nation’s capital and gaining a greater appreciation for being a citizen of this country are Paul’s words in Philippians 1:27, “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. . . .” (NLT) When I step through death’s door my status as a citizen of the United States of America will no longer be important. The kingdom of heaven will be the eternal home for all of God’s people regardless of gender, race, education, economic, or any other distinctions that are so important to us in this life. Therefore, while we await that day when we will all be together for eternity we are now to live first and foremost as citizens of the heavenly kingdom in this world or as Paul said, “To live is Christ.” As Christians we should be exemplary citizens in this world no matter what country we may call home. When we live as citizens of the Kingdom of God we bring a piece of heaven to this world. We are immensely blessed to be citizens of the kingdom of God and with this blessing also comes great responsibility. As 1 Peter 2:9-11 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (NLT)

Saving Turtles & Much More

I thoroughly enjoy being out doors in nature. I love watching TV nature channels such as National Geographic Explorer, The Learning Channel, and Discovery Channel, Equator, and much more. I enjoy seeing all kinds of nature shows that focus on the landscape, nature, different countries, and all of creation. At the top of this blog I continue to put nature pictures that I have taken. The one at the top of the page right now is that of the mountains of Honduras that I took while we were on a mission trip in July ‘06 with our church family here at Community. When our family goes on vacation we will usually go to a theme park or two but my favorite vacations are our times together at the beach or in the mountains. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

I shared in my sermon this past week an experience that I had while on vacation with my family last summer at the beach in Ft. Lauderdale. We noticed that this was a beach where sea turtles laid their eggs in the dark of night. Also, we heard that some of the turtles had begun to hatch. When these turtles hatch in the night they will follow the moonlight which will lead them to the ocean. The problem is that some of them get disoriented and lost by the streetlights and the lights from the hotels and condos along the beach. When the turtles follow these man made lights they will eventually either die lost in the sun or be eaten by a predator such as the seagulls. I got up one early morning and went for a walk on the beach just before sunrise when I discovered, along with a few other early risers, some lost turtles a long way from shore. Some people picked up the wayward baby turtles and took them to the water and others of us showed them the way toward the sea and encouraged them to walk to the shore and we also protected them from the seagulls. It was very rewarding and thrilling to watch these tired turtles finally make it to the water and disappear in the waves. Here is a picture of the one very tired looking turtle that I helped and other pictures of the turtles that we helped to finally make it back to the shore.

In one part of the new member class that I teach here at Community I share that God has created us, from among other things, to love us and to manage all of creation. In Genesis 1:28-31 we read, “Then God blessed them [Adam & Eve] and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.’ Then God said, ‘Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.’ And that is what happened. Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!’” (NLT) When we are out in nature and soak in all it’s beauty and marvel at it’s complexity we are joining God in saying, “It is good!” God gave us our world not only for us to enjoy and through which to experience His glory and majesty but we are also given the responsibility to manage all of creation. As Christians, we should be leaders in making this planet the healthiest that it can be. As Christians we are stewards of this planet. God has given us the awesome privilege of saving turtles. It was an amazing joy to not just watch the turtles on a beautiful HD TV. I got to be there first hand and be a steward of God’s creation. This is just one very small way that we can take care of this planet.

We have not only been given the responsibility to save this planet but we have also been given the responsibility to point people to Jesus Christ who will save people from sin and an eternity of separation from God. Just as I pointed the turtles to the destination for which they were created so we are to point people to our Savior. These poor turtles were lost at night as they followed street lights and lights from condos instead of the true light, the moonlight that would lead them to their true home in the ocean. So also we are called to point people to the true light, Jesus Christ, through whom they will enter into a relationship with God. When Adam and Eve sinned all of creation was shattered, both nature and ourselves. Also, our relationship with God experienced a divorce as we left God. Just as we are to redeem or restore creation’s beauty and health as God meant for it to be in the Garden of Eden so also we are to point people back to our Redeemer and Creator who will recreate in us a new and clean heart (Psalm 51:10).

What an awesome God that we serve who has invited us to not only save this planet but to also point people to Jesus Christ, the Savior of our souls.

The Overflowing Love of God

This past Sunday we began a sermon series from the book of Philippians called “Discovering Real Joy.” The first sermon is from Philippians 1:1-11 and it is called “A Joyful Prayer for the Church.” In this section the Apostle Paul praises this amazing church at Philippi for their partnership in the great work of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. The part that I especially focused on in the message was the three elements that Paul prayed for this church to experience more of: 1. God’s Love, 2. God’s Truth, & 3. God’s Righteousness. The one point that was especially meaningful and insightful to me was the part where Paul prays in verse 9 that their “love will overflow more and more . . . .” (NLT) Paul left that open ended and did not narrowly define in what way their love was to overflow. When Jesus was confronted by religious leaders as to what was the most important of the commandments He said, “‘The most important commandment is this: “Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” The second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” No other commandment is greater than these.’” (Mark 12:29-31) As we experience God’s love it first transforms us, or in other words, we can love ourself through Christ. Then that love is given to others, our neighbors. As I understand it, in loving ourselves and our neighbors we are then loving God. This then is what I understand Paul to be praying for that we will experience more and more of God’s love flowing in and through us to others and to Him.

A picture that helps me to understand God’s love even better is as I said in my sermon that of the fountain in the front yard of our home. At the top of the fountain is the pineapple, which I learned from our congregation, is the symbol of hospitality. Out of the top of this pineapple flows the water into the first tier, and smallest bowl in the fountain. When the water overflows it goes to the second and middle sized bowl, till it fills up and then water finally overflows to the largest bowl at the bottom. As God pours out His inexhaustible, perfect, unconditional love in ourselves (the first tier) His love cannot be contained in us but then begins to overflow to others (the second tier), and back to God (the third tier), the source and object of our love. God’s love transforms us from the inside out and it is designed to overflow to all of our lives and heal and transform us and empower us to show the same love of Christ in every area of our lives and with all whom we meet. Thus, Paul is praying that we will experience and express this powerful, transformational love of Christ more and more. In the same worship service where I preached about this amazing love of God we also heard a beautiful, instrumental rendition of the song, “Oh the Deep, Deep, Love of Jesus” as our prelude. As we focus on God’s love and pray that it will overflow more and more out of us I encourage you to prayerfully meditate on the wonderful words of that great hymn and as you do, may God’s “Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free” love overflow more and more in and through you and me. O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me,
Is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward
To Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth,
Changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones,
Died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth,
Watcheth o’er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Love of every love the best!
’Tis an ocean vast of blessing,
’Tis a haven sweet of rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
’Tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory,
For it lifts me up to Thee!

(Samuel Trevor Francis (1875))

“College Road Trip” Revisited

My wife and I, now married almost 25 years, recently enjoyed a date night. Date nights are not easy to come by as we are parents of 4 children, 3 girls and one boy, ages 19, 16, 14, & 11. This year we have one child in College, High School, Middle School, and Elementary School. Needless to say we are a very busy family where each one of our children has his or her own unique personality and interests and each one is involved in many extracurricular activities. Therefore, tonight’s night out together was a special time just for us and we greatly cherished it.

Not only was this date special because of the time spent with each other but it was also special because of the movie that we saw, “College Road Trip.” The movie was about a loving, controlling father whose high school senior daughter was making plans for where she was to go to college. The father planned for her to go to a college within 50 miles so that she could stay close to home and he could continue to take care of her. The daughter, though, had an opportunity to go 700+ miles away to a very prestigious college. The father and daughter then ended up on a road trip full of all kinds of mishaps which concluded with them arriving at the school many hours away from home. The movie focuses on the struggle that this father has in letting go and allowing his daughter to grow up without his control over her life.

While this movie will not win any awards it definitely resonated with my wife and me. We laughed and cried throughout the movie because we could easily identify with what the parents were going through! Last year we took our daughter to a couple of colleges by car and plane that either she or I was interested in. After a lot of research and prayer she then enrolled at Florida State University. At the orientation all of us parents were counseled not to be “helicopter parents.” We were to let them go and not hover over them every moment of their college life. We were wisely told to let them grow up and make both good and bad decisions. This does not mean that we are not involved in their lives but it is time to let them go and grow! The hardest part in all of this was letting go after we helped move her into her dorm. We raised our daughter to be a mature, woman of God. We are extremely proud of her. She has grown leaps and bounds this past year at college and even went on a mission trip to Guatemala during spring break with other students at the United Methodist Campus Ministry at FSU called FSU Wesley Foundation. Even as I write my thoughts I am filled with all kinds of emotions as we are so proud of her. Still, it was much harder not seeing her everyday, and being able to be a part of her day in and day out life. We are a close family who do a lot together and therefore I underestimated how hard it would be to not be able to experience college with her. I want to share in the highs and lows of her first year away from home at college. It has grown somewhat easier over time but we still can’t wait to have our girl home for a few weeks in April and May before she heads out again to go work this summer at the Warren Willis Summer Camp as a counselor introducing children and youth to Jesus Christ. Did I say that I was proud of her?

As we left the theater I said to my wife, “Just think, we get to go through this process again three more times with our other children!” God has blessed us with three more wonderful children with whom we will one day soon also have the opportunity to send them out into this world to serve God with the unique calling that God has given them. Somewhere in this process I think that I am actually growing up a little and hope and pray that God is finding us faithful in raising our children to be a man or woman of God!

Here We Go . . . .

I guess you’ve gotta start somewhere and this is it. I’ve been reading blogs the past few years but have never ventured out to take the step of writing my own blog. I thoroughly enjoy preaching and teaching (oral communication) but find writing to be hard work. I do write out every sermon in manuscript form which takes a great deal of time praying, studying, reflecting, and organizing my thoughts but that is still a different style of writing than writing for other’s to read. I was challenged by reading Abraham Piper’s post (6 Reasons Pastors Should Blog) on his blog, desiringGod. I was convicted for not using this tool to do do my part to share in this online community of thought. I may write once a day, week, or month about issues and stories related to the church, family, movies, books, and a wide variety of issues. I am excited about what I will learn through this process and what I may even contribute to the life of others. It its my hope and prayer that God will use this blog to inspire and equip those at the church I serve, family, friends, and all of us who would venture to delve into this exciting online community, to love God and each other with all that we have within us.