Presby-Musings

I read this quote the other day about "being ready" from Tim Fargo, a writer, and blogger. He wrote, "Opportunity doesn't make appointments, you have to be ready when it arrives."  The fact of the matter is, most of us don't live our lives poised to take advantage of opportunities.  We don't live our lives ready to step boldly into the future.  If we are being honest, most of us live our lives pretty much the same way every single day--the same patterns, the same roads, the same activities...   And we do this because it feels comfortable.  There's typically not enough going on to bust us out of the inertia that we create out of a need for safety and security.   But on occasion, we experience what storytellers call an "inciting incident"--something that shocks us, moves us, jars us loose.  Maybe it's a good thing like a promotion or a new love interest, or perhaps it's something not so good like a bad diagnosis or a tragedy...

Among the many keepsakes of mine that my mom held on to for years was my very first driver's license.  It now resides in a drawer near my desk at home, and occasionally I'll catch a glimpse of it.   I barely resemble the kid in that 33-year-old photo.  He had a defined chin and a nice thin neck.  He had a full head of hair, to boot.   Honestly, I can't even remember what I was thinking when that photo was taken.  I do remember the feeling of freedom I felt when I took my parent's car out for my first solo drive later that day, though.   Many years ago, I read this John Updike short story entitled "The Happiest I've Been."  At the end of the story, the young narrator finds himself driving away from his rural Pennsylvania home to the big city of Pittsburgh, where he's attending college.  The young man is filled with a sense of joy as he approaches the tunnels leading into the city.   As he drives, the young ma...

"I prayed for freedom twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs."  - Fredrick Douglas "Prayer changes things."  "I'm sure they felt the prayers."  "They could really use our prayers right now."  "Our thoughts and prayers are with you."  "We all need to say a prayer right about now."   People of faith have all kinds of ideas about prayer, and all manner of platitudes to describe them.   The above list includes just a few of the platitudes that I've used on occasion when I'm responding to a need, a tragedy or simply to comfort and encourage someone.    I think if we're being truly honest with ourselves, there have been more than a few times in our lives when we have simply said that we "would be praying" for someone or something when we didn't really know what else to say.   Meanwhile, we are secretly still asking questions about prayer like: "So what happ...

Today is the Sixth Sunday of the Season of Easter, and it's also is the final installment of our sermon series on the New Testament book of 1 John entitled "Speak Now." Throughout this study, we'll be focusing on what it means to not only follow Jesus but also how to speak about our faith in life-giving ways. As we identified last week, the problem that we have in our culture right now is that when someone says "I am a Christian," it's hard to tell exactly what that means.  So many people in our culture have negative feelings about Christians and what they believe Christians stand for. And the reasons they have these negative feelings is because the people who are speaking the loudest in our culture about what it means to be a Christian have completely lost the plot.  My hope is that this series will help give us the tools and the empowerment we need to speak up in love about what Jesus has done for us. Last week Pastor Britta referenced a hym...

Notable atheist Sam Harris (best known for his controversial book Letters To A Christian Nation ) recently commented on the role that religion plays in the many conflicts of our time.  He wrote:  We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends tacit validity to this status quo. People have morally identified with a subset of humanity rather than with humanity as a whole.    That last line, which I marked for effect, was the one that bothered me the most because I'd like to believe that as a Christian, I am dedicated to following the example of Jesus.   And it seems clear that Jesus truly identified with humanity as a whole.  Jesus easily moved among people of all races, genders, classes, and religions--speaking truth to them, loving them, accepting them and seeking to move them closer to God and their true selves.   Then, Jesus ...

"They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'"  - Acts 1:10-11 The above scripture depicting Jesus' departure from his disciples (what Christians commonly refer to as "The Ascension") appeared in my daily readings today, and I found myself wondering the same thing I've always wondered when I read it:  "What the heck is going on here?"   Is the writer of Acts really suggesting that Jesus drifted away like a balloon into the sky?   Or was Jesus' transition from our reality to God's reality something so beyond the comprehension of those who witnessed it, that they could only describe it in ways they could understand?    And then it hit me. ...

Years ago, I was leading a discussion with members of the elder board in the church I was serving, about a new ministry we were considering.   The idea was to serve a home-cooked meal once a week, every week to people in our community.   The community surrounding our church was much more diverse than we were.  Our neighbors were mostly black and Latino.  Many of them were living below the poverty line.  Some of them were homeless, many of them were first-generation immigrants. The discussion began well, but it started to turned sour when some of the elders began to voice their concerns.  And then one of the elders said, "Are we sure we want those  kinds of people coming to our church?"   The moment the words left his mouth, I knew that he regretted it.  For my part, I felt a mixture of anger and sadness.   I was angry to realize just how far we still had to go as a church to actually be the church...

Today is the Fourth Sunday of the Season of Easter, and it's also is the third installment of our sermon series on the New Testament book of 1 John entitled "Speak Now." Throughout this study, we'll be focusing on what it means to not only follow Jesus but also how to speak about our faith in life-giving ways. As we identified last week, the problem that we have in our culture right now is that when someone says "I am a Christian," it's hard to tell exactly what that means.  So many people in our culture have negative feelings about Christians and what they believe Christians stand for.  And the reasons they have these negative feelings is because the people who are speaking the loudest in our culture about what it means to be a Christian have completely lost the plot.  My hope is that this series will help give us the tools and the empowerment we need to speak up in love about what Jesus has done for us.  Last week we learned that the definit...

Yesterday was my birthday, and I got to spend it doing some of the things I love the most.  I was blessed to be able to preach and spend the morning with my church family, and to be reminded once again how amazing it is to serve as their pastor.   I also got to go on a bit of an adventure with friends and family as we continued our quest to find the very best BBQ in this part of Texas.  But mostly, I just relaxed, laughed and rested, which is kind of the best way to spend your birthday I'm thinking.   I've learned a lot in this past year.  I would have just as soon not learned some of those lessons--especially the ones that had to do with loss and grief.  But still, it's all part of this journey I've undertaken to keep stumbling after Jesus.   The older I've become, the more I've come to understand that possessing the willingness to be transformed by God is probably at the top of the list of requirements to follow Jesus more ful...

In the Gospel of Luke chapter 17, Jesus is questioned by a group of overly-religious people:  "Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, 'The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.'"  Another way to translate that last line is: "Because God's kingdom is withi n you."  Two things occur to me this morning:  1) It's important to understand what Jesus means by "God's kingdom, and 2) It's also important to understand why he wanted his followers to know that God's kingdom was "within" them. Frederick Buechener described God's kingdom like this:   "The Kingdom of God is where our best dreams come from and our truest prayers.  We glimpse it at those moments when we find ourselves being better than we are and wiser than we know."  An...

Today we are continuing the sermon series "The Messenger," a series based on the Old Testament prophecies of Malachi---the last book of the Hebrew Scriptures.   
The name Malachi actually means "my messenger."   
The role of the prophet in ancient Israel was a dangerous one--especially if what you were prophesying was unpopular.  And the message that Malachi had for the Hebrew people was a hard one to hear.   
Times had become challenging for the Hebrew people, and their commitment to God had taken a hit.  The prophet calls the Hebrew people out on their lack of commitment in the second chapter of Malachi, which will be the focus of our study today.   
But first, I want to share something with you that I think might help us prepare to learn together today.  
I've learned over the years that most of my biggest regrets have been due to a lack of commitment on my part.  Let me explain.   
When I was in hi...