Funeral for Betty Green, June 30, 2018

Order of Service – Funeral for Betty Green

Welcome:
A loved one is a treasure of the heart and losing a loved one is like losing a piece of yourself, but the love that Betty brought each of you did not leave, for the essence of her soul still lingers.  It cannot escape your hearts, for it has been there forever. Cling to the memories and let them find their way to heal you. The love and laughter, the joy in the togetherness you shared, will make you strong. You will come to realize that your time together, no matter how long, was meant to be and you were blessed to have the precious gift of her love in your lives. Keep your hearts beating with the loving memories and trust in your faith to guide you through. Know that though life moves on... the beauty of love stays behind to embrace you. Your loved one... Betty has left you that love... her love, to hold in your hearts forever. 

Today, we have come together within the strengthening fellowship of friends and family:
to praise God for the life of Betty Green ;
to share our grief with God and with one another;
to reaffirm our faith in God's unfailing goodness;
to hear again God's promise of resurrection;
and to commend Betty to God's everlasting care.

Music:

Opening Prayer:
Gracious God, your love endures forever.  Your faithfulness is unfailing and all your promises are true.  The movement of your Spirit is evident even in our darkest moments.  Attend to us now in our grief as we trust you will.  Speak words of comfort to our hearts.  Open us up to receive your hope. O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our sister Betty. We thank you for giving her to us, her family and friends, to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn. Give us faith to see death as the gate of eternal life, so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth until by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Old Testament Reading:
Let us hear now a reading from the Old Testament, 
Psalm 23  King James Version (KJV).
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

New Testament Reading:
Let us hear now a reading from the New Testament,
1 Corinthians 15: 35-44
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.  If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Pastoral Prayer:
Let us please pray: God our Father, Your power brings us to birth, Your providence guides our lives, and by Your command, we return to dust.  Lord, those who die still live in Your presence, their lives change but do not end. I pray in hope for this family, relatives, and friends, and for all the dead known to You alone.  In company with Christ, Who died and Who now lives, may they rejoice in Your kingdom, where all our tears are wiped away. Unite us together again in one family, to sing Your praise forever and ever.  Amen.

Music:

Message:  Pastor Roy Karlen – Woodlawn Christian Church
Betty Green, 84, died Wednesday, June 27, 2018, at Stewart Memorial Community Hospital in Lake City.  Betty was born on April 5, 1934, to Alma (Buss) Pierce in Sac County-Coon Valley Township. 

Betty is survived by her children... daughter Mary Ann (husband Bob), daughter Rox (husband Mike), and son Tim, by her long time and special friend Jake, by 8 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren and by her brother Larry (wife Jeri).

Betty was one of twelve children and she went to grade school at Cottonwood Grade School, where she like many children in that period of time had to walk to school.

She lived for a time in Spirit Lake and often talked about ice skating on the Lake.  In the early 40's her family operated a resort on Spirit Lake where she helped to clean cabins.  Through the years she owned and operated here in Lake City the Dairy Sweet and the Lake City Café, and was also the hostess and a waitress at the Wagon Wheel in Lake City, she also helped at Pam’s Place and the Wright Place, and for 25 years she managed detasseling crews.  She owned the Lake City Cafe in partnership with her sister Helen, and then in 1971, she purchased the Dairy Sweet.  During her employment at the Wagon Wheel, she worked for several of the various owners of this establishment through the years.

When I asked the family for words to describe Betty they listed, tough, a great mom, that she was fun loving, a hard worker, and just fantastic.  That she liked to go to the casino, she enjoyed playing cards, she liked to fish... but only from the dock, that she liked her jewelry and always had to have her earrings on, that she loved to dye Easter eggs, that she liked ice cream and especially liked to go to Glidden for ice cream.  Tim talked about his mother taking him hunting and fishing and you could see that those were and are very precious memories to him.  They told of Betty fishing with her sisters up at Spirit Lake.  Both Mary Ann and Rox talked about taking trips with their mother out West to Casper and Cheyenne, WY, to Denver, CO, and to Idaho to visit their mother's brothers and sisters.  Though in her later years she enjoyed shorter trips to Lake View to eat or to other nearby locations.  The family told stories about taking Betty to the casinos in Jefferson or to Praire Meadows to play the slot machines.  In fact, they mentioned a nickname that she had of “Betty Meadows”, perhaps one of them will tell you more about those trips and that moniker during the eulogies or perhaps at the luncheon.  It certainly sounded like it was hard to convince Betty to leave once you'd taken her to the casino, and there were stories about her hiding so they couldn't find her to take her home... again perhaps one of the family will flesh those tales out as well.

There have been so many people that I've talked to in the last few days here in Lake City that told me how wonderful, how much fun, and how loved Betty was in the community, I really wish I'd had had a chance to get to know her myself... but, sadly she had been basically homebound for the last several years due to various health issues. 

The family mentioned several times, how much Betty loved and enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  It would seem that she agreed with the author of the 17th Chapter of Proverbs: 
Proverbs 17:6   “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged.”
Truly, as Betty and the author of Proverbs 17 knew, grandchildren, as well as great-grandchildren, are one of the greatest joys in any lifetime.

Betty loved her family, her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  At the end of life, it really doesn't matter what you had in life, where you've been, in life, or even who you were in life, what really matters, what remains behind... is the love that you shared with others, it's the love that remains.

1st Corinthians 13:1-13  New Revised Standard Version
13 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

When you lose someone you have loved... you grieve... and your life becomes very strange,  even the ground beneath you seems fragile.  Your heart has grown so very heavy with loss; and though this loss has wounded others too... no one else knows quite what has been taken from you when the silence of absence dwells in your heart.

Flickers of guilt kindle... and regret for all that was left unsaid or undone.  There will be days when you wake up happy once again and inside feel the fullness of life... until that dreaded moment breaks and you will be thrown back into the black wave of loss and grief.  Days when you will have your heart nearly back, and you are able to function again... when suddenly with no warning, you become ambushed by sorrow.  It becomes hard to trust yourself, and all you can depend on is that sorrow will remain faithful to itself.  More than you, it knows its way and will find the right time to pull back the curtain of grief.  And when the work of grief is done, the wound of loss will heal and you will have learned to wean your mind from that gap in your heart and be able to enter that deep place in your soul where your loved one has awaited your return all along.

Though all of you gathered today, shall miss Betty, you should all rest assured that this is only a temporary parting and that you'll each get to see Betty's smile once again when you are reunited in Heaven.  Praise be to God.  Today Betty is reunited with all of her friends and family that have gone on before her, and today she is in the very presence of our almighty and all-loving God... Praise be to God indeed...

Eulogies and Memories:
If any of the family or friends would like to share a memory or story, please either come forward at this time or stand and speak from where you are seated.

Closing Prayer:
The family invites you all to join them in further celebration of  Betty's life and a time of shared remembrances and closure, by joining with them for a lunch at the Wagon Wheel here in Lake City, immediately following this service.

Let us pray:
O God, our Strength and our Redeemer, Giver of life, and Conqueror of death, we open our hearts to you just as we are.  We celebrate your gift of life freely given but are grieved by a sense of loss in the face of death.  The love which binds us to one another leaves us aching as ties are broken.  Accept our tears as emblems of devotion, and transform them into waters of life to nourish us in the days ahead.

We trust you.  We love you.  We know in Christ that your love is everlasting.  Nothing can separate any of us from your abiding care.  With you is eternal life.

With confidence, we now entrust Betty to your unfailing love and overflowing goodness.  Through the power that raised Christ from the dead to live eternally with you, lift up this, your servant, to life fulfilled beyond our imagining.  We give you but your own, enfold her in your everlasting arms, hold her for she is your child.

Now strengthen us, through the gift of your Spirit, to face into the future with confidence that you stand with us.  Grant that the changes of life may leave us stronger as we journey through life.

Reassured of your abiding presence, help us to knit more firmly the ties that bind us one to another.  Renewed by your love, help us to love in ever larger circles so as to embrace your people everywhere till at last we are all united eternally through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Benediction:

Music:

July Newsletter Article

Pastor's Ponderings

And just like that, it was July!!  As I write this article we are in the throes of “VBS” a/k/a Vacation Bible School.  It's been a great first two nights and the kids have really been good (for the most part) this year and that has made it all the more rewarding.  Thank you to Jodi and Janet along with their multitude of helpers, together you've all done such a great job in fulfilling this most important ministry.  There is nothing more important that we can do than plant the seed of 'Christ' in the mind of a young child.  Praise God that we can help influence our youth and encourage them towards a life of faith!

We also just finished 'Western Days' here in Lake City, and you may have noticed the very nice Float that we had this year.  Thank you so very much to Emily Winker for painting the boards for us (she REALLY did a great job didn't she!), thank you Bill Hungate for using your truck to pull the float, and a very big thank you to Clyde Westcott for the use of his trailer and for the building of the float.  It really turned out well and we'll be able to reuse the panels next year.  Thank you Laura Kuhlers, Jeff Frank, and Judy Hungate for throwing out candy and passing out Flyers about the Concert.

The Float that we had in the Western Days Parade wasn't just promoting the Church in general but was more specifically promoting the upcoming concert. Make sure to remember to tell everyone you know about the concert on July 21st.  We'll start out with the opening act “The Crossroads Church Singers” at 6 pm.  The Crossroads Church Singers is the group that Jordanne Blair-Fry is a part of, so make sure to let any of her friends and family know that she'll be performing.  Our 'Headliner' for the evening is Jacob Daniel, I need to point out the Jacob will be opening for Michael W. Smith at the Concert in Okoboji in August... obviously, Jacob is no slouch or he wouldn't have been selected to open for such a great performer as Michael W. Smith!!  Tell everyone to get here to Woodlawn where you can see Jacob perform for FREE before he becomes a big name on the Christian Charts!!  Don't you want to be able to say, “I saw him when he performed in Lake City”?  Tell everyone to be here, tell them twice, tell them a dozen times!!  Make sure to tell them that the concert is on the lawn and to bring a lawn chair, mention that we will have a fantastic Concession Stand with hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, candy, pop, and water available.

The first “Supper Than Service” was held on June 14th and it went very well, the meal was excellent!  Our next “Supper Than Service” will be on July 26th.  In case you're not aware of what we're talking about, once a month before the Thursday Night worship service we are having a sit-down meal together.  The meal is at 6 pm and then we gather in the Chapel at 7 pm for worship.

The Thursday night services have been a great deal of fun and I hope everyone else is enjoying them as well.  If you have any requests for music that you'd like to see (rather hear) played for these services let me know and I'll try and locate a video of them.  Please remember to get the word out about this service, as it is as of yet an underutilized resource.  There are so many people out there that we need to reach, please remember to reach out and invite them!

I'll be using four vacation days (one Sunday) during July.  Terry Watters has agreed to fill the pulpit for me while I'm gone.  I'll be taking off after Worship on Thursday the 12th of July and will be back in the office on Thursday the 19th so I won't miss any of the Thursday night services.  Gail and I will be going up to South Dakota for my 40th High School Reunion.  We'll be using up most of the rest of my vacation time in September when we go to the Wisconsin Cheese Days with my brother and his wife.  We're really looking forward to both outings... but, especially the Cheese Days, because well, it involves CHEESE! The Karlen family came over from Switzerland and our ancestors were among the very first to manufacture cheese in Wisconsin, so a love of cheese is kind of in our blood so to say.

Make sure you all mark your calendars for August 5th, that will be the date of our 2nd Annual “Meatloaf Dinner”.  And while you're writing on the calendar put a note on October 13th which will be the date for the next “Baked Steak Dinner”.  Both of these events were tremendous and you won't want to miss them this time around!  I don't know the pricing yet, but Kim, Roxy, and Gail will be letting us know more details soon I'm sure.

We're working on putting together some training for the Church Elders on ministering to individuals who are dealing with grief.  We don't have any times set yet, but if you're interested in joining in with this training let me know. Once the Elders have set up a time for the training we'll announce it in case others wish to attend... stay tuned, more information to come as they say!

With that, I guess I have used up my quota of space and I better wrap it up... as always don't forget...

To be a blessing to someone today!!!  God bless you all!  
Pastor Roy (2nd John 1:6)

David -vs- Goliath; 1 Samuel 17:17-49, Thursday Night Service, June 21st, 2018

The Scripture that I chose from the Lectionary offerings for last Thursday night's service were the 'big block' of text found at, 1st Samuel 17:17-49.  These verses contain the epic battle between David (not yet King) and the Philistine Champion Goliath.  This Biblical Story is very likely the most well-known story found in the Old Testament and one that has long been a staple of Sunday School lessons and Vacation Bible School themes.

Generally, this conflict is portrayed as a battle of might against right, the underdog against the champion... and almost always (if not simply ALWAYS), David is cast as the underdog to the giant Goliath.  The crux of my sermon was that this simply isn't the case... Goliath is from beginning to end the underdog and the battle certainly goes the way that we should have been assured it would from the very get-go.

In this contest, David had the upper hand... frankly, he had the hand that couldn't lose.  David knew full well that with God on his side he could not fail.  When in our lives we face the giants of this world, we too can know that we shall not perish either... for if we have faith in our Lord and Savior, it will matter little what the world can throw at us... in the end, it will all work out.

In the sermon, I mention that I dislike the old saying "God won't give you a cross you cannot bear", and asserted that rather it should be stated, "God won't give you a cross He can't bear".  There is simply no storm that can toss us about in this world that our Father in Heaven won't get us through.

Please take a listen to the sermon, it's a short one (as all the Thursday night messages are) but well worth a listen.  Of course, I'm slightly biased.

Be a blessing to someone today!!!

In Christ,
Roy

1 Samuel 17:17-49 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
17 Jesse said to his son David, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers; 18 also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them.”
19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
24 All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid. 25 The Israelites said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.” 26 David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27 The people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”
28 His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. He said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart; for you have come down just to see the battle.” 29 David said, “What have I done now? It was only a question.” 30 He turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way; and the people answered him again as before.
31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul; and he sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”
38 Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.” So David removed them. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.” 45 But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.”

48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

2nd Corinthians 5:1-17 "Reconciliation and Standing Before the Judgement Seat"

This last Sunday I chose to go through the scripture verse by verse commenting along the way.  The video is a little less 'tight' than normal as Stephanie Kuhlers was filling in for Gail in running the camera.  That just means you get to see more of the beautiful woodwork in the Church and not as much of my ugly mug... not a bad trade-off for those watching.

I won't expand upon every section of the scripture here, I'll leave that for any that wish to watch the video to discover.  I will expand slightly upon the words found at verse 10: 10 For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. 

We really don't like to think about standing before God in judgment, and I suspect that none too few Christians believe that by proclaiming Christ as their Savior that they've managed to skip that part of the process.  But, the reality as expressed by Paul here in this verse is clear... we ALL stand before Christ in judgment.  The other reality is that we'll all be found wanting, we'll all come up short, we'll all feel that over-whelming all-consuming guilt of having betrayed an all-loving, all-forgiving God.  But, the good news... the Gospel... tells us that at some point that will all pass away and grace will abound.  I can't tell you how long the duration of that sense of dread will be, it most likely will only be momentary and fleeting... but, it may well at that moment feel like all eternity.

Praise God, that through Christ we though failing and fallen... are risen and restored.  Reconciliation, it's what God wishes for us all... for us all to be restored and reconciled to Him.

Praise God indeed...

In His Glory,
Roy

2 Corinthians 5:1-17 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling— 3 if indeed, when we have taken it off[a] we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

6 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;[b] even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,[c] we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

Footnotes:
a) 2 Corinthians 5:3 Other ancient authorities read put it on
b) 2 Corinthians 5:16 Gk according to the flesh

c) 2 Corinthians 5:16 Gk according to the flesh

Thursday Night - June 14th "The Least Likely"

Photo by Christian Begeman

This past Thursday night I chose to preach from one of the Old Testament verses indicated for this week by the Common Lectionary.  The verses utilized were 1st Samuel 15:34 - 16:13; these verses deal with the anointment of David by the Prophet Samuel.  Samuel approaches David's father Jesse and invites him to bring his sons and himself to a sacrifice of a young heifer.  Jesse brings along with him all of his sons with the exception of the youngest, which is David.

Samuel has all of Jesse's sons pass before him waiting for God to indicate to him which of them has been chosen to be the next King of Israel.  All seven of the eldest brothers pass with none finding the favor of the Lord.  Samuel asks Jesse if there are any more sons to present and Jesse relates that there is only one, the youngest... the least likely... the one who isn't even considered as worthy to come to the sacrifice.  The last son 'David', is summoned and here God's favor final falls upon one of Jesse's sons and David is anointed there before his father and elder brothers.  David, the one not considered... the one left to tend the sheep... David is to be the next King of Israel.

It's difficult for us to fully appreciate the shock and surprise (plus the offense to the seven older brothers) that would have accompanied this incident with David and his siblings.  In the Hebrew culture, the eldest son should have always been the one selected, of course, Scripture is filled with exceptions to this rule but, none-the-less it would have still been a surprise to the family and any others looking on.

In our own lives, we can look to this 'least-likely' analogy, no matter who you are... no matter how young, how old, how educated, or uneducated you are, how outgoing, or how quiet and shy you may be... no matter who you are, there is a place where God needs you to be and a role He needs you to play in His Kingdom.  I invite you all to be in prayer about where God is seeking to anoint you and where He desires to send you to do His will in this lost and wanting world.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Love,
Roy

1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.”[a] 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

Footnotes:
a) 1 Samuel 16:6 Hebrew 'him'

Mark 3:20-35 "Here Are My Mother & My Brothers" June 10, 2018

In Scripture, we often find troubling or difficult verses, the verses that are found in the Lectionary Gospel selection for this past Sunday would seem to have more than it's fair share of difficult verses.  First off, Jesus' family comes to restrain him as they believe he has 'gone out of his mind'.  Next, the Scribes accuse Jesus of being in league with 'Beelzebul' which was a Syrian god that had been derived from the Canaanite god Baal.  Neither of these cast Jesus in a particularly good light.  Jesus responds specifically to the Scribe's charge of being in cohorts with Satan by talking of tieing up a strong man and plundering his home... did Jesus just say that he'd rob someone?  To me at least this is another troubling statement...  Then we have the talk about not being forgiven for particular sins... whatever happened to grace and forgiveness?  Finally, we're back to addressing Jesus' family (completing another of Mark's famous 'sandwiches' or more technically a chiasmus or chiasm) here Jesus seems uninterested in who His blood relatives are and more concerned with who is doing the will of God... for those doing the will of God are Christ's true relatives.

We need to remember that to those whom the author of Mark is writing, the reality of being abandoned by family for their new found beliefs was very, very real.  Those that were originally Jewish would have been turned against by their Jewish relatives now that Christianity was no longer just another Jewish sect, and those that were gentiles would very likely have been turned upon for leaving their Pagan beliefs and embracing Christ.  I really don't believe we today can truly empathize with these people and just how deserted they would have felt.  Perhaps the only true comparison in our world today would be for those that leave Islam for Christianity or another faith (or become atheist).  They too would feel this abandonment of their family... it's a horrible thought and fate.  But, this was the degree of those early believers faith (and those that convert from Islam today) and it is a degree of commitment that honestly should humble those of us who simply don't face that kind of reprisals.

Please take a few minutes and listen to the sermon.  I pray that perhaps something shared will speak to you today if so, I am deeply humbled and thankful to be of some assistance.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Glory,
Roy

Mark 3:20-35 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
20 and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” 23 And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The True Kindred of Jesus
31 Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters[a] are outside, asking for you.” 33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Footnotes:

a) Mark 3:32 Other ancient authorities lack and sisters

"This Earthly Tent" - 2nd Corinthians 4:13-5:1 - Sermon, Thursday June 7th, 2018

Last Thursday night the Scripture that I chose to preach over is found in the book of 2nd Corinthians, the fourth chapter verse thirteen through to the fifth chapter verse one.  Here we are continuing on from last Thursday's sermon which looked at the verses immediately prior to those selected for this sermon.

The title for the sermon was "This Earthly Tent", last week we focused upon the "Clay Jars" which of course referenced all of us and our many flaws and failings; the "Earthly Tent" is again our flawed and failing bodies.  All of us will wither and pass from this world in which we find ourselves today, but... we are called here in these verses penned by Paul to "live by faith".  We know that this world is transient, it is temporary, it's imperfect because we humans have been given the free will to either accept God or to reject Him.

I considered three different angles to look upon this scripture from; first - Paul and his broken and battered body, second - ourselves and our aging and imperfect bodies, and third - the Church and the decline that we see among our faith in both numbers and focus.  I'll invite you to listen to the sermon and see what you think...

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Grace,
Roy

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
13 But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. 15 Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

Living by Faith
16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Mark 2:23 to 3:6 - Jesus is the true King...

This past Sunday found us considering the verses found in the Gospel of Mark from Chapter 2, verse 23 to Chapter 3, verse six.  I chose to go through these verses bit by bit and commenting upon the verses as we went along.

The point of the sermon that I will go into more length about here is the point of the story that Jesus told about David.  Now it has been pointed out by various commentaries that there are a considerable number of issues with the story as told by Jesus but that isn't the point of the story.  What Mark is trying to tell us is (in my opinion anyway) that Jesus, like David, who had been anointed by Samuel as the 'True King' even though Saul sat upon the throne... Jesus too... is the 'True King'.

Though Rome seemed to be the 'Ruler' of the world at that time, what Mark is telling us is that in spite of how the world might appear... Jesus has been anointed, just like David... and in good time... God's time... Jesus will sit upon the throne.

I make several other points in the sermon, it's only a bit over fourteen minutes in length, so please take a listen and see if there's anything there for you to ponder.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In Christ,
Roy

Mark 2:23-3:6 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Pronouncement about the Sabbath
23 One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
The Man with a Withered Hand
3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Thursday Night Service - 'Clay Jars', 2nd Corinthians 4:5-12

Below please find the video of the sermon I gave last Thursday night for the Thursday evening service.  This sermon focused upon the verses found in 2nd Corinthians 4:5-12.  I chose to focus upon the 'clay jars' section of the scripture.  We are those clay jars in which the beauty, 'the treasure', of Jesus' message, is contained.  We are rough, crude, and imperfect beings but from within us radiates the perfect and beautiful message of the cross.

Just as pure water can flow from the rustiest spigot, so to can the perfect love of Christ radiate from us, flawed humans.  As we go about our everyday lives let us not forget this lesson and strive ever more to allow Christ's light to shine forth from our lives.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Love & Grace,
Roy

2 Corinthians 4:5-12 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. 11 For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Sermon Given May 27th - The Great Commission Matthew 28:16-20

This past week was 'Trinity Sunday', as well as the Sunday we talk about the 'Great Commission'.  Last year I preached in detail on the Trinity so this week I chose to focus upon the commissioning of the Disciples and ourselves by extension.  The sermon dealt with would someone who didn't know you think you were a Christian, and maybe even do those who know you believe you're really a Christian...

I hope you'll give it a listen and see what you think, and remember...

Be a blessing to someone today!

In Christ,
Roy

Matthew 28:16-20 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Commissioning of the Disciples
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”[a]

Footnotes:

a) Matthew 28:20 Other ancient authorities add Amen