This blog began as documentation of my journey into formal ministry. Now that I have received a call it will continue to function as a place for me to address concerns, celebrations and anything else that might catch my fancy. Please remember to "Be A Blessing To Someone Today"! God Bless, Roy
I've been very remiss lately and I haven't gotten the videos for the sermons up on the blog for the last several weeks. I've linked the videos for the last three weeks here in this blog post.
Last week was the 2nd Sunday of Advent and for us here at Woodlawn Christian it was a time to reflect on God's Peace. A quote from the sermon is as follows.
"The desire for revenge and punishment is all too prevalent in human justice, but to imply that it is a component of God's justice means forgetting entirely what we celebrate each week at this communion table. The pursuit of human justice will never give us God's peace. Any cry for justice that does not include, and offer front and center grace, forgiveness and reconciliation is not God's justice and will not bring us God's peace."
I pray that as we progress further through this time of Advent that each of us will focus on trying to be advocates for God's Peace in this world.
May you all be blessed in this time of waiting and preparing for the coming of Christ into this world.
Be a blessing to someone today!
In Christ,
Roy
The second Sunday of Advent - Sermon on "Peace"
The first Sunday of Advent - Sermon on "Hope"
Here is the video for the Sunday leading up to Advent
Sorry, I'm late making this post to the blog. I've linked the video to last Sunday's Sermon, it's very short as we had a substitute organist and she had another commitment to get to after our service. So, I cut the sermon and the service a bit short to accommodate her needs.
Take a listen, and think about where your focus is?
I apologize for not making blog posts for the last few weeks. It seems that each week before I realized it the week has closed in and I just haven't been able to squeeze in getting the posts up here. Again, I apologize.
Our scripture this past week was as it has been for the last several weeks, in the Gospel of Luke. This time we were in the 20th Chapter at verses 27-39.
Luke 20:27-39New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
27 Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him28 and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man[a] shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; 30 then the second 31 and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless.32 Finally the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”
34 Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; 35 but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.37 And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.” 39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.”
The bottom line of what I wanted to express from this passage is the relationship of the seven men and the woman. We need to remember that in this society that women are chattel property. The woman needed a man to care for her, to provide for her, and to protect her. The question of "whose wife will she be" is not a question so much of who gets the privilege of being married to her, of loving her and enjoying her company as their spouse, but rather... who is going to be responsible for her, who is going to be stuck providing for her. It's a question of obligation not of privilege.
The point of the parable in this line of thinking is that nobody is tasked with caring for her. In fact, no one is tasked with caring for anyone, for God is caring for all. In a world then as it is now, where uncertainty reigns supreme we look forward to the life to come, where nothing will be uncertain... for God will be our absolute provider.
The second point is the restoration of these tangled relationships. What we have here is a first-century version of the Jerry Springer show, but in God's final Kingdom even these extraordinarily messy relationships can be reconciled. Perhaps that's one of the greatest things we can look forward to in the hereafter, the untangling and rebuilding of these damaged and distorted relationships that we all create here on earth. In the resurrection, we will be reborn and our relationships with God and each other will be reborn. Praise God...
But, let us not think that this means we can reject others and disenfranchise those around us. Even though we know fully well that there are some relationships that are so horribly broken that they can only be glued together in God's final Kingdom we are tasked to try and be reconciled to one another here in this world at this time. Waiting is just not an option, reconciliation to each other and God's creation are what we all are called to do... I just wish we'd listen...
There was one 'blip' so to say in the sermon. I printed out my scripture on a newly installed older printer that was given to the church by a member. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until reading the scripture that the printer had skipped printing an entire line. It was no big deal, but I did have to pause to retrieve a Bible from beside my chair. All in all, it was no big deal and certainly wasn't the end of the world.
Thanks for dropping into my little tiny corner of the blog world. Please remember...
In recent sermons, we've discussed faith and works, out of both faith and works progresses the concept of obedience. Scripture makes it very clear that obedience is a necessary and crucially important part of our life as Christians. The author of the book of James (James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.) urged us that out of genuine faith must come obedient works. In addition to faith and works, I mentioned just a few weeks back the concept that we as believers could be considered slaves to God. Really more like a bond-servant, as we have voluntarily indentured ourselves to God. A bond-servant is one who has sold themselves and their services literally to another, I used this term during my sermon on September 11th. In that sermon I addressed the terrorists who attacked that day as bond-servants to evil. They had offered themselves up to doing the work of evil in this world. One can 'sell' ones-self to either good or evil, we can be slaves to darkness, or to the light of God, we can obey sin, or we can obey righteousness. Whose slave (obedient servant) will we become?
In both the Old and New Testaments the central idea of "obey" is to "hear, to listen to attentively". This is significant, it suggests that, when we speak of obedience to God, we are speaking of more than just observing and following the words written in Scripture, important as they are. We are also speaking of hearing and obeying the words God speaks to us today, of seeking and obeying the specific guidance of God in our daily lives.
I hope you'll take a moment and listen to the sermon. There is a great deal of scripture referenced in the sermon but it serves to drive home the great importance of obedience to our chosen Lord.
May this day find all who wander through this tiny corner of the internet very well and very blessed. Thank you for stopping by...
Our Pastor's Pondering: Well without a doubt, fall is in the air! The mornings and evenings have taken on that wonderful coolness and it won't be long and the leaves will start turning and the beauty and glory of fall will be in full swing all around us. Fall is Gail's favorite season and she along with so many others is excited to see all of the 'pumpkin flavored' goodies appearing on the shelves. Even though I'm not as big a fan of pumpkin flavoring, fall is still one of my favorite seasons. There is just something magical about the changing season and the earth preparing itself for winter. Of course one of the most wonderful things about fall is the great food that comes along with it. Pies, pastries, apple everything and of course pumpkin concoctions of every kind imaginable. BUT, let's not forget all the wonderful soups that become so enticing with the cooler weather about us. With that lead in, we'll be having our first 'Soup Supper' of the season on October 13th. When you see Jeannie or Jesse Gorden, make sure and thank them for agreeing to take on this very important and enjoyable project for the Church. Jeannie did a great job last year ramrodding the project along with Donna Westcott's help in lining up all the wonderful pies. I am always thankful to all the folks that make the pies for this event, for the obvious reason that I really enjoy eating pie. God bless you all for your dedication and participation! We now have a committee to work on the “God's Portion Sale”. Committee members are Ellen O'Loughlin, Scotty Devries, Clyde Westcott, Linda Potts, and myself. If there is anyone else out there who would like to help out with this project please let a member of the committee know and we'll gladly add you to the ranks! Now is the time to start planning on how you wish to participate in this long-standing and ongoing project. Make plans to be at the sale on November 19th here at the Church in Fellowship Hall. I thoroughly enjoyed the sale last year and I'm so very much looking forward to it again this year! God is good all the time!
Our concert on September 17th was a great experience. We ended up with 108 souls (not counting the members of the band and stage crew) in attendance. To be honest, we had hoped for a bigger turnout but the weather was a bit iffy in the morning and I have to wonder how many thought it might be rained out and made other plans. The musicians that we had were all very good and the music was inspirational as well. All of the members of the band had a good experience here and told me they'd be happy to come back again if we decided to do the project again next fall/summer. Out of the 108 people who turned out, there was a youth group from Fort Dodge. This was a group made up of young girls who have all had troubled lives. Several of the girls have attempted suicide and one of those has tried three times. I visited with the woman who formed the group (her daughter is the one who has tried to commit suicide three times) and thanked her for coming and for bringing the girls. She was very excited about the concert (as were all of the girls with her, they were dancing up in front of the stage for a good portion of the night), and she told me that if we were to do it again to call her and she'd bring even more youth with her. I do have her contact information in my office. While I was visiting with her she told me that her daughter was having a difficult time again and she asked me if I would pray for her daughter. The daughter 'Maria' was standing right there and I took her hand in mine, gave her a blessing and prayed over her. As I mentioned in the service on the 18th, we don't know when we feel God's calling to do a project what or if anything will come out of it. Many times, I suspect that we never really know what impact we have and whether what we had done made any difference in a life. This time, I'm left wondering if the whole reason we were led to have this concert was so Maria and the rest of the girls she was with would come to Lake City. Perhaps, it was all about having a moment of prayer with Maria. We can all share it that moment, for even though it was I that was asked to pray, everyone that was involved in the planning, all that baked bars and cookies, all that came out to work, all those who told a friend about the concert, all those who wore their t-shirts or handed out cards, those who hung up fliers, those who helped in any fashion with getting the stage here or moving the picnic tables around... all of these various tasks and duties (along with more that I'm certain I have missed) were a very real part of that prayer and blessing for Maria. Without each and every one of you, this project wouldn't have come together. Just how the leader of the group came to know about the concert is unknown. All I know is she said someone from her church had mentioned it to her the night before, for all we know it could have been any comment that anyone of us made that eventually got around to bringing them here... maybe it was your comment to a friend, or the flyer you tacked up, or the card you handed to someone without knowing where it would eventually end up. That's how God works, and it's just not for us to know. As I've relayed before, we are just called to do His bidding, and then we leave it up to Him and His mysterious ways. Be a blessing to someone today!!! Pastor Roy
This past Sunday, September 18th the sermon was focused upon the Concert that we held on Saturday evening at the Rodeo Arena here in Lake City. Everyone pulled together so very well, and I am so very pleased with it all and with everyone. Our headliner for the concert was a group out of Treynor Iowa called "Orphan's Cry". It's fronted by Willy and Sarah Jane Roberts and honestly, they're amazing. Here's a link to their website, check them out you won't be disappointed! Orphan's Cry
And here are a few links to their videos on YouTube:
And here is a video of the opening act, "Topher Booth".
The concert was a blast and we had a group of youths that showed up from Fort Dodge and made it all more than worthwhile. Take a listen to the sermon linked below to find out more about this group and how impactful it was for all of us as well as for Willy and Sarah Jane. I had several members even that night asking me if we were going to do this again next year. It is certainly my hope that we can and will do this again, I'd like to see us add a band or two to the offering. This year we started off with "Topher Booth" a young artist from Omaha who was also very good and the young folks seemed to really like him. He was an incredibly pleasant soul and I enjoyed visiting with him. If we do it again I'd like to see him come again along with Willy and Sarah. When they were ready to head out Saturday after the concert, I asked them if they'd like to come back again next year if we did the project again, they all were more than anxious to return. It's great music with a great message so I pray we are able to put it all together again next year. We'll just have to be in prayer and discernment as we look to the new year.
The Sermon on Sunday was all about the concert and built around the following scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 NRSV 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24 whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25 that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Additional scripture references were as follows: Ephesians 4:1-6 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:29-32 NRSV 29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up,[b] as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. 1 Peter 4:8-11 NRSV 8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 11 Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Here is the sermon, it's in two parts due to technical difficulties during the recording. Take a listen, it's not that long and I thought it was a pretty good message.
With that, I need to run. Thank you all for dropping through this little corner of the internet, may it find you all well and blessed. Be a blessing to someone today! In His Care, Roy
