Once in a Lifetime

David fell asleep during tonight's bath.
He must have been exhausted, relaxed, or both!

Autumn's Last Stand

WE Give - Sermon

A sermon on living a generous life.


2 Corinthians 9

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
    their righteousness endures forever.”

10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Gratitude and Hope

I sit at my desk and see a reflection of myself in the glass of my bookcase. It’s a pretty dim reflection. Which is just as well. My five year old son David says I look like a hot dog when I wear the shirt I am wearing. 

The books behind the glass have absorbed the reflection for years. The books are no longer on the shelves; they are in boxes. Books on theology and Latin and communication theory. Most of them are in boxes now and will be there for quite some time. The shelves are dusty. My waste basket is full. A picture of my grandpa Adolf, Amber, and me remains on my desk. It is my favorite picture and will always be. Pictures of two boys share the wall space and four college and graduate school diplomas. They will be taken down whenever I have a few free moments. Today isn’t looking very good.

A few of the books needing to be moved

I have been in this office for over seven years. Some of my best friends work down the hall. I walked through the worship center the other day. I remembered the dozens of weddings and funerals. As I look at the door to my office I see hundreds of faces of loving men, women, and children who have stopped in for a visit. Most because they wanted to. Some because they had no where else to go. In a few days I’ll turn in my keys. I’ll drive out of the parking lot for the last time and look into the rearview mirror with feelings of gratitude and thanksgiving. 

I’ll drive to another parking lot about five miles to the west and through the windshield will see our new ministry center. Again my thoughts will be thoughts of gratitude and thanksgiving. For a new church that has the vision and resources to purchase such a building. For the men, women, and children who volunteered hundreds of hours to turn this dream into a reality. For being part of the blessed beginnings of something much bigger than any of us and all of us. For hope and possibilities that are a gift from God. 

The ministry center will be a work in progress for a few weeks. Boxes to be unpacked. Furniture to be delivered. Pictures to be hung. Networks, copiers, office supplies, etc… In the chaos of moving, worship will still be planned, meetings will still happen, and columns will still be written. WE will successfully complete our WE imagine capital campaign, WE will have three Christmas Eve worship experiences and welcome hundreds from the community, and 2013 will be our best year yet! Order, rhythm, balance, and harmony will emerge from the disarray and commotion. 

Life is a lot like this, you know. We have a choice to look in the rear view mirror or through the windshield. Every once in a while we have to look and see what is behind us: we learn from those who have taught us and we learn from our mistakes. But too much looking in the rearview mirror makes it impossible to arrive at our destination. 

Remembering the past with gratitude and moving forward with hope, 

Craig

WE Pray - Sermon

A sermon on prayer.

Philippians 4

² Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. ³ And I ask you, my true partner,^[b] to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

⁴ Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! ⁵ Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ⁹ Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

WE Pray - Column

In 1755, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, first prayed what would later be known as his Covenant Prayer. This prayer was formally published in 1780. Here is the prayer: 

I am no longer my own, but thine. 

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. 

Put me to doing, put me to suffering. 

Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee, 

   exalted for thee or brought low for thee. 

Let me be full, let me be empty. 

Let me have all things, let me have nothing. 

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. 

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 

   thou art mine, and I am thine. 

So be it. 

And the covenant which I have made on earth, 

   let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen. 

The prayer is simultaneously powerful and beautiful. Consider praying it regularly. A few years ago I wrote a modern version of this prayer. It is a prayer WE will pray in worship this morning: 

I was once mine. From this point forward, I am yours. 

Make clear my purposes in life. 

Place me among my loved ones and expand my heart to love all. 

Help me to think the things you want me to think, 

   say the things you want me to say,  

      and do the things you want me to do, 

      even if it means I am belittled, ignored, or criticized. 

Give me people to encourage, serve, and love. 

Give me times of peace and rest so I can love and be loved by you. 

Let me be a light to a dark world so people can see you working in me. 

Make me humble and remind me that everything I have is because of you. 

Thank you for times of happiness and prosperity 

   they are a gift.
Thank you for your presence and promise in days of sadness and hardship 

   I emerge stronger and wiser. 

Let me discover, embrace, and fulfill your will for my life. 

With joy and in fullness, 

   I give my possessions, my time, and my energy 

   to you and to your purposes. 

Almighty, holy, and blessed God: 

   Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 

   you are my true love and I am yours. 

And so it is. 

Let the covenant I am making here on earth be acceptable and pleasing to you.

Amen. 

In the remaining weeks of our WE imagine campaign – I encourage you to pray either version on a regular basis. And I encourage you to join me in praying the prayer WE have been praying throughout this campaign: Lord, what do you want to do through me? 

The best is yet to come… 

Craig

WE Believe - Sermon

A sermon on faith.

Matthew 14

²² Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³ After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴ and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”