Spiritual gifts are great.
The body of Christ wouldn't function without them.
It's that part of you that you've surrendered to Christ completely, allowing Him to control you so that people recognize the works you do as Him.
Could we strive towards every part of us being surrendered to God?
Isn't our life a gift driven by the Spirit?
While we work on to perfection, on towards completely unifying ourselves with God, we begin to create these alliances initiated by our differences.
We focus on what we do best and why it is great.
And while we should focus on those things that we're really good at (letting God take control of,) we let it separate us.
Rather, let us use our stronger point, our likeness, our faith in Christ to unify us with each other so that we can work as the body of Christ.
I guess what I'm saying is that we have to not put aside our differences but use them in order to work as a church and Christ's body. God's just awesome enough to work it out like that for us.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Smelly Jesus and Disney World
Freshman year I got the opportunity to travel to Disney World with the band, but it was a long process getting there. A year before I was running around town selling millions of boxes of cookie dough so I could raise money. I worked concession stands, sold wrapping paper, even one of my lungs so I would raise enough money.
The trip was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I'm not one for amusement parks, but the "magic of Disney" certainly caught on. I enjoyed just about every second of it and hope to go back one day. However I don't know that I ever will. The price, security checks, little things like flash passes and IDs were rituals that hindered my enjoyment, and I don't really want to deal with that if I have to meet all these qualifications just to get in.
What if it was free to get into Disney World? What if we didn't have to worry about remembering our ID or flash pass? What if I didn't have to go through numerous security checks to make sure I was adequate, wouldn't that be great?
Truth is, the lines would get really long and everyone might get tired of the park. However, there is a place where you don't have to get bored...
Yes, church is free, and as long as we're looking, it'll never get boring. But for some reason we tend to put up barriers that keep others from wanting to come. We get caught up in our same method (yea, I'm a UM) of church that we don't keep our eyes open to how others view the church-going bunch.
Dressing up for church, for example. If you dress nicely for church, go ahead. But if that is high on your priority list, I ask that you rethink your values. Sometimes we're late because we're too busy getting an outfit together or fixing our hair, but how often do we spiritually get ready?
Do you think Jesus got dressed up nicely before he preached? NO, Jesus was a smelly homeless man who preached to prostitutes in dusty streets! If that statement can be said about the Lord, there is obviously something more to true worship than the physical aspects. We've come to think that our physical features reflect our attitude towards worship, when in fact it is our heart.
In turn, visitor began to see the physical. People who yearn for Jesus do not want to have qualifications to reach Him- have we forgotten the Grace we have been given?
The trip was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I'm not one for amusement parks, but the "magic of Disney" certainly caught on. I enjoyed just about every second of it and hope to go back one day. However I don't know that I ever will. The price, security checks, little things like flash passes and IDs were rituals that hindered my enjoyment, and I don't really want to deal with that if I have to meet all these qualifications just to get in.
What if it was free to get into Disney World? What if we didn't have to worry about remembering our ID or flash pass? What if I didn't have to go through numerous security checks to make sure I was adequate, wouldn't that be great?
Truth is, the lines would get really long and everyone might get tired of the park. However, there is a place where you don't have to get bored...
Yes, church is free, and as long as we're looking, it'll never get boring. But for some reason we tend to put up barriers that keep others from wanting to come. We get caught up in our same method (yea, I'm a UM) of church that we don't keep our eyes open to how others view the church-going bunch.
Dressing up for church, for example. If you dress nicely for church, go ahead. But if that is high on your priority list, I ask that you rethink your values. Sometimes we're late because we're too busy getting an outfit together or fixing our hair, but how often do we spiritually get ready?
Do you think Jesus got dressed up nicely before he preached? NO, Jesus was a smelly homeless man who preached to prostitutes in dusty streets! If that statement can be said about the Lord, there is obviously something more to true worship than the physical aspects. We've come to think that our physical features reflect our attitude towards worship, when in fact it is our heart.
In turn, visitor began to see the physical. People who yearn for Jesus do not want to have qualifications to reach Him- have we forgotten the Grace we have been given?
Monday, November 1, 2010
One Body, Many Parts
My sermon notes for Youth Sunday without cited references (shout out to Rev. Alan McGrath!)
One Body, Many Parts
*To be the body requires many parts.
*It’s obvious that the church wouldn’t function very well if everyone was up here preaching or sitting in the choir. We couldn’t all fit in the back to run the sound and video for the sermon. We couldn’t all teach Sunday School or anything for that matter. And we aren’t supposed to do everything. But we’re all supposed to do something.
*On CTCYM, the mission trip our youth go on every summer, we’re paired up with a few other churches for the week. We stay in the same church, eat together, worship together, work together, basically everything. We’re usually paired up with a church from the Metroplex. Now, until I started going on mission trip I didn’t realize that the city and country mouse story actually applied in real life.
*On mission trip we’ve got the city punks and the country bumpkins. But I don’t think we could get along without both. The kids in the city are really good at navigating. They actually pay attention to things like street numbers and addresses instead of referring to things like “the big tree.” And some of us in Glen Rose know everything about every tool, and know how to do that physical labor. Still, some of us, like me are good at neither. I can hardly hammer a nail into a board. But I’d like to say we need those people to keep the moral up.
*You see, we all have something inside of us that God has worked out for us to do. Something that makes us different. Something He put there that urges us, saying “I can do it better” when we see another doing it. When we feel those urges we have found the essence of our spiritual gifts.
*A spiritual gift is not just something that we’re really good at, it’s when we use that gift to glorify God. You can be the best worker in your office or the best basketball player on the team, but that doesn’t qualify as using your spiritual gifts. It’s when we use it to glorify God that it becomes a spiritual gift.
*If you ask a someone in ministry, they can usually tell you about their call, how they came to decide that they would work for Christ. We take that as a strong word, “called.” But the truth is that we’re all called to not only spread the Good News but to make disciples. Romans 11:29 says “For the gifts and the callings of God are irrevocable.”
*Listen to what the Spirit is telling you.
*Because in the church we have to use our spiritual gifts to work together to become the body.
*First we have to unify between ourselves and the Holy Spirit inside of us. One of the greatest things is that we have the Holy Spirit inside of us. When Jesus rose again and God sent the Spirit down it was a great thing. The very being of God to be with us always, the very essence of God in us!
John 14:12-13 says “12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.”
* Do even greater things? That’s hard to comprehend. But He’s walking along side us and driving with us in the car. We’re in the presence of the Spirit all the time! But how many times do we complain that there’s nothing to do, or that we’re bored? How many times are we content with complacency when God is right there with us saying, “Go, DO!”
*The next part is unifying with others, which can be hard because we’re all so different. We worship different ways and find God is many different places.
*Watch this (The Skinny on Worship youtube video. You can stop reading this now and look it up.)
*When we get past all the details that don’t really matter, we realize that our intentions are the same. We can get really hung up on our differences, not just between different churches but people. In that video, they all had a different way of worshipping. God has given each of us the spiritual gifts so we do worship differently. *But because God has worked it so perfectly that we don’t have to look past our differences in order to work together, we get to use our differences so that the Body may thrive!
*And then we have to spread it to others.
*Once we learn to function not only as individual members, but a body, we have to learn how to move.
*Yesterday, we had our Lord’s Acre, which in itself is a great illustration of how the body works. One of the things I’ve always liked to do is to listen to Mr. Anderson when he’s running the auction. There’s something about listening to all that talk and watching the items being auctioned off to people. But I never go home with any of the prizes because I never bid.
*The same is with the church. We can sit here all day and feel good about salvation, but we’re going to get a lot more out of it when we begin to “Go, and DO” like we are supposed to.
*Finally, we must grow as the body of Christ, and we do that by taking risks.
* I work at GLC in the summer, and sometimes I get to help out with the zipline. There are two counselors that sit at the top and help strap in the campers and send them down. Whoever is up there has a harness that attached them to another rope so that they don’t fall off the platform. There is one counselor who is a real dare devil. He’ll take off his shoes and go to the edge of the platform and lean off the side. The only thing keeping him from falling is the rope.
*When we put ourselves in a position to where the only thing keeping us from falling is God, we’re doing that risk-taking mission that we talk about. And that is when we grow the most as an individual and a body.
*This week, I invite you to take a risk to extend the body of Christ!
One Body, Many Parts
*To be the body requires many parts.
*It’s obvious that the church wouldn’t function very well if everyone was up here preaching or sitting in the choir. We couldn’t all fit in the back to run the sound and video for the sermon. We couldn’t all teach Sunday School or anything for that matter. And we aren’t supposed to do everything. But we’re all supposed to do something.
*On CTCYM, the mission trip our youth go on every summer, we’re paired up with a few other churches for the week. We stay in the same church, eat together, worship together, work together, basically everything. We’re usually paired up with a church from the Metroplex. Now, until I started going on mission trip I didn’t realize that the city and country mouse story actually applied in real life.
*On mission trip we’ve got the city punks and the country bumpkins. But I don’t think we could get along without both. The kids in the city are really good at navigating. They actually pay attention to things like street numbers and addresses instead of referring to things like “the big tree.” And some of us in Glen Rose know everything about every tool, and know how to do that physical labor. Still, some of us, like me are good at neither. I can hardly hammer a nail into a board. But I’d like to say we need those people to keep the moral up.
*You see, we all have something inside of us that God has worked out for us to do. Something that makes us different. Something He put there that urges us, saying “I can do it better” when we see another doing it. When we feel those urges we have found the essence of our spiritual gifts.
*A spiritual gift is not just something that we’re really good at, it’s when we use that gift to glorify God. You can be the best worker in your office or the best basketball player on the team, but that doesn’t qualify as using your spiritual gifts. It’s when we use it to glorify God that it becomes a spiritual gift.
*If you ask a someone in ministry, they can usually tell you about their call, how they came to decide that they would work for Christ. We take that as a strong word, “called.” But the truth is that we’re all called to not only spread the Good News but to make disciples. Romans 11:29 says “For the gifts and the callings of God are irrevocable.”
*Listen to what the Spirit is telling you.
*Because in the church we have to use our spiritual gifts to work together to become the body.
*First we have to unify between ourselves and the Holy Spirit inside of us. One of the greatest things is that we have the Holy Spirit inside of us. When Jesus rose again and God sent the Spirit down it was a great thing. The very being of God to be with us always, the very essence of God in us!
John 14:12-13 says “12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.”
* Do even greater things? That’s hard to comprehend. But He’s walking along side us and driving with us in the car. We’re in the presence of the Spirit all the time! But how many times do we complain that there’s nothing to do, or that we’re bored? How many times are we content with complacency when God is right there with us saying, “Go, DO!”
*The next part is unifying with others, which can be hard because we’re all so different. We worship different ways and find God is many different places.
*Watch this (The Skinny on Worship youtube video. You can stop reading this now and look it up.)
*When we get past all the details that don’t really matter, we realize that our intentions are the same. We can get really hung up on our differences, not just between different churches but people. In that video, they all had a different way of worshipping. God has given each of us the spiritual gifts so we do worship differently. *But because God has worked it so perfectly that we don’t have to look past our differences in order to work together, we get to use our differences so that the Body may thrive!
*And then we have to spread it to others.
*Once we learn to function not only as individual members, but a body, we have to learn how to move.
*Yesterday, we had our Lord’s Acre, which in itself is a great illustration of how the body works. One of the things I’ve always liked to do is to listen to Mr. Anderson when he’s running the auction. There’s something about listening to all that talk and watching the items being auctioned off to people. But I never go home with any of the prizes because I never bid.
*The same is with the church. We can sit here all day and feel good about salvation, but we’re going to get a lot more out of it when we begin to “Go, and DO” like we are supposed to.
*Finally, we must grow as the body of Christ, and we do that by taking risks.
* I work at GLC in the summer, and sometimes I get to help out with the zipline. There are two counselors that sit at the top and help strap in the campers and send them down. Whoever is up there has a harness that attached them to another rope so that they don’t fall off the platform. There is one counselor who is a real dare devil. He’ll take off his shoes and go to the edge of the platform and lean off the side. The only thing keeping him from falling is the rope.
*When we put ourselves in a position to where the only thing keeping us from falling is God, we’re doing that risk-taking mission that we talk about. And that is when we grow the most as an individual and a body.
*This week, I invite you to take a risk to extend the body of Christ!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Radical Hospitality
Radical hospitality is can be shown by some of God's simplest creatures as a way that they naturally live their life.
Every day I get to vanish into the abyss that is Glen Rose Elementary. For an hour and a half I get to be with Mrs. Reed's Life Skills class, and they're my favorites.
One day, we're all getting in line for recess, when Andy shouts to Ky, "Can I borrow your extra jacket?"
Ky's eyes lit up, "yea, you can!"
Andy was obviously happy that he was not going to freeze outside, but I think Ky was even more excited.
"Here, let me show you how to put it on. Here, let me zip it up for you."
With a pat on the back Ky's face showed the satisfaction of helping a friend.
This is what Ky does, he's a helper. When one of his friends gets knocked down on the playground, he picks them up and then tries to beat up whoever pushed him, he's the teacher's helper when he wants to be. He practices radical hospitality every day, but that's just how he lives his life.
Every day I get to vanish into the abyss that is Glen Rose Elementary. For an hour and a half I get to be with Mrs. Reed's Life Skills class, and they're my favorites.
One day, we're all getting in line for recess, when Andy shouts to Ky, "Can I borrow your extra jacket?"
Ky's eyes lit up, "yea, you can!"
Andy was obviously happy that he was not going to freeze outside, but I think Ky was even more excited.
"Here, let me show you how to put it on. Here, let me zip it up for you."
With a pat on the back Ky's face showed the satisfaction of helping a friend.
This is what Ky does, he's a helper. When one of his friends gets knocked down on the playground, he picks them up and then tries to beat up whoever pushed him, he's the teacher's helper when he wants to be. He practices radical hospitality every day, but that's just how he lives his life.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
1 Year Ago
1 Year ago, I had just gotten back from one of the best churches I've ever visited. It was cold and drizzling, my lips were chapped, I smelled, but I didn't care. I had just gone through a weekend of Poverty Simulation, one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. I was preparing myself for a year of teaching the youth how to be in ministry with the poor, in hopes that it would not be for just a year.
1 Year ago I met a friend named John. He had given my friends and I pizza while we wondered around the streets of Waco. He told us his story, he had just rented an apartment after battling a long struggle with drugs, which led to him being homeless. He shared how God never gave up on him, he beamed with excitement as he shared. You could tell the spirit was alive in him, and I feel that he passed on a little of it to me.
1 Year ago I got to spend the weekend with who would become my best friend. It was then for the first time that I began to know what it was like to have one. Having just started SLT, I already felt a bond and an energy in this group. Full of people that I understood and connected with so easily, I couldn't wait for the next year. I was just starting to realize how much I would grow by being around them.
1 Year ago a great guy named Jonathan Baggett passed away. He was on SLT, a LINK at Glen Lake, and I went on mission trip with his youth group that summer. He wanted to be a preacher when he grew up. When he got sick, he told his youth director that he couldn't wait to get better, because it would make an awesome sermon one day. Although he never got to preach that sermon, his story has spoken greater volumes that some pastors may never obtain.
1 Year ago, I went back to my home church for a Council on Ministries meeting and youth. I showed up in the same stinky clothes I had been in all weekend. I shared my experiences and urgency to help the poor. I was tired and a little frustrated. I wanted to do something but didn't know what or how to get it started.
Today I went to my church, who does not seem to be the same church as a year ago. I see us looking at the future ready to take it on. I see us taking risks and relying on God to get us through. The way we speak about new ministries is exciting! We're no where near perfect, and that's okay as long as the Spirit of God is in us.
Today I had Sunday School with the Elementary kids. These guys are excited about Jesus, whether they realize it or not. I see them learning and growing, and I'm excited to be able to watch them. And they don't even realize how much they've helped me in my discernment and my relationship with God.
Today I'm missing Carla Jones. It's hard to adjust to not seeing her at church, or to hear about the crazy stories with her and my mom. But I know that God was in her, and so we will always have a little Carla in our lives, because God doesn't go away. I also know that God was always with us, and that now Carla is at home with Him. And while this is a sad time, it makes me happy knowing that.
Today I went to Council on Ministries again with another proposal-to host a CTCYM group the next summer. The other chairpersons there were excited about the idea and ran with it. The meeting lasted long even with chairs being gone because we had to talk about all that was going on! The church is growing and reaching out. We are fulfilling our call as disciples of Christ, and it's exciting.
Today, I look back and see that things are changing. And I'm glad to be a part of it all. What I have seen and what I see happening only assures me that good things happen when Jesus shows up.
1 Year ago I met a friend named John. He had given my friends and I pizza while we wondered around the streets of Waco. He told us his story, he had just rented an apartment after battling a long struggle with drugs, which led to him being homeless. He shared how God never gave up on him, he beamed with excitement as he shared. You could tell the spirit was alive in him, and I feel that he passed on a little of it to me.
1 Year ago I got to spend the weekend with who would become my best friend. It was then for the first time that I began to know what it was like to have one. Having just started SLT, I already felt a bond and an energy in this group. Full of people that I understood and connected with so easily, I couldn't wait for the next year. I was just starting to realize how much I would grow by being around them.
1 Year ago a great guy named Jonathan Baggett passed away. He was on SLT, a LINK at Glen Lake, and I went on mission trip with his youth group that summer. He wanted to be a preacher when he grew up. When he got sick, he told his youth director that he couldn't wait to get better, because it would make an awesome sermon one day. Although he never got to preach that sermon, his story has spoken greater volumes that some pastors may never obtain.
1 Year ago, I went back to my home church for a Council on Ministries meeting and youth. I showed up in the same stinky clothes I had been in all weekend. I shared my experiences and urgency to help the poor. I was tired and a little frustrated. I wanted to do something but didn't know what or how to get it started.
Today I went to my church, who does not seem to be the same church as a year ago. I see us looking at the future ready to take it on. I see us taking risks and relying on God to get us through. The way we speak about new ministries is exciting! We're no where near perfect, and that's okay as long as the Spirit of God is in us.
Today I had Sunday School with the Elementary kids. These guys are excited about Jesus, whether they realize it or not. I see them learning and growing, and I'm excited to be able to watch them. And they don't even realize how much they've helped me in my discernment and my relationship with God.
Today I'm missing Carla Jones. It's hard to adjust to not seeing her at church, or to hear about the crazy stories with her and my mom. But I know that God was in her, and so we will always have a little Carla in our lives, because God doesn't go away. I also know that God was always with us, and that now Carla is at home with Him. And while this is a sad time, it makes me happy knowing that.
Today I went to Council on Ministries again with another proposal-to host a CTCYM group the next summer. The other chairpersons there were excited about the idea and ran with it. The meeting lasted long even with chairs being gone because we had to talk about all that was going on! The church is growing and reaching out. We are fulfilling our call as disciples of Christ, and it's exciting.
Today, I look back and see that things are changing. And I'm glad to be a part of it all. What I have seen and what I see happening only assures me that good things happen when Jesus shows up.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Dream of This
Dream of This
By Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our Light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves -- Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are we not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people do not feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone.
And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.
By Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our Light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves -- Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are we not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people do not feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone.
And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Unify in Love.
When something turns out well we can attribute it to many things. Nice effort, a great coordinator, organizational skills of a genius. These things seem to pull events together, make meetings effective or start up a program that thrives.
Good things do not happen because of good leadership, lots of help, good planning, or even enthusiasm. It is much deeper; it comes from love. Even the most passionate person can burn out if they do not serve with love. Love is not passion, but passion stems from love.
God is love. Let us do what we are called to do, but let us not merely do it in our own way, but through means of God's unending love. An ear will interpret differently than the nose, or the mouth might have a different way of comunicating than the nose will. But if we are one body united by the love of God, we work together better, but only when we make the effort to make our love apparent.
"12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by[a] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." -1 Corinthians 12:12-13
Sometimes life is stressful, and to show love is hard. But we gotta try, that's all I can say (well I could say more, but I'm not gonna.)
Good things do not happen because of good leadership, lots of help, good planning, or even enthusiasm. It is much deeper; it comes from love. Even the most passionate person can burn out if they do not serve with love. Love is not passion, but passion stems from love.
God is love. Let us do what we are called to do, but let us not merely do it in our own way, but through means of God's unending love. An ear will interpret differently than the nose, or the mouth might have a different way of comunicating than the nose will. But if we are one body united by the love of God, we work together better, but only when we make the effort to make our love apparent.
"12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by[a] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." -1 Corinthians 12:12-13
Sometimes life is stressful, and to show love is hard. But we gotta try, that's all I can say (well I could say more, but I'm not gonna.)
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