Plymouth Congregational Church

Connections Housing/Downtown San Diego

2012-01-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

The Spiritual Landscape

2012-01-07T11:42:00.003-08:00

Jesus Is Not Our Elected Representative

The church is a hierarchy--in composition, character, and mission. Jesus is not our elected representative. He is King of King and Lord of Lords.

By Frederick Schmidt, January 03, 2012

In a recent dust-up over liturgical colors, a colleague of mine was challenged on her decision to use purple instead of blue during Advent. Only in an Episcopal Church.
Of course, colors are never about color. And I am fairly sure that the parishioner who took her to task had concerns that go well beyond liturgical propriety. But the case that she made for using blue over purple was telling. "Purple is hierarchical," she complained.
Well, duh, yes it is. Kings, royalty, all that jazz. And, by the way, so are some shades of blue.
This slipstream of reasoning is pretty common of late. The word "egalitarian" is thrown around as an ecclesiastical ideal with ever-greater ease. And, arguably, there is a case to be made for an approach to leadership and church life that is as open-ended as possible, borrowing on the energy and imagination of those who enter the doors of our churches.
I am not a great fan of power that is used in a bullying, officious, abusive fashion. It's not for nothing that our dog Hilda is named after Hilda of Whitby a 7th-century abbess who was renowned for chewing on the bishops of her day. (We don't allow our dog to do that, by the way.)
But there are real problems with insisting that the church is not a hierarchy.
Not the least of them is this: The church is a hierarchy—in composition, character, and mission. Jesus is not our elected representative. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
To ignore that fact flies in the face of a fundamental truth: God is God. We are not. To assert otherwise by changing colors and purging our language is not just a problem for our theology, it is a problem for ecclesiology as well. If God is not God, then there really isn't a good reason for doing church. People sense this, even if they can't name it, and it has subtly, but steadily eroded church attendance.
This does not mean that churches need to embrace caricatures of authoritarian leadership by barking orders and threatening excommunication. But it should not allow itself to be bullied into impotence by those caricatures either.
Biblical understandings of the fundamental and hierarchical difference between God and humankind do not focus on God's right to lord it over us, punish us, or drive us to despair. God is characterized instead as the One who is both capable of relationships and as One who longs for them. In this regard AkzoNobel's Tex Gunning, understands something about leadership that church leaders should have understood all along—and do, when they are at their best:
The quality of communal life of any kind depends upon the quality of the relationships within that community.
Understood in Christian categories, Gunning's observation is one with the way in which the purpose of Christ's life and ministry is described in John's Gospel: "that they may be one, as we are one."
This understanding of leadership is often missing from the approaches taken by ecclesiastical leaders who emphasize bureaucratic brinkmanship and programmatic glitz. And it may seem completely out of place in the corporate world. But, rightly, Gunning observes, people in any organization need to know that they are valued, respected, cared for, and safe. In churches, of course, relationships with God and with one another are in a sense, what it is all about.
A good friend of mine put his finger on this need not long ago. He observed, "You know, when I was young, I belonged to an intentional Christian community that really made a difference in my life. I felt needed and I needed the others who were a part of that community. I don't feel that way about church any more. Oh, I go—and I still think it's important to go. But worship is just something I go to watch happen. I don't feel any sense of connection to God or to the people with whom I attend church. After I've left, it doesn't matter any longer."
Of course it doesn't. We disassembled the hierarchy in the name of building relationships. Ironically, in its absence, there is no longer any reason to give those churchy relationships priority.
To argue that Jesus is one among many alternatives—or that church is among one of many civic organizations that are worthy of our attention—puts the church on a footing with other "good causes" that is alien to its original inspiration. The message of the Gospel is that the church is more than a good cause. To use a word that Gunning employs as well, it is the lifeline that restores our relationship with God and heals our relationships with one another.
That may sound hierarchical. But church is not a worthy activity. Life in the church is meant to be a one-of-a-kind commitment. And Jesus is not our elected representative. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. If we don't communicate that as ecclesiastical leaders, there are no programs or strategies that will serve as a substitute.

The Reverend Dr. Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr. is Director of Spiritual Formation and Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality at Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas. An Episcopal priest, he also serves as the director of the Episcopal studies program. He is the author of several books, including Conversations with Scripture: The Gospel of Luke (Morehouse, 2009) and What God Wants for Your Life (Harper One, 2005).
Schmidt's column, "The Spiritual Landscape," is published every Monday on the Progressive Christian portal. Subscribe via email or RSS.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2011-12-31T08:05:00.001-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011

2011-12-24T19:18:00.001-08:00

WHAT SHAPE IS YOUR IDOL?

2011-11-28T08:13:00.001-08:00

I worship Ganesa, brother, god of worldly wisdom, patron of shopkeepers. He is in the shape of a little fat man with an elephant's head; he is made of soapstone and has two small rubies for eyes. What shape do you worship?

I worship a Rolls-Royce sports model, brother. All my days I give it offerings of oil and polish. Hours of my time are devoted to its ritual; and it brings me luck in all my undertakings; and it establishes me among my fellows as a success in life. What model is your car, brother?

I worship my house beautiful, sister. Long and loving meditation have I spent on it; the chairs contrast with the rug, the curtains harmonize with woodwork, all of it is perfect and holy. The ash trays are in exactly the right place, and should some blasphemer drop ashes on the floor, I nearly die of shock. I live only for the service of my house, and it rewards me with the envy of my sisters, who must rise up and call me blessed. Lest my children profane the holiness of my house with dirt and noise, I drive them out of doors. What shape is your idol, sister? Is it your house, or your clothes, or perhaps even your worth-while and cultural club?

I worship the pictures I paint, brother.... I worship my job; I'm the best darn publicity expert this side of Hollywood.... I worship my golf game, my bridge game. . . . I worship my comfort; after all, isn't enjoyment the goal of life? ... I worship my church; I want to tell you, the work we've done in missions beats all other denominations in this city, and next year we can afford that new organ, and you won't find a better choir anywhere.... I worship myself....

What shape is your idol?

from Joy Davidman’s book, Smoke on the Mountain 1954

REMEMBERING 61 PEOPLE WHO DIED ON THE STREETS OF SAN DIEGO THIS YEAR

2011-11-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

Sunday November 6, 2011

3:15 pm – Procession begins at San Diego Rescue Mission
4:00 pm – Candlelight Vigil at:

San Diego County Administration Center
West Side on Harbor Drive
1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, 92101

A procession to the vigil will depart from the San Diego Rescue Mission at 3:15 pm and walk approximately a mile stopping for prayers at 3 churches and ministry sites in the procession to the County Building. Sixty-one persons in the procession will carry a pair of shoes which represent the 54 male and 7 female homeless individuals who died on the streets of San Diego County in the last year. The candlelight vigil program at the County Building begins at 4:00 pm. The interfaith event is designed to create awareness for the 10,000 men, women and children living each day homeless in San Diego that should not have to die on the streets.

This year marks our 10th Annual Candlelight Vigil, which honors the men and women who die, homeless and alone, on the streets each year.

Last year more than 200 caring community members honored the 44 men and 6 women who passed away. Several participants carried a pair of shoes with a tag attached, listing each deceased person’s name. The candlelight vigil began when the procession arrived at the San Diego County Building. Each individual’s name was read aloud.

Visit this page again soon to learn the details of this year’s event.

http://www.sdrescue.org/2011/10/candlelight-vigil/

2010 Vigil Media Coverage

10 News – Vigil Honors Homeless Who Have Died On San Diego Streets
NBC San Diego – The Changing Face of Homelessness

WE FORGIVE BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN

2011-09-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

11 September 2011, 13th Sunday in Pentecost

THE MATHEMATICS OF FORGIVENESS

Romans 14:5-12; Matthew 18:21-35

Introduction: When the framers of our Lectionary came together to appoint the lessons for today this tragedy that has come to be known as 9-11 had not occured. It may be one of the more difficult days on which to deal with the subject of forgiveness. There are so many people for whom this is such a painful memory-- one that touches them to their very core. Some have said publicly that they have been able to forgive; others have said they had to in order to get on with their own lives. The Gospel lesson commands us to think about this important dimension of our human emotions and on a date like this, shows us how hard it is to deal with our hurts. But here, Jesus is advocating a pro-active policy of forgiving and forgetting that can take a lot of the unnecessary hurt out of human relationships. Let’s take his parable seriously.

Peter wanted to make forgiveness a mathematical question. "How many times shall we forgive someone who has wronged us? -- seven times?" That was generous-- the Law of Moses specified three times. So Jesus tells an outrageous mathematical story about forgiveness. The man's debt is ten thousand talents; a talent was equal to 15 years of wages so ten thousand talents would be equal to 150,000 years of wages-- that's 7,800,000 weekly paychecks! Talk about living beyond your means!! I called the story “outrageous” because as Jesus recounts the story, the man is forgiven the debt-- the slate is wiped clean and he can leave with a fresh start.

But in this outrageous story, (there I go again) the forgiven man isn't even out of sight when he comes across someone who owes him a debt-- this one equal to about 100 days of wages. He is unable-- or unwilling --to do for this man what has been done for him on a gigantic scale. The message of the parable is clear: since we have been forgiven an enormous debt, God expects us to extend the same spirit of grace to others. But this story reveals a subtler truth-- how hard it is to reach the human heart, to transform our patterns of holding grudges. Even an act of extravagant forgiveness may leave the heart unchanged. It is not enough to contrast the boundless mercy of God with the constricted limits of human pardon. Can people who inflict the innocent with so much pain really be forgiven by a loving God? In this parable, Jesus says they can. But let me hasten to say that this lesson was not taught by our Lord so that we might judge others, but that we might deal with our own ability to “forgive from the heart.” I want to commend to us three reasons why we should further cultivate this spirit of forgiveness. First, I'll mention a selfish reason:

I. SOMETIMES WE FORGIVE BECAUSE IT IS HEALTHY FOR OUR OWN MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT TO FORGIVE. (Say again!)

A. It’s hard to keep disliking someone -- resenting someone --despising someone -- without it taking a toll on us. It takes a toll when we hold on to a grudge. I think we all know that the Gallup Organization does more than take political polls. Annually, they take a poll on religion in America. An interesting study some years back was on hostility in America. In this study Philadelphia ranked first among U.S. cities on what was called the “hostility index.” The hostility index was based on a nine-question scale that asked people how they felt about such things as loud rock music, supermarket checkout lines, and traffic jams. Other cities on the hostility top five were New York, Cleveland, Chicago, and Detroit. Another indicator was cited -- New York City has a much higher death rate than average from coronary disease. At the bottom of the hostility index were Des Moines, Minneapolis, Denver, Seattle, and Honolulu. San Diego isn't at either extreme of the hostility index, but I expect you’ve noticed that we have our fair share of it!

B. Medical experts looking at the results felt it was no coincidence that the cities that rated high on the hostility index also had higher death rates from coronary disease. Commenting on the study, Dr. Redford Williams of Duke University Medical School said, “Anger kills. There is a strong correlation between hostility and death rates. The angrier people are and the more cynical they are, the shorter their life span.” Dr. Robert R. Kopp puts it this way: "grudge-holders are grave-diggers and the only graves that they dig are their own." “The world’s most miserable person is one who won’t forgive. Nothing can gnarl the soul more quickly. It has been said so aptly, ‘If I had an enemy whom I wanted to punish, I would teach him to hate someone.’”

Resentment and hatred are “useless, bad feelings.” Usually they do more harm to us than the person we resent. That’s the first reason we forgive: it’s good for our mind, body and spirit.

II. THE SECOND REASON WE FORGIVE IS THAT CHRIST TOLD US TO FORGIVE.

A. Perhaps this should have been mentioned first but I thought I might as well get to the selfish reason before anybody went to sleep! We are followers of Jesus. Sometimes it is difficult to tell Christians from everybody else in society, but this is where we should be different. Christians are to be judged by a different standard. Where forgiving is possible—and where it will not be destructive—as in an abusive relationship, we are to forgive. This is part of our witness to Christ’s presence in our lives.

B. Perhaps this is why the famous Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi has continued to be so meaningful over the centuries. “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not seek so much to be consoled, as to console; to be loved as to love. For it is in seeking that we find; it is in giving that we get, and it is in dying that we rise to eternal life.” That’s what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We forgive not only because it is to our benefit to forgive. We forgive because we have been taught by our Lord to forgive. It was in his perfect prayer that we prayed this morning.

III. WE FORGIVE BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN.

A. Jesus wanted his followers to find themselves in this story-- as the one who had been forgiven. And really, there is one central point to this whole story: WE ARE NOT TO HOARD GOD'S FORGIVENESS FOR OURSELVES. Since we have been forgiven an enormous debt, God expects us to extend the same spirit of grace to others. The Church of the first century to which Matthew was writing was discovering that it was not enough to preach about Christ's love and grace. It was not enough to point out how much they had been forgiven. It was not enough to contrast the boundless mercy of God to our seeming inability or unwillingness to forgive. People needed day to day to persist in forgiving each other.

B. That's the reason that mathematics and forgiveness don't mix. It can't be reduced to an equation. That's what Jesus was saying to Peter when he told him "70 times 7" -- a more proper translation of 70 times 7 is our English word "infinity" (and not the car by that name.)

C. What can bring a person to this point? It is the transformation of the human heart-- and only persistent love can do that. When Paul so ably described the meaning of Christian love in that 13th chapter of his letter to the Corinthians, he put these words somewhere in the middle: "love keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight with evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." God has forgiven us from the heart-- ought we not forgive others?

CONCLUSION: There are people who can forgive from the heart-- at least some of the time. They are called Christians. Let’s pray to God that we can be people like that. How many times shall we forgive? That depends. There are circumstances in abusive relationships where forgiveness becomes an act of codependency and actually harms, rather than redeems the offender. But that is an issue too complex to "tack on" to this sermon. But, in general, we need to ask ourselves this question: Do we need to forgive for our own peace of mind? Usually the answer will be yes. Secondly, remind ourselves of Christ’s teaching and ask if we need to forgive in order to witness to Christ’s presence in our lives. Finally, ask ourselves if there have not been times when we have sinned against others or against God. Does God forgive you? Because we know HE does, we should not hoard God's forgiveness-- but pass it on!

I don’t know what the service in Balboa Park will be like today but I hope it will help all present there to deal with any lingering issues that keep them from following our Lord, even in this humanly difficult act of “forgiving from the heart” that heinous act a decade ago that we do not -- nor ever will understand. But we do know that neither grudges nor misdirected hatred will hold any healing power for human-kind. In the spirit of our Lord’s teaching, let us seek to be His forgiving servants.

Amen, Pastor Wayne Riggs

Divorce is out for Gen X

2011-08-05T09:13:00.001-07:00

BY SUSAN REIMER, The Baltimore Sun

Donna and Glenn Bigony with sons, Colte, 3 months, and Tyler, 6. They decided to stay together rather than separate and divorce after marital problems. (PAT GREENHOUSE / Boston Globe)

That's the latest news from the land of Gen X parenthood. Apparently, these children of the divorce boom of the 1970s would rather put chocolate syrup in the baby bottles than put the children through a family break-up.

The number of divorces has been in decline since it peaked in 1980, and that is particularly true of highly educated couples, only 11 percent of whom divorce during their first 10 years of marriage, according to a study by the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. That compares to 37 percent of the rest of the population.

STILL MARRIED

Are you staying together for the kids? Comment below or start a new conversation in the Marriage forum.

Either this generation of college-educated moms and dads has it figured out — "peer" marriages where both parents are in the yoke and duties are shared — or they have seen the headlines that warn of poor outcomes for children of single parents. And this cohort of parents wants only the best outcomes for their children. In any case, it is easier to put the kids first if you remember too well the pain and confusion of your own parents' divorce. Even if the break-up is civilized, the disruption is tough on children.

This is a different spin on "staying together for the sake of the kids," and it is a worthy goal. But how do you make it to the finish line? What happens when the magic ends?

Author Iris Krasnow, who has been chronicling the angst of Boomers since she wrote Surrendering to Motherhood in 1997, has just completed a new book, The Secret Lives of Wives: Women Share What it Really Takes to Stay Married. It is due out in October.

She spent two years interviewing 200 couples who had been married from 15 to 70 years to find out what makes marriage last.

"The happiest marriages are the ones where both partners have their own life, their own income, their own interests," she said during an interview in her Annapolis, Md., kitchen. "The unhappiest marriages are the ones where someone is swallowed by the other."

Krasnow, who has been married for 23 years and is raising four boys, admitted that there are marriages that "need to end." A love child with the household help, regular visits to prostitutes, sending sexy cell phone pictures of yourself to women you meet on Facebook. These might be good reasons to divorce. Boredom is not.

"Ask yourself, 'Am I happy?' The answer is going to be 'Not all the time.' But you are in a relationship that is better for your health, better for you economically, and you are creating a tapestry, a history, that you will be passing on to your kids," Krasnow said.

Understand that no one else can make you happy, Krasnow said. Only you can do that. "If we all left our marriages when they became unromantic, none of us would be married. The renewal has to spring from within."

If this generation is expecting to stay married, they have their work cut out for them. They need to start, Krasnow said, by lowering their expectations. "The march down the aisle is not a march to happiness."

What else did she learn from peering into the marriages of so many couples?

* A secret is different than a lie, and secrets can be healthy. Keep a little part of yourself to yourself. Something that is a mystery.

* If you are bored it is because you are expecting someone else to entertain you. Stay engaged with what you love and with people outside your marriage. Have friendships with both sexes.

* Realize there is no gold standard for marriage. I saw all kinds that work.

* Nobody is perfect, and that includes you. So you may as well work your damnedest to keep something going that is good for everybody.

It isn't clear whether this fresh determination to stay married is the predictable swing of the social pendulum, a case of generational rebellion, or whether this crop of parents has learned from all the mistakes their parents made.

Happy? Successful? These are adjectives that might describe a dinner party, but they don't make much sense when you use them to characterize a marriage — an institution where change is the only constant.
And at some point, the marriage takes on a life of its own.

"You can leave each other," Krasnow said. "But once you have children, you can't leave the marriage. Love it or loathe it, it becomes bigger than you."

SUMMER OF JUSTICE

2011-08-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice

of San Diego County

Your Membership Makes a Difference

in the Lives of Working Families!

We are grateful for the overwhelming number of people and organizations that joined the ICWJ as members. Thank you!!!

We hope you had a chance to participate in our

Summer of Justice

by standing with workers and their representatives at the county building, City Council, Prudential Laundry, Vons, Ralphs, Albertsons, the Airport, and downtown with the Janitors to name a few. Your membership makes a difference for working people and their families!

There is still time to make your membership contribution!
CLICK HERE FOR MEMBERSHIP FORM or
save a stamp and CLICK HERE to make your
membership contribution on-line.
Please return the Membership Form with your contribution to:

Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice of San Diego County

3727 Camino del Rio South, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92108

CLICK HERE to review a list of engaging and compelling campaigns that need our advocacy. As we build our membership base we strengthen the partnership between the faith community and working families struggling to make ends meet in San Diego.

If you have any questions please contact Lisa Maldonado at

619-584-5740 or Elizabeth@ICWJ.org

3727 Camino del Rio South Suite 100 | San Diego, CA 92108 US

North Park to become part of Mid-City Division of SDPD on September 17th

2011-07-31T18:27:00.001-07:00

The Police Department is restructuring its beat districts for the first time in 30 years. On September 17th, North Park will become part of the Mid-City Division instead of Western Division. Lt. Todd Jarvis, Acting Captain of the Mid-City Division of the San Diego Police Department, was the guest speaker at Thursday's North Park Action Team meeting, and he explained how the decision was made to adjust several Division lines. The net effect should be quicker response times and more available police time for the community. A/Capt. Jarvis can be reached at pjarvis@pd.sandiego.gov, or 619-516-3035.

Officer Jenny Hall will be the new Community Relations Officer (CRO) serving North Park. She is working with Officer David Surwilo of Western Division to make a smooth transition of Neighborhood Watch groups and programs. Officer Hall can be reached at jmason@pd.sandiego.gov or 619-516-3009.

The Action Team meets on fourth Thursdays, 5:30 pm, at the North Park Adult Community Center, 2711 Howard Ave. (across the street from the water tower). The North Park Action Team is a grassroots community group proactively working on safety and quality of life issues. Email actionteamnp@gmail.com for more information.

Source: North Park Community Association

These Weeks in Christian History

2011-07-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

July 24th to August 6th

Dying Wilberforce Learned Slaves Were Freed
July 26, 1833
No man fought harder to abolish slavery than William Wilberforce. A member of Parliament, he introduced antislavery measures year after year for 40 years until he retired in 1825. On July 26, 1833, as he lay dying, word was brought him that the bill to outlaw slavery everywhere in the British empire... (read more)
Read the full article here

Covenanter Cargill Executed
July 27, 1681
"Death to the believer is just like putting off a worn suit of clothes, and putting on a new suit." Those were the words of Donald Cargill. On July 27, 1681, he put on his new suit. A scottish preacher, he suffered persecution when he refused to accept the episcopal form of church government (bishop run churches) that London tried to impose on Scotland.
Read the full article here

Clement of Ohrid Was Laid in the Earth
July 27, 916
The grief at St. Pantaleimonth's Monastery was deep. On July 27, 916, the founder of their monastery was to be laid to rest. All recognized that a mighty man had passed from among them. Clement of Ohrid (in what is now the Republic of Macedonia) had died just a few days earlier.
Read the full article here

Fundamentalist Leader John Gresham Machen
July 28, 1881
J Gresham Machen was born into southern aristocracy in Baltimore, Maryland on July 28, 1881. His financial circumstances freed him to study in Europe and later to support Christian publications and Christian work. But his family left him more than money. They gave him an inheritance of Southern views, social connections and solid achievement.
Read the full article here

Cruel Conrad of Marburg Murdered
July 30, 1233
"Conrad is dead. The inquisitor is dead!" Word raced across the German countryside. Nobleman and commoner, priest and layman crowded forward to drink in details on July 30, 1233. The man most hated and feared in all of Germany was dead. But how?
Read the full article here

Horatius Bonar Pointed People to Christ
July 31, 1889
"Please don't write a biography of me." Racked with pain in the Summer of 1889, Horatius Bonar knew he was dying. He also knew that people would be interested in his life. But during his ministry, his one interest had been the glory of Christ, and he wanted to keep it that way. "Point men to Christ, not to Bonar," he might have said. That is what his sermons had always done.
Read the full article here

Dying Harold Schofield Prayed Grads to China
August 1, 1883
Harold had left behind a bright future in England's medical world by choosing to serve as a missionary doctor with the China Inland Mission. He was the first Protestant missionary allowed into the heart of China. For months his heart ached under the weight of lost souls and he knelt again and again to pray that God would send more men to spread the gospel among the Chinese. The young doctor, just 31 years old, had contracted typhus...
Read the full article here

James Abbes Burned in Bury, England
August 2, 1555
James Abbes stripped off his clothes and shoes. Where he was going in a few minutes, he would not need them--new and glorious garments would be his. As James moved toward the stake where he would be publicly burned, he urged the bystanders to cling to the truth and to seal the cause of Christ with their blood if need be--just as he was now doing. The young man seemed completely confident...
Read the full article here

America's 1st Book on Teaching Method
August 3, 1770
When Christopher Dock did not come home from school one night, people went looking for him. There he was, dead--on his knees in prayer. That fit his character. Every evening he prayed through the roll of his students, asking the Lord to forgive any wrong or neglect he had done any one of them and to help him do better the following day. This kindly schoolmaster would be completely forgotten if it wasn't for the fact that he wrote the first published textbook on educational method in Britain's American colonies...
Read the full article here

Jesus Shone Like the Sun
August 6, 30
August 6 is the traditional feast day celebrating the transfiguration of Christ. He and His innermost circle--Peter, James and John--were at a high mountain, possibly an outcropping of Mount Hermon near Caesarea Philippi. While Jesus was praying, Peter and the others fell asleep. They woke up to find that Jesus had changed. His face shone like the sun, and...
Read the full article here

Circle of Protection

2011-07-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

Matthew 25 — Why We Went to the White House

by Jim Wallis 07-21-2011

Today is another intense day of politics at the White House. The debt default deadline is fast approaching. The stakes for the nation are high as politicians can’t agree on how to resolve the ideological impasse on how to reduce the deficit before the nation defaults on its financial obligations.

Yesterday, before Congressional leaders were due at the White House for critical negotiations, I, along with 11 other national faith leaders, met with President Obama and senior White House staff for 40 minutes. We were representing the Circle of Protection, which formed in a commitment to defend the poor in the budget debates. Sitting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, we opened in prayer, grasping hands across the table, and read scripture together. We reminded ourselves that people of faith must evaluate big decisions on issues like a budget by how they impact the most vulnerable.

Continue reading this entry »

Science cannot affirm the non-existence of God

2011-07-21T23:07:00.001-07:00

Archbishop: Church Must Learn Language of Youth

Says Liberty and Science Are Two Dominant Values

MADRID, Spain, JULY 21, 2011 (Zenit.org).- To evangelize young people, the Church must understand their culture, in which liberty and science are dominant values, say the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella said this Wednesday during the summer course "Young People and the Catholic Church: Points for a Youth Ministry for Today," which is under way this week at King Juan Carlos University in Madrid.

The archbishop's talk was titled "Young People and God, Young People and Jesus Christ, Young People and Eternal Life."

One cannot speak to young people of Christ, said the evangelization dicastery president, "without speaking of liberty, as the youth of today has placed it in his culture, but liberty must always be in relation to truth, as it is truth that produces liberty."

At the same time, he added, "one cannot speak of God to young people without knowing the culture of today's young people, which is scientific. Today's culture, its content, is full of axioms of science."

The Italian prelate clarified that the Church is "in favor of science, but the latter must be in favor of humanity and never against humanity."

"The time will come when science itself will ask for help from theology to know the realms of reality more amply, and to be able to give an answer to pain, to betrayal, to death," in short, "to the great questions, the questions of meaning," said archbishop Fisichella.

Archbishop Fisichella pointed out that "the interaction of science, personal life and ethics is necessary," and that one cannot live without the other.

By way of example, the archbishop gave the case of the director of the Genome project, Francis S. Collins, who has gone further into the language of God, because "true science puts you at the doors of the transcendent."

Archbishop Fisichella concluded assuring that one "can be Catholic and scientific at the same time. To experience scientific knowledge does not imply atheism. The scientific has its limits; it cannot affirm the non-existence of God."

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Church of God (Seventh Day)

2009-10-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

2717 University Avenue, San Diego, 619-698-5895
Denomination: Church of God (Seventh Day)
Founded locally: 1960s
Senior pastor: Heber Vega
Congregation size: 90
Staff size: 1
Sunday school enrollment: 18
Annual budget: $82,000
Weekly giving: goal of $6000/month
Singles program: no
Dress: some casual, mostly semiformal
Diversity: mixed, but majority Hispanic
Sunday worship: 11 a.m., Saturdays
Length of reviewed service: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Website: none

Read this Sheep & Goats story here.....

Today in Christian History

2009-10-03T09:46:00.001-07:00

October 3, 1226
Francis of Assisi, preacher and mystic who created monastic communities for men and women devoted to poverty and serving the poor, dies.

October 3, 1692
Puritan clergy in Salem, Massachusetts, agree there would be no more executions resulting from the witch trials. More than 150 suspected witches had been put on trial in the previous year, and 19 had been hanged.

October 3, 1789
George Washington names November 26 as a day of national thanksgiving for the ratification of the Constitution. On the same date in 1863, Abraham Lincoln designates the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

Never Again~A sermon given by the Reverend Dr Samuel Wells

2009-10-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

Never Again

From: dukechapel | March 12, 2009 | 86 views

A sermon given by the Reverend Dr Samuel Wells on March 1, 2009 in Duke University Chapel.

American Samoa is 58% Congregationalist!

2009-09-30T09:42:00.001-07:00

American Samoa is largely Christian (Christian Congregationalist 58%, Roman Catholic 28%, Protestant and other 14%) along with other religions, including and Latter-day Saint (Mormon).

Scores Killed As Tsunami Sweeps Across Samoan Islands

By Marina Kamenev Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2009

On Monday night, the palm-tree-lined coast of Samoa looked like paradise. But by early Tuesday morning, residents and tourists alike had an unpleasant awakening. People were literally shaken out of their sleep when a massive earthquake hit 120 miles off the coast of the island, and dozens drowned in the tidal waves that followed. By late morning, the waters had receded, but the nightmare in this remote part of the South Pacific is far from over, as the death toll rises and scattered families try to find their missing relatives. Read more here....

A Little Bit Of Humor

2009-09-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

A History Lesson

2009-09-27T10:53:00.001-07:00

Holiness Fire-Starter
Transformed by her child's fiery death, Phoebe Palmer lit the flames of revival on two continents.
By Charles Edward White

In January of 1857 the editors of a national magazine published a portrait of Phoebe Palmer (facing page). Being honest men, they admitted that the woman herself was neither as young nor as pretty as the picture made her appear. They did say, however, that she was smarter than she looked.

Finish this article from ChristianHistory.net.

Top Religion Headlines

2009-09-24T14:56:00.001-07:00

Sept. 24 - Los Angeles Times
Anti-Abortion Black Ministers To Endorse Obama's Health Care Plan
Sept. 23 - The Associated Press
Gay Rights Advocates Urge Passage of Bill To Protect Gays, Transsexuals From Bias at Work
Sept. 23 - The Associated Press
Saudi Arabia Inaugurates First Coed University, Lauded as 'Beacon of Tolerance' by King
Sept. 21 - Des Moines Register
Iowa Poll: Iowans Evenly Divided on Gay Marriage Ban
Sept. 20 - The Baltimore Sun
Stem Cell Fight Ahead
Sept. 19 - The Wall Street Journal
Republicans Address 'Value Voters' in Effort To Shore Up Base
Sept. 19 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Women Are Making Inroads to Protestant Pulpits
Sept. 18 - The Associated Press
Muslim Charities See Boost in Donations With New Accreditation Program That Aims To Ease Fears
Sept. 18 - The Washington Post
Groups Push To End Hiring Bias Legalized for Religious Charities
Sept. 18 -The Associated Press
Thousands March in Iran Opposition Protests

Read more Religion News »

North Park | Sheep and Goats

2009-09-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

Denomination: Congregational Christian Church
Address: 2717 University Avenue, North Park, 619-297-3289
Founded locally: 1912
Senior pastor: A. Wayne Riggs
Congregation size: about 50
Staff size: 2
Sunday school enrollment: around 10
Annual budget: $137,000
Weekly giving: n/a
Singles program: no
Dress: casual to formal
Diversity: diverse
Sunday worship: 9:45 a.m.
Length of reviewed service: 1 hour
Website: plymouthcongregationalchurch.blogspot.com

Read the story by clicking here.........

A Bit Of Humor

2009-09-11T12:33:00.001-07:00

Pew Forum in the News

2009-09-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

Sept. 6 - Los Angeles Times
Catholic Dioceses Take to the Airwaves To Bring Followers Back to Church
An article about how some Catholic dioceses are turning to television commercials to encourage less-devout Catholics to return to the church cites data from the Pew Forum's "Faith in Flux" survey, which found that a majority of those who were raised Catholic but have left Catholicism say they just gradually drifted away from the faith.

Sept. 10 - The Washington Post
Many Women Targeted by Faith Leaders, Survey Says
Sept. 9 - The Washington Post
Opposition to Health Care Reform Revives Christian Right
Sept. 8 - The Wall Street Journal
China Acts as Xinjiang Tensions Rise
Sept. 8 - The Australian
Catholics Rally To Challenge Silvio Berlusconi
Sept. 7 - Los Angeles Times
Iran Announces Plan To Purge Universities of Western Influences
Sept. 6 - The Associated Press
Catholic Bishops Question Details of Health Care Overhaul
Sept. 6 - The Courier-Journal
Muslim Youth Wrestle With Post-9-11 Suspicion
Sept. 6 - The Dallas Morning News
State Tells Schools To Teach Bible Literacy but Not How
Sept. 5 - Deseret News
Utahns are Nation's Most Charitable
Sept. 4 - The New York Times
Delays in Muslims' Cases Spur Interfaith Call to Action

Runaway teen convert can remain in Florida for now

2009-09-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

ORLANDO, FL - A 17-year-old girl who says she ran away from her Muslim family in Ohio because she feared she could be killed for converting to Christianity can remain in Florida for now.

An Orlando judge signed an order Thursday sealing a police report for at least ten days until lawyers for Rifqa Bary, her parents, and child welfare officials can read it. The report contains the results of a two-week investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into Bary's family and home life.

The attorney for Bary's mother says the report shows that the teen's fears are unfounded.

The case is headed for a trial in which the judge will hear testimony and decide whether Bary should be returned to Ohio. She has been placed with a foster family in Florida and wants to stay with them.

The judge set a pretrial hearing for the end of this month.

An Honor Killing in America?

2009-08-28T09:02:00.001-07:00

The Case of Rifqa Bary: An Honor Killing in America?

Russ Jones

August 28, 2009

"I was threatened by my dad," Rifqa told media. "I had a laptop, and he took that laptop and waved it in the air and he was about to beat me with it, and he said, 'If you have this Jesus in your heart, you're dead to me. You're not my daughter.' And I refused to speak but he said, 'I will kill you. Tell me the truth.' So I knew that I had to get away." Read this new American story here....

Most Popular Articles of the Week

2009-08-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

ELCA Assembly: Was God in Either Whirlwind?
(Christianity Today)
Tornado touches convention center as Lutherans approve sexuality statement by the exact margin it needed to pass.

Real Love, Real Sex
(Today's Christian Woman)
"Verbal Poison" and "Behind Closed Doors"

Husband Bashing
(Marriage Partnership)
When I joined in on a gripe-fest about spouses, God taught me a lesson I'll never forget.

Here We Are to Worship
(Christianity Today)
Six principles that might bring a truce to the age-old tension between tradition and popular culture.

'I Lost My Job'
(Today's Christian Woman)
My husband's announcement forced me to face a truth about God.

2009-08-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

True worship is the pause that refreshes!

2009-08-15T19:59:00.001-07:00

THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES

Psalm 121; John 4:19-24

The sermon title is familiar you've heard it on radio you've seen it on TV you've read it in magazine ads and unless you're very different you've tasted the product to which this phrase commonly refers. The sermon isn't about Coca Cola and there will be no announcement that Plymouth Church is now under the sponsorship of one of the worlds wealthiest multi-national corporations. I took the title without permission from Coke or its sponsors. After all, they didn't get my permission to use it. Back on a hot summer's day in 1943 after a ten hour day in the hay field, I would stop off in the hollow just below our house and dip myself in the cold spring water. My brothers & I had built a little dam there to make a pool just deep enough to put water up to a child's neck when in a sitting position. "Ah," I would say, "This is the pause that refreshes". So, this morning, after all these years, I'm simply taking my phrase back out of context of the coke ad, or my dip in the spring water, for that matter, to try to make a point for us all. The point is simply: true worship is the pause that refreshes!

This season of Pentecost is filled with a good deal of admonition for Christians to "grow" that is the subliminal message of the green on the altar, green being the color most often associated with living, growing things. In the scheme of things, that is the emphasis of the Pentecost season and I'm not saying that it is a bad emphasis and certainly not saying that we shouldn't want to grow in all areas of the Christian life. But growth often means "change” and it always take energy. Here on this 11th Sunday in Pentecost, with another 14 Sundays to go until Advent Sunday on November 29, maybe we all feel like we've been ten hours in the hay field, and we don't have a lot of energy left and a dip in a cool mountain spring might be just what we need.

So, all I'm asking this morning is that we focus together on the experience that we're sharing right now. Don't take copious notes about what you ought to do when you leave here-- or about changes you have to make out there in the future. If I come up with "Ought-to-dos" as we Clergy are inclined just ignore them. I guess I didn't really have to say that, did I? Simply, let us lay claim to what is already here for us worship, the pause that refreshes.

I.TRUE WORSHIP IS THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES BECAUSE IT PUTS US IN TOUCH WITH THE LIVING, LOVING GOD.

To me, the first element of true worship is praise! Paul often began his letters with that reminder. Ephesians 1:3 gives this reminder: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realm with every spiritual blessing". Paul goes on to say some very refreshing things. He says that in love, God has given us His grace, He has adopted us as His children, he has forgiven us our wrongdoing. That includes all the oughts we've ignored in a life-time. One of my favorite hymns of praise begins, God of grace and God of Glory on thy people pour thy power.” And it concludes with these prayerful words: "Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the dark of sin away; Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of day."

Isn't it refreshing to go somewhere where you're so fully accepted, so fully loved? No pretense necessary, no requirement that you wear exactly the same "piety" as your neighbor or that you conform to some pre-determined set of thoughts or rules. Just that we come with awareness in our hearts that we are children of God, and that we muster a word of genuine praise for that fact. I reflected as I wrote this sermon about the places in which I've led people in worship, and about the life circumstances of those who came together looking for that pause that refreshes. In the mess decks and flight decks and hanger bays of ships, on beautiful, sandy, hostile beaches bordering the jungles of Southeast Asia, in the quiet mountain settings of the Blue Ridge, and on the plains of Kansas. What is the common denominator that drew people together? And then, I thought about my very first preaching experience as a freshman in Bible College going each Sunday afternoon with the Jail mission group to Knoxville County Jail. I could almost hear them singing-- those men in the Black cell block which became my regular place to lead worship and the words of the song that they used every Sunday at the close of worship told me what that common denominator is: "Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou biddest me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I Come, I Come. Just as I am, Thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve, because thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come." Acceptance! How refreshing it is to be where we are accepted just as we are. Worship is that place worship is the pause that refreshes.

II.WORSHIP IS THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES, BECAUSE AT ITS BEST, IT REMINDS US THAT WE ARE ALWAYS IN THE PRESENCE OF THIS LIVING, LOVING GOD.

The beautiful Psalm 121 which we read this morning is part of the collection of psalms, or songs, that were sung by the ancient Jewish pilgrims as they made their way to Jerusalem to feel, in a special way, the presence of God in the Temple. But, the words of that song say, in a powerful way, that no Temple or shrine can contain this God who is the object of worship and the source of our help. As we lift up our eyes to the hills, we are reminded that God is the Maker of heaven and earth. Another of those Psalms asks, "When I consider the heavens, the moon and stars which you have made, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him? Yet, you have made him but little lower than the angels, and you crown him with glory." And yet another asks, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the morning, and settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." The God we worship in this place is not contained by this place. The God whose presence, and acceptance, we may sense in a special way here is also present with us in all the other days, and all the other places, and all the other circumstances in which we find ourselves.

This was a central message of Jesus-- one that got Him in trouble with religious leaders more than once. What he said to the woman at the well in Samaria, He also says to us: “God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth”. The Father is everywhere and He is with us in our strength, and in our weakness, in our times of joy and in our times of trouble. He was present with Jesus in the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee; with him in the temptations in the wilderness, with him in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is with us where we are right now, and where we will be tomorrow and the day after, and on and on. He is the God of all our days the God of our eternity. And we rejoice that he has made us, through Christ, His family.

The thresh-hold of the Jewish home has special significance. One never steps on it, but over it. It is the place of embarkation/ debarkation. On the inside, one is with family, in a place where there is love and esteem and a sense of value. Stepping over the thresh- hold to the outside world, one had to leave some of this sense of security behind. What the Psalmist is trying to say in the last two verses, is that on either side of the thresh-hold, there is God. "The Lord will keep you from all harm he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and for evermore." Worship the sense of an ever present God that is the pause that refreshes.

In true worship, we hear again the gracious words of our Lord, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Worship is the pause that refreshes as it assures us that we are accepted, loved, and given the companionship of our loving God through life's journey. Amen.

FREE LUNCH ALL DAY

2009-08-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

John Calvin, Father of the Reformed faith

2009-08-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

With his brother and sister and two friends, John Calvin fled Catholic France and headed to the free city of Strasbourg. It was the summer of 1536; Calvin had recently converted to the "evangelical" faith and had just published The Institutes of the Christian Religion, which articulated his Protestant views. He was a wanted man.

Finish this article from ChristianHistory.net.

Christian Symbols Series

2009-08-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

2009-08-07T11:15:00.001-07:00

World hunger reaches all-time high

2009-07-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

International (MNN) -- The number of people going hungry everyday has reached one billion for the first time in recorded history, according to Food for the Hungry. World leaders discussed spending 20 billion dollars in the next three years to confront the issue. However, they agree the ultimate goal is to get farmers in each country on their feet and providing enough crops. Until then, these people must be fed. To give to Food for the Hungry or sponsor a child, visit our Web site and select "Mission Groups."

5 Kinds of Christians

2009-07-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Understanding the disparity of those who call themselves Christian in America.
A new national survey co-sponsored by Leadership. Reported by Helen Lee

Jennifer Hua identifies herself as a Christian. A 35-year-old former attorney studying Christian counseling at the Wheaton College Graduate School (Illinois), she has gone to church all her life and is a lay leader in her suburban Chicago congregation. She furthers her spiritual development by daily Bible reading, prayer, listening to and singing worship songs, and interacting with other Christians. And every few months, she carves out time for a silent retreat. "I do all of these things because I know from past experience I need to recalibrate my mind and my heart to be in tune with God," she says.

James Smith also identifies himself as a Christian. He attended church as a child, but his attendance was minimal as a young adult. He believes in God, occasionally attends Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan when his time-consuming job in the finance district allows, but he does not often participate in other activities to further his spiritual life. He has a Bible but rarely opens it; what leisure time he has he spends with friends, most of whom are of different faiths, and he does not necessarily believe that his God is any different from the one his Muslim friend worships.

"I don't think that God would be a God who would shut others out of heaven because they don't use the word 'Christian' to describe themselves," he says. Read the whole story here....

WE CAN STILL HOPE

2009-07-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

19 July 2009, 7th Sun in Pentecost

Mark 6:35-41; Romans 5:1-5

Some may have grown tired of the frequent use of the word, “hope” during last year’s presidential election. Yet, we must admit that the message captured the attention -- and support -- of the majority of people who voted in that election. It isn’t a bad word, nor is it a bad practice as the ancient Greeks thought it to be. The mythological story of Pandora ’s Box recounted a time when the world was perfect because all the evils were collected and locked in that box. One day a curious man cracked open the lid and all the evils escaped and the myth was that the last evil out of that box was hope. It was seen as an evil because it so often left the hoping person destitute.

In the passage from the fifth chapter of Romans, "hope" is the central theme or, at least, Christian hope is. We could have read another passage from Paul in which he uses the word "hope". In the beautiful thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, Paul names the three pillars of Christianity, faith, hope, and love. He makes it clear that love is the greatest of these indeed, the greatest of all underpinnings of religion. But, it is abundantly clear in this passage in his letter to the Romans that there is a place for hope that it should not be discarded from the vocabulary or from the life of the true believer.

Did the people to whom Paul wrote need this word of encouragement about hope? You can bet that they did! They came from a faith system that had taught that the Emperors were "gods" that would live forever, and that "ordinary" people simply passed from the scene without hope of immortality. At one point in the evolution of their "religious" beliefs, they had taught that women didn't even have souls. Did they need hope? Indeed they did.

Do we need hope in these days? Obviously I believe that we do, or I would have chosen another topic for this morning's sermon. Life throws a lot of things our way and they're not all good. We all seem to get our fair share of discouragements and vexations and frustrations. (Did I hear an "amen" or two out there?) Crises arise, such as illness, personal failure of one sort or another, bereavement, and difficulty in the home or family. Hope, Christian hope, enables us to survive these seismic tremors at the foundations of our lives. But, it is the inevitability of death which all of us face that offers the most sweeping challenge of all. Without hope, darkness hangs over the sweetness of every infant, the beauty of every flower, and the grace of every virtue. Hope is a shining word that God has thrust among us in the midst of darkness, defeat, or despair. Paul says three things to all Christians in Romans 5:1-5 that I want to elaborate upon:

1. He says that hope is ours;
2. He says that hope is hard won; and
3. He says that hope is reliable.

HOPE IS OURS!

It may be useful to define the kind of hope of which Paul is speaking perhaps even distinguish it from other kinds of lingering hope. One of the characters that come alive in the pen of Charles Dickens is a Mr. Micawber. He lives on hope but it is the kind of hope that is never undergirded by any honest toil. In and out of debtor's prison for nonpayment of his debts, he keeps hoping that his ship will come in. For Mr. Micawber, hope is a substitute for work.

The American humorist, John Billings, commenting on this kind of hope wrote, "I never knew a man who lived on hope but what spent his old age at somebody else's expense." This kind of hope is dangerous. If, for instance, world leaders keep hoping that problems created by overpopulation in some parts of the world will simply go away, and do nothing about them, then we are headed for disaster. If we continue to pollute the air and water, hoping that everything will be alright, then, again, we're living on false hope. If we continue to waste natural resources as if they are inexhaustible, then we will leave no inheritance to the future. Hope is not a substitute for action.

Another kind of hope is "reasonable expectation". As an example, someone is injured in an automobile accident, leaving the family anxious about recovery. The person receives the best possible medical attention, and after consultation among the doctors, one of them comes to the family and says, "You have every reason to hope for the best". The Doctor's experience with similar cases makes it possible for them to offer hope, because there is a reasonable expectation of recovery.

The hope on which Paul speaks is certainly more than wishful thinking, even more than reasonable expectation. He speaks of "hope" as confident assurance, assurance of sharing the glory of God. I remember sitting in the crowded basement of Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church near Quantico, Va. in 1975 at a celebration dinner on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of that congregation. We had had a two hour worship service at which I had preached. The service was to have been a half hour longer, but my thirty minute sermon was too short. They liked an hour sermon; they just don't make congregations like thy used to! Anyway, I couldn't help but comment to the Pastor & Deacons at whose table I was seated, that their worship service was joyful and full of life with everyone involved. "That's our inheritance" the Pastor explained. "You see, we know that no matter how hard life has been for us, or is going to be, that we will share in the glory of God." That is the hope of which Paul speaks regardless of what is happening around us, whatever our crises or discouragements, we will share in the glory of God.

HOPE IS HARD WON.

For many, laying hold on this kind of hope begins with suffering. I read a brief story about Ernest Gordon, one of the outstanding Chaplains of Princeton University. For him, the journey of faith and hope began in a Japanese concentration camp during WWII which he entered as an avowed agnostic and left as a committed Christian.
Indeed, he admitted that he would likely not have survived this experience but for embracing the Christian faith. In accepting the faith, a new window on life was opened to him, and it came to him through suffering.

Suffering produces endurance. It's a trite illustration, but try to remember all those drills your coach put you through as you prepared for the "big game", the ones where you thought you couldn't take another step or another breath and your muscles ached to the bone. The coach knew then and you know now that all that "suffering" had a by-product; that of endurance. You see, suffering is bearable if it has meaning, if it looks forward to something, if it has a goal. Hope may fully come to us on the heels of suffering and suffering will produce endurance and endurance will produce character. Paul says it much better with an added twist: "We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope." He even says, "rejoice in your sufferings". Is that the inheritance of that Black congregation, formed ten years after the emancipation proclamation?

HOPE IS RELIABLE.

The final verse of this brief passage reads: "And hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us." The hope of which Paul speaks is reliable because it rests upon God alone. This kind of hope is not built upon our intelligence, our performance, our connections, or even upon our character. Our wisdom, our works, our goodness, and our friends at some point may fall short of the glory of God. Though we are created in the image of God, our humanity is forever showing through in one way or another and our humanity falls short of the glory of God.

The presence of God's Spirit in our life continues to validate this hope. God's presence renews us, leads us into ways of thinking and living that enables us not only to bear life's disappointments and difficulties but to rise above them. There is no guarantee that we will never be discouraged but there is the assurance that in every circumstance of our lives, the God of love and hope is there with us. God is reliable, and that is why our hope, based in him, is reliable. In Jesus Christ, God has said to each of us, "Yes, you are my child". And that is the ground upon which Paul affirms to the Roman Christians, and to us, that this kind of hope does not disappoint! Outward circumstances do not decide the question of hope.

The point to which Paul is leading in these few verses from the fifth chapter of Romans isn't fully made until the end of the eighth chapter when he says, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Yes, we do need hope. There's a place for hope in our religion and it is so very close to faith and love when we see it rightly! Let this kind of hope shine in your heart, and let it radiate out into a world that indeed needs hope. Amen

Today's News

2009-07-12T10:59:00.001-07:00

More Families Are Becoming Homeless
Louis Gill doesn't like to turn anyone away. The director of the Bakersfield Homeless Center in California has taken to laying out cots and mattresses between the shelter's 174 registered beds to cope with the rush of homeless families brought to his doors by the financial crisis.
(By Alexi Mostrous, The Washington Post)

SENT WITH A PURPOSE

2009-07-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 1:1-14; Mark 6:7-13

One night a woman dreamed that she walked into a brand new shop. Much to her surprise, she found God working behind the counter. She asked God, “What do you sell here?” “Everything your heart desires,” God replied.

It was incredible. She was talking face to face with God. God just told her she could have anything she desired. “I want peace of mind and love and happiness and wisdom and freedom from fear,” she told God. Then almost as an afterthought she added, “not just for me, but for everyone on earth.” God smiled, “I think you’ve got me wrong, my dear. We don’t sell fruits here. Only seeds.”

This account from the Gospel of Mark of the sending of the twelve, leaves lots of spaces to fill in. What were the instructions about the content of the Disciples message? In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, there is a specific parable which was told before this sending of the twelve. It was the parable of the sower. In that parable, as in this account in Mark, Jesus did not predict success in every instance. You will be rejected in some places, he told them; "shake the dust off your feet as you leave". He told them that not all the seed would germinate. In the parable of the sower he said that some seed would soon be eaten by the birds. Some would fall among thorns which eventually would choke it out. But some seed would fall on good soil and it would produce an unbelievable harvest, “some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

I can just imagine the Disciples listening carefully to Jesus’ words. “What in the world is he talking about?” they murmured. Jesus knew the hearts of those to whom His Disciples would speak. He knew that some would walk away shaking their heads thinking that “this couldn’t possibly be a message from the messiah about the Kingdom of God.” Others would follow for a while until they found something else more interesting or until worldly concerns choked out the words of the Kingdom. But there were a few — only a few — who would make a choice that would change their lives forever.

I.THEIR PURPOSE WAS TO PRESENT A CLEAR CHOICE -- TO INVITE PEOPLE INTO KINGDOM LIVING.

Choices – decisions -- they are there for all of us. In my book, we make but three BIG choices in a lifetime: What work shall we follow? What shall we do with our God-given abilities to make a living for ourselves and contribute to the work of the world? The second big choice that most make is the one regarding a life partner. Needless to say, that has much to do with our contentment and sense of fulfillment in life. The third has to do with our life-style: shall we be guided by the principles of faith? That question is there for everyone to answer. Shall we live as if there is no God? Shall we live only for ourselves? Or shall we live life in this world with an awareness of our obligation to God and our neighbor?

Mother Teresa once made such a choice. And it wasn’t as early in her service as a nun as you might think. Initially, Mother Teresa did not set out to help the poor. For over twenty years she taught the wealthiest children in Calcutta, India. Every day she overlooked the impoverished slums and the people living in the streets that surrounded the well-to-do neighborhood in which she worked. She was perfectly content with her life. Until one night she was walking home and heard a woman crying out for help. Realizing the seriousness of the woman’s condition, Mother Teresa rushed her to the nearest hospital. At the hospital she was told to sit and wait. She knew the woman would die without immediate medical attention so she took the woman to another hospital. Again medical treatment was denied. The woman belonged to the wrong social caste. In desperation, Mother Teresa took the woman to her home. Later that night, the woman died in the comfort of Mother Teresa’s loving arms.

That night Mother Teresa resolved that this would never happen again to anyone within her reach. She decided that she would devote her life to easing the pain of those who suffered around her. Whether they lived or died, they would do so with dignity. She would personally do everything in her power to see that they would be treated better than they had ever been treated in their entire lives, with the love and respect that all people deserve.

Mother Teresa made a choice. Do you think she ever dreamed that by making that choice she would one day be named a saint? Do you imagine that she even dreamed how many lives she would eventually touch? Obviously not; we ever know when we are sowing seed what the result might be.

Clearly, when the Disciples went out to sow the seed of the Kingdom, they were offering a choice. And that choice is still relevant for our day.

II.THE MESSENGERS WERE TO TAKE THE MESSAGE -- TO BE THE SOWERS OF SEEDS -- AND TO TRUST THAT THERE WOULD BE A HARVEST.

It is interesting to me that former President Harry Truman’s parents revered the great Confederate general, Robert E. Lee. Interesting because my parents did too. My brother, Ralph, got Lee's last name as his middle name, and my brother, Bob, got his first name. I don't think they knew what the "E." stood for, or I'd probably have gotten that one! Anyway, at one point young Truman gave his mother a little portrait of Lee and she hung it beside her dresser. Harry’s favorite biographical essay was on Robert E. Lee. It included a letter that Lee wrote to his son in 1860. Here's part of what he wrote to his son: “You must be frank with the world. Frankness is the child of honesty and courage..Just say what you mean to do on every occasion, and take it for granted you mean to do right....” Robert E. Lee could not know when he wrote those words to his son that a century later a President of the United States Harry Truman would use those words as a guide for his own life. We never know what a harvest may come from seed we sow.

There was a motivational speaker who used to begin his speeches by asking audiences: Who was Jim Thorpe’s coach, who taught Einstein arithmetic in the 2nd grade, who was Paderewski’s piano teacher in the 6th grade? We might ask, who was Billy Graham’s Junior High Sunday School teacher? God promises us a bountiful harvest from tiny seed. Sometimes that seed is sown close to home.

You've probably read this story about Benjamin Franklin. One day he received a gift of a whisk broom from India. He noticed a few seeds fastened to the wisps of the broom. Franklin planted them. When the first crop came up he distributed the seeds among his friends and neighbors. Their crops flourished. In this way Franklin was responsible for introducing broom corn into the American colonies, and starting the American broom manufacturing industry. From tiny seeds sometimes come great harvests.

III.FOLLOWERS OF JESUS NEED TO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE SENT WITH A PURPOSE

These Disciples of Jesus did as he told them. What-ever his instruction might have been-- what ever he might have told them before they went out-- they were faithful in going. I often think, when I read the account of Pentecost in the book of Acts, that some of the three thousand who came into the church -- or should I say -- who became the church that day -- just might have been from those towns and villages the Disciples had visited three years before.

Sometimes it takes generations to see the results of our labors, but the fruit will come if we will be faithful. God will use the seed we sow to accomplish great things in this world, if we will only do our part.

A Western reporter interviewed Boris Yeltsin a short time after the fall of the former USSR and with it, communism in Russia. When asked what gave him the courage to stand firm and help insure the fall of Communism in the former U.S.S.R., Yeltsin credited the story he had read of Lech Walesa, the electrician who helped bring democracy to Poland several years before.

Similarly, Walesa had stated that he was inspired by reading accounts of the civil rights movement in this country, led by the late Dr. Martin Luther King.

Dr. King had previously indicated that he was spurred to action when he learned of the courage of one woman, Rosa Parks, who simply refused to sit in the back of the bus. She believed in freedom and equality, and had the courage to stand for what she believed.

We seldom know the potential of the seed we sow, but is it possible that the fall of Communism could be ultimately traced to one black woman who refused a seat in the back of the bus? That may seem to stretch the point, but think about it. We never know, do we? God gives us seeds. It’s up to us how we are going to use the seeds we are given. If we water and nurture the seed, however, harvest time will come. We are sent with a purpose to sow the seed of the Kingdom. May God help us to be faithful in this task, and may the seed fall on good ground and bring forth the fruits of peace of mind, love, happiness and contentment for all.

Amen

Happy 500th birthday John Calvin!

2009-07-10T14:33:00.001-07:00

John Calvin

(July 10) 2009 marks the 500th birthday of John Calvin, a prominent theologian during the Protestant Reformation. In honor of Calvin's birthday, CT began publishing a bimonthly column adapted and paraphrased from Institutes of the Christian Religion. The articles below include his columns and a collection of Christianity Today and Christian History articles that examine Calvin's work and Calvinism.

RE-FORMED
Christ Alone
Why indulgences are still a bad idea.
By John Calvin with Knox Bucer-Beza

RE-FORMED
The Real Prosperity Gospel
God's ways may be hidden, but his purpose for us is not.

RE-FORMED
Reverence for the Mystery
God does not have to answer to us for his ways.

THEOLOGY IN THE NEWS
Man of His Time for All Times
W. Robert Godfrey paints popular portrait of Calvin as pilgrim and pastor.

Young, Restless, Reformed
Calvinism is making a comeback—and shaking up the church.

SIDEBAR
It's All About God
A brief summary of Calvinism.

Books: Why Calvin Was a Calvinist
Rediscovering the Geneva Reformer in his long-lost catechism.

Teaching a Calvinist to Dance
In Pentecostal worship, my Reformed theology finds its groove.

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Arminian
My Reformed friends sometimes treat me like the enemy, but actually we need each other.

The Church of the First Adam

2009-07-09T19:19:00.001-07:00

The real problem with church attendance goes far beyond being simply boring or fun. It even goes far beyond the overused catch phrase of the mega-church movement: “relevant.” Where does the Bible claim that church should be fun or relevant? Or to ask the question a different way: What is the purpose of church? Is it only supposed to be a time when believers gather together each week to drop money in the plate and listen to a self-help sermon? If this is the case we could mail our checks in and watch an episode of Dr. Phil instead. The role of the local church is an important and vital one, but the modern idea of "doing" church has gotten so far away from the biblical understanding that it is no wonder that we must resort to advertising and marketing to remind the community that we exist. Read the whole story here.....

Differences in Religious Commitment by Age

2009-07-04T14:46:00.001-07:00

A new report by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends project finds that religious commitment generally increases with age, with older Americans more likely to say that religion is very important in their lives. Read the report »

How Good It Is to Thank the Lord

2009-07-04T13:46:00.001-07:00

Chuck Colson
Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Why Scripture Commands Us to Sing

At BreakPoint's blog, The Point, we had a lively debate over church music-especially the now-common practice of bands performing during Sunday worship.

Much of the debate focused contemporary music versus traditional hymns. But one of our bloggers invited readers to consider another question: Does God intend us to merely listen to music-or to sing ourselves?

Theologian T.M. Moore answers this question in an article he wrote for BreakPoint Online called "Whatever Happened to Singing?" It's curious, Moore writes, that "Scripture gives us no specific guidance in how to listen to music. Music, according to the Bible, is not the spectator sport we have made it to be." Instead, we find many commands to sing.

Earlier generations of Christians sang on all sorts of occasions, Moore writes. When they were locked up in jail, Paul and Silas sang psalms. So did early Christians as they went about their chores. As Moore notes: "Celtic Christians considered singing an important spiritual discipline for making progress in the life of faith. Their spiritual descendents of the 16th to the 19th centuries wrote songs for everything from lighting the fire to milking the cows to heading out to sea. They set those songs in the form of prayers to God for blessing, guidance, and help."

We see this point illustrated in the 1985 film Witness. After the barn-raising, Amish men sang together as they began walking home.

Why do so many modern Christians neglect the practice of singing spiritual songs?

First, it's much more enjoyable to listen to professional singers than to the sound of our own voices-especially if you have a voice like mine. Second, Moore writes, "singing is hard work." It "takes a commitment of the mind (in remembering the lyrics, melody, and beat). It takes a commitment of the heart (in summoning up the proper affections.)" It also calls on our strength "(in exercising the voice and lungs)."

It's much easier to pop a CD in the player.

Third, most of us don't know many spiritual songs all the way through.

But singing is good for us-which is why we ought to recover the spiritual discipline of singing to the Lord. And when learning the songs all the way through, we ought to look for opportunities to sing "the Lord's own words back to Him."

Moms could lead their kids in song on the drive to school in the morning. (It might even help wake them up.) Instead of turning on the TV after dinner, parents might lead their kids in some joyous singing to the Lord. This is a practice in Scotland. Just for fun, we might even dig up those songs Christians used to sing when they lit the fire and milked the cows.

Singing hymns about God's love and protection can also provide comfort in a dangerous situation-like when a loved one is undergoing surgery, or when you're driving during a blizzard.

As Moore puts it, "Singing psalms deepens us theologically, [and] puts us in the company of that great unseen host who have gone before us and surround us as faithful witnesses to the Lord."

So no matter what kind of voice you have, or what day of the week it is, lift up your voice and sing praise to God Most High.

PERFECT FATHERHOOD

2009-06-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

21 June 2009, Fathers Day

Ephesians 5:22-33; Exodus 20:12

This is Father's Day weekend when Dads are complimented, pampered, and given gifts. One little boy gave an interesting description of Father' Day. He said, "Father's Day is just like Mother's Day; only you don't spend as much on a present." You can readily see, I have abandoned the Lectionary readings in favor of a couple of scriptures that seem more appropriate to this occasion. In my dusty paper files there is an article that had been translated from a Dutch magazine which traced the thoughts of a Dutchman through the years -- but it likely transcends any particular nationality:

Here’s what he said:

4 years: My daddy can do anything.

7 years: My dad knows a lot, a whole lot.

8 years: My father doesn’t know quite everything.

12 years: Oh, well, naturally Father doesn’t know that, either.

14 years: Father? Hopelessly old-fashioned.

21 years: Oh, that man is out-of-date. What did you expect?

25 years: He knows a little bit about it, but not much.

30 years: Maybe we ought to find out what Dad thinks.

35 years: A little patience. Let’s get Dad’s assessment before we do anything.

50 years: I wonder what Dad would have thought about that. He was pretty smart.

60 years: My dad knew absolutely everything!

65 years: I’d give anything if Dad were here so I could talk this over with him. I really miss that man.

I titled today’s sermon "Perfect Fatherhood"; I cannot preach on it from experience. My father was not perfect and I followed perfectly in his footsteps -- as he had in his father's -- and very likely on and on back for generations.

Regardless of the relationship we had respectively with our earthly father, I hope this day can be for each of us a time when we can deal "graciously" with the imperfections -- real or imagined-- that our father had -- and think of him in a special way. I read a Father's Day reflection in which the author remembered a time when he wanted to call his father by his first name. He thought it meant that their relationship was taking on a more adult tone. His father didn’t object at all, but he did point out something significant to him. He said, “You can call me by my first name if you like. There are hundreds of people who do. But there are only three people in the world who can call me Dad. Which name do you think carries more weight?”

I've already confessed that I'm not preaching about what I've done or what I've been as a father when I address this subject of Perfect Fatherhood. I've given the subject considerable thought - and that, too, falls short of perfection. I also admit that some of my reflection may lead to the conclusion-- that like that Dutchman looking at his father at the age of 14, I'm hopelessly old-fashioned in my assessment of paternal roles. But let me share my thoughts with you anyway.

THE FIRST IS THE IMPORTANCE OF PROVIDING FOR THE FAMILY’S PHYSICAL WELL-BEING.

Most Dads are acutely aware of their role as provider. This is not to say that Dads are the sole support in most families today. The world has changed dramatically since WWII. The workplace which once demanded size and strength-- and even aggressiveness-- has been transformed. Now, intelligence, flexibility and cooperation-- qualities as native to women as to men-- (and dare I say that there may be some who insist that they are more natural to women) has transformed the workplace into a dual gender place. But the fact is that in my idealized role of the Dad, it still stands out that he is the provider. Hopelessly old fashioned!

But I may not be alone in this old-fashioned notion. Want proof of this? You probably know that more phone calls are placed on Mother’s Day than on any day of the year. Do you know that the most COLLECT calls are made on Father’s Day? Why do people pay for their calls to Mom but charge their Dads for their calls? Is there not still the subtle perception that a Dad should be providing for his kids and not vice versa?

The role of provider is an important one, but the wise father understands it has never been the most important role a Dad plays. If a Dad has taken time with his kids, if he has taught them positive lessons that will last them a lifetime, if he has played with them and prayed with them, and taught them responsibility, they will remember those things far more fondly than what kind of car the family drove or how big their house was. How much healthier most Dads would be and how much healthier most kids would be, if Dads understood that providing for a family is much more than a paycheck. Still, most Dads know they have a role as a provider.

THE SECOND THING THAT COMES TO MIND IS THAT THE PERFECT FATHER KNOW THAT CHILDREN NEED MODELS, NOT CRITICS.

Some years back there was a television interview with a San Diego native, a world heavy weight champion, George Foreman. You may know that Foreman did something quite extraordinary. He named all his sons George after himself. Some people accused Foreman of being egocentric, but Foreman explained it this way: He said he never knew who his father was. He was often picked on and shamed for not having a father at home. He grew up with a hole in his identity, never knowing who he really was. He has dedicated himself to being a better father to his sons. By giving them all his name, he had meant to give them the gift of identity. Their father was claiming them proudly as his own.

The gift of identity is the most important gift a Dad or a Mom can give their children. We do that, not by nagging, but by modeling love, acceptance and responsible living.

Jon Winokur has compiled and edited a book which is titled simply FATHERS. In it he quotes many high profile celebrities concerning their fathers. For example, he quotes billionaire Ted Turner: “One summer I made $50 a week,” says Turner, “and my father charged me $25 a week rent. I asked him if that wasn’t a little high. He said that if I could do better than that for food and lodging seven days a week I could move out.”

Winokur also quotes Pat Buchanan: “To impress upon us what the loss of the soul through mortal sin meant,” says Buchanan, “my father would light a match, grab our hands and hold them briefly over the flame, saying: ‘See how that feels? Now imagine that for all eternity.’”

To me these are quite revealing about the men Ted Turner and Pat Buchanan turned out to be. Let me share one more quote from golfer, Juan Rodriguez: “One night,” says Rodriguez, “at about two o’clock in the morning my father caught a man stealing bananas from our backyard. He went over to the man with his machete, took the bananas, cut the branch in half and said, ‘Here, you can have it.’ And then he said, ‘From now on, if you need anything from the back of our house, come to the front.’”

Children need models. This is the way children grow to understand what responsible, Christian living is all about. They learn not from nagging, but from exemplifying. They learn from watching those adults closest to them. How do you handle anger, disappointment, frustration? How do you treat people who are different from you? We can teach them all kinds of positive values here at church, but they will not have much impact if those values are not reinforced by the behavior of those at home.

THE THIRD THING IS THAT the PERFECT FATHER KNOWS THAT THEIR CHILDREN WILL ALWAYS NEED THEIR LOVE AND SUPPORT.

Parenting does not end when our children enter school or even when they finish school. Parenting is a life-time commitment to always be there with love and support. There was a story about a young track star from Great Britain who was a sure bet to win a gold medal in a 400-meter race. He got off to a superb start and moved out well ahead of the other runners. But, just short of the finish line, he collapsed, screaming in pain. He had ruptured his Achilles tendon several yards from what would have been certain victory in front of the royal reviewing stand where the diplomatic corps was seated. But that’s not the end of the story.

His father jumped out of the stands and lifted his injured son off the ground, put the athlete’s arm around his shoulder, and dragged his son across the finish line. He didn’t win the gold medal that day, but he did finish the race -- thanks to his Dad.

I’m glad to say that I do know one Perfect Father.

Here’s what is revealed by Jesus’ teaching about our Heavenly Father:

God is revealed to us in three persons: God, the creator and provider; God, the Son who is the model for how we should live; and God, the Holy Spirit, the one who jumps out of the stands and helps us across the finish line. God as Father is our Creator, Provider, Sustainer. God knew we needed to see the life of faith in human flesh, so God came to us in Jesus of Nazareth to be our Teacher, our Model, our Savior. After Christ’s Ascension, God came in the form of the Holy Spirit to sustain us in our daily walk.

Jesus came to affirm that while we all may lack perfection in our earthly fatherhood -- we can be and indeed are-- part of the Family of God in which there is revealed to us Perfect Fatherhood. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Vets fight ACLU to keep war memorial

2009-06-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

Charlie Butts - 6/15/2009 4:00:00 AM

Lawyers are providing written arguments in a case in which a cross has been banned at a veteran memorial in the Mojave Desert.

The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, filed suit because the cross, which honors soldiers who gave their lives for their country, was on federal property. Congress approved a bill that turned the one-acre site over to veterans in exchange for five acres of other land. Kelly Shackleford heads Liberty Legal Institute.

"The ACLU went into court and said, 'No, judge. You can't allow this land transfer.' And the judge has stopped the land transfer and said that the veterans' memorial, the cross, has to be destroyed," he explains. "It can't be given back to the veterans, and while it's on appeal right now it's actually covered in a plywood box so that no one is offended by the veterans' memorial."

The Supreme Court's decision will impact most government memorials and parks. "And the idea that we would begin tearing down, or bulldozing, or dismantling these memorials would be a disgrace," he adds, "and it's a disgrace right now that this memorial, which has been there for 75 years, is covered in a plywood box."

Shackleford represents 4,000,000 veterans in the case, which will be argued later this year.

Cartoon of the Week

2009-06-09T10:57:00.001-07:00

"Don't Touch That Dial"

2009-06-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

This is the first Sunday after Pentecost, that miraculous day that the Church was born through the coming of the Holy Spirit. Appropriately, the Church follows this remembrance and challenge with a season called Pentecost. The Lectionary readings are arranged during this Season to challenge us all to grow in Christ in every way: in our knowledge, in our love, in our understanding and in our service to the Kingdom. Following Christ is a life-long, full-time endeavor, and we need to stay alert to the opportunities for growth. In the Gospel lesson from John this morning, Jesus seems to be saying to his Disciples “Don't touch that dial-- Stay Tuned". Listen again to verses 12 and 13: "I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come." --Stay Tuned!

Today is observed in the Church as "Trinity Sunday"--it is observed by the Church around the world and it comes around once a year. It is not a concept easily mastered--or explained. We sang about it in our Hymn of Praise this morning-- a hymn that likely appears in about every Church hymnal of every denomination. "God in three persons, blessed Trinity". . . So the language of the "Trinity" is familiar language. It doesn't necessarily follow that because we use it, we understand it. And, I'm glad to say that we don't necessarily have to "understand" it to believe and use the language. If understanding something before you used it was an absolute requirement-- there would be a lot of things I couldn't use. The helicopter is one such thing. Like the bumble bee, it shouldn't fly -- but it does -- most of the time when it's supposed to. I don’t really understand how my cell phone works, but it has become an indispensable part of my daily life. We use lots of things we don’t fully understand.

Because we believe in the presence of the Holy Spirit, and our faith is named after Jesus the Christ, and we believe in One True God, shouldn't we at least wrestle with this doctrine of the Trinity -- and perhaps in it find something that moves us closer to the Kingdom living we need to do every day?

Stay tuned this morning -- Don't Touch That Dial.

The sermon texts are Romans 5:1-5a and John 16:12-15

Francis of Assisi

2009-06-06T07:50:00.001-07:00

In 2009, devotees of Francis around the world are celebrating the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Franciscan order. In 1209, Francis offered his simple rule to Pope Innocent III for approval. How much do you know about the barefoot, nature-loving, wandering preacher? Take this quiz, then wander through Christian History Issue 42: Francis of Assisi.

2009-06-05T22:12:00.001-07:00

From the Pastor’s Pen

2009-03-06T15:47:00.000-08:00

Facing the Need For Change

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Thus begins the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, one of the books of wisdom attributed to Solomon. The theme continues through a litany of contrasts, each denoting dramatic change. For instance, "a time to love and a time to hate" or "a time for war and a time for peace". Although the text never uses the word "change", it is more than implied throughout the chapter: there is a time for change!

This has been on the mind and hearts of the leadership of our small congregation as we begin a new church year. In the course of my pastorate over the past 18 plus years, we have lost 62 members to death and another 15 have moved away. The Arrudas and Rosie Verdugo left to join another church. Philip Ham just quit coming. We now have a membership of just 50 persons with a usual attendance of between 30 and 40 each Sunday.

We have visitors from time to time, but not regularly and though several were from out of town and not expected to return, many over the past years have been from the local neighborhood. Why haven't they come back, and what do we need to change to be a more attractive worshipping community which they will want to eventually join? The Cabinet is searching for answers to these questions. Consensus is that we cannot keep doing the same thing and expect different results. Something has to change, perhaps more than one thing. So each Board and Committee is taking a look at its area of responsibility and examining the possible changes that might need to be made in order to achieve the growth that Plymouth Church needs for the present, and especially for the future.

At the same time, we are trying to maintain a perspective that Plymouth is fulfilling its stated mission, "To Serve God by Serving the People of This Community." I took note of the number of people who use our facilities each week and who feel so blessed to have space here to pursue their needs. One AA group meets 6 days a week with a daily average of 20; Five other AA groups total 265 weekly, a Friday night service hosts about 25, Church of God, 7th day about 60 and the same for the Korean church, and a new group, Restoration Fellowship, meets Sunday evening with about 25 Spanish speaking members. Head Start's 57 children & families and dozens of SPIN parents depend upon these facilities.

But, in order to continue to serve, Plymouth Church must remain an alive and vibrant host and servant of our Lord. To do that, we must grow in numbers -- and to do that we must together make some changes!

Wayne Riggs, Pastor

From;The Herald March & April 2009, a bimonthly publication of Plymouth Congregational Church

Received by US Mail on March 05, 2009

Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice~Report

2009-02-19T11:48:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As many of you know, in late January University of California Service Workers reached a tentative agreement with UC management. Bringing the year and a half UC contract campaign to an end, Service Workers have nearly unanimously voted to ratify the tentative agreement. The five year contract agreement will allow workers and their families to take a real step out of poverty.

The ICWJ is overjoyed to announce this fantastic achievement and would like to thank each of you for standing in solidarity with workers through their long and difficult journey for a fair and just contract. Your continuous support over the past year and a half provided workers with the encouragement needed to carry on their struggle.

Please click here to read the press release from AFSCME 3299, the union that represents UC Service Workers, which outlines the significant gains that workers made.

Blessings,

Dawn M. Stary Sweeney

Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice of San Diego County

3727 Camino Del Rio South| San Diego, CA 92108

619.584.5744 x60|619.446.7932 (cell)|619.584.5748 (fax)

www.icwj.org

Changing the future for workers and their families!
Join us by making a tax-deductible donation today!

Fight against poverty unites Christian left and right

2009-02-18T21:15:00.000-08:00

Liberal and conservative groups bridge some differences in new collaborative efforts to fight the problem.

By Jane Lampman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the February 18, 2009 edition

Capitol Hill may not be embracing bipartisanship, but some in America's faith community are making strides in that direction. Christians from the right and the left have begun bridging political and religious differences to seek solutions to one of the nation's most persistent problems: poverty.

On Tuesday, a new bipartisan group called the Poverty Forum released a series of specific proposals aimed at reducing domestic poverty and keeping Americans hit by the economic crisis from joining the ranks of the poor. The group of 18 leaders – headed by the Rev. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, and Michael Gerson, President Bush's former speechwriter and policy adviser – has worked since November to develop concrete antipoverty policies they hope will gain widespread support.

"We wanted to transcend political differences and find 'what's right and what works,' as opposed to what's left or right, or what's liberal or conservative," says Mr. Wallis, a progressive Evangelical. Read the remainder of the article here.....

2009-02-14T22:32:00.001-08:00

Plymouth Young People - Holy is the Lord (Live)

2009-02-09T15:08:00.001-08:00

Chris Tomlin 2009

Performance Date: 3/3/2009, 7:00 pm

Tickets - Reserved Seating -$29.50 / $35 at the door
(Surcharges apply)

The Rock Church
2277 Rosecrans St.
San Diego, CA 92108

To purchase tickets by phone please call 877-840-0457.

** Event Hotline - 408-369-8222 **

Spiritual Gifts

2009-02-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

Survey Describes the Spiritual Gifts That Christians Say They Have

God has given Christians a variety of spiritual gifts to facilitate serving. Our latest survey explores how many Christians have even heard of spiritual gifts and, among those who have, which gifts they claim to have. The various segments of the Christian community in the U.S. have different response patterns that help to explain some of the conditions the Church faces today. To read this brief report and some of the implications of this research, click on the image or the link below.
Spiritual Gifts of Americans

Agua Questions

2009-02-04T14:50:00.000-08:00

The city of San Diego's Water Department is in the midst of crafting a plan to address the water cuts that are expected to come from the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District this summer.

Instead of limiting irrigation to specific days as a way to cut use, the city is planning to calculate residents' average consumption from 2005 to 2007 and ration a specific percentage of that. Residents or businesses that exceed their allotment would pay a rate between two and four times higher than normal.

I'm sitting down tomorrow afternoon with Alex Ruiz, the Water Department's assistant director, to question him about the plan for a Qamp;A that will run this weekend. If you have questions or concerns about water-supply cuts to pose to the city, e-mail them to me before noon Thursday at rob.davis@voiceofsandiego.org

Alternately, you can go straight to the top. Mayor Jerry Sanders is holding three water forums next week to gather public input.

-- ROB DAVIS

Rick ’n Jesus

2009-01-30T21:15:00.000-08:00

By Timothy George

Both Billy Graham and Rick Warren are ordained ministers in the Southern Baptist Convention, but their ecumenical import and stature as worldwide ambassadors for Christ have far exceeded their early success as a brash youth evangelist and a colorful church planter. From his base at Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, Warren has garnered great influence as a bestselling author, a crusader against AIDS, and one of the most winsome representatives of the evangelical community in America today. Rick Warren is the new Billy Graham.

This is why Barack Obama invited Warren to offer the prayer of invocation at his presidential inauguration. By any standard, it was a model prayer extolling the virtues of humility, integrity, and generosity and asking for God’s blessings on our new national leader. But then he spoiled all this, some say, by offering his prayer in Jesus’ name, and in four languages at that—Jesus, Jésus, Yeshua, and Isa. This was not the ceremonially correct thing to do, many said, even though Warren made clear that his invocation of Jesus was an expression of personal witness: “I humbly ask this in the name of the One who changed my life.” Read the whole article here......

Timothy George is the founding dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and a member of the editorial board of First Things.

Service Workers reach tentative agreement with UC management

2009-01-29T16:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice is overjoyed to announce that University of California Service Workers at all 10 UC campuses and 5 UC medical centers across the state have reached a tentative agreement with UC management, which they are confident will lead to the ratification of a fair and just contract! After a year and a half at the bargaining table, Service Workers remained resolute in their pursuit for a strong contract that would help them take a step out of poverty. Their struggle, reinforced with solidarity from the faith community, has resulted in an excellent contract that will greatly benefit workers and their families.

Please click here for specific details about the tentative agreement.

AFSCME Local 3299 members and staff and the ICWJ would like to generously thank the countless clergy and faith leaders who raised their voice in solidarity with UC Service workers throughout their long and arduous contract struggle.

Blessings,

Dawn M. Stary Sweeney

Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice of San Diego County

3727 Camino Del Rio South| San Diego, CA 92108

619.584.5744 x60|619.446.7932 (cell)|619.584.5748 (fax)

www.icwj.org

Changing the future for workers and their families!
Join us by making a tax-deductible donation today!

2009-01-29T10:21:00.001-08:00

A Pastor's Revolutionary Vision

2009-01-28T21:31:00.001-08:00

The name August Hermann Francke may not be widely known today, but this gentle and innovative teacher helped launch the modern wave of Protestant missions, education, and translation.
Robert Eric Frykenberg

What do Bible translations, orphan schools, and science laboratories have in common? For a German pastor and professor named August Hermann Francke (1663-1727), they were all part of fulfilling the Great Commission to "make disciples of all nations." Every man, woman, and child in the world, Francke believed, should be able to read and understand the Word of God in his or her own language. This meant that translation and education should go hand in hand. For over 30 years, Francke strove to provide basic literacy and access to Scripture in the "mother tongue" for as much of the world as possible, and his pioneering efforts became the model for all Protestant missionary translation and education projects after him.

Finish this article from ChristianHistory.net.

JOIN ICWJ next week at two different rallies

2009-01-16T14:03:00.001-08:00

Patient Care workers at all 10 UC campuses settled a fair and just contract in October of last year. However, thousands of Service workers continue to struggle, after a year and a half in negotiations, for a contract that will help them take a step out of poverty. ICWJ remains in solidarity with UC Service workers and will stand with them next week at two different rallies.

Join Us!

UCSD Campus

Wednesday, January 21, 2008

12:00pm – 1:15pm

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla 92037

At the corner of Gilman Drive and Villa La Jolla Drive

Please remember: Wear comfy shoes and sunscreen and bring $2 in quarters for parking meters. If you are coming from North County you can take
the 101 bus to the Gilman Parking Structure stop.

UCSD Hillcrest Medical Center

Thursday, January 22, 2008

11:30am – 12:30pm

200 West Arbor Drive, San Diego 92103

In Front of the Main Lobby

Please remember: Wear comfy shoes and sunscreen. Parking can be difficult so please allow a few minutes to find a parking spot and bring $2 in quarters for metered parking

If you have any questions please contact Dawn Stary Sweeney by phone at 619.584.5744 x60 or by email at Dawn@ICWJ.org

We hope you have a wonderful day and
look forward to seeing you soon!

EDITING THE DICTIONARY

2009-01-14T18:57:00.000-08:00

The Triumph of Ideology
Chuck Colson

Lisa Saunders of County Down in Northern Ireland has four children, ages 7 to 14. As you might expect, she has plenty of experience helping them with their homework.

But nothing in her experience prepared her what she recently discovered while helping her son.

When she consulted the 2007 edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary, she was surprised that the words "moss" and "fern" were no longer in the dictionary. That made her curious about what else had been omitted. So she compared the 2007 edition to the six previous editions and what she found "horrified" her.

Gone were words like "coronation," "willow," and "goldfish." In their place were words like "MP3 player," "blog," and "biodegradable." Not surprisingly, words reflecting Britain's Christian heritage were especially hard hit: "abbey, altar, bishop, chapel, christen, disciple, monk, nun, pew, saint," and "sin" were all axed. Even Christmas took a hit: "carol," "holly," and "mistletoe" were removed.

In their place, kids got "tolerant," "interdependent," and "bilingual."

Saunders is concerned that eliminating "so many words associated with Christianity will have a big effect on the numerous primary schools who use it."

That's exactly the idea. The head of the children's dictionary at Oxford University Press admitted as much. She said that "the environment has changed." "We are also much more multicultural," she added. And she said that "people don't go to Church as often as before" and "our understanding of religion is within multiculturalism."

In other words, we judge our religion by our ideology-in this case, multiculturalism-not vice-versa.

What Oxford University Press sees as changing with the times, others see as discarding Britain's cultural and religious heritage. As one Buckingham University official put it, "[Britain has] a certain Christian narrative which has given meaning to us over the last 2,000 years. To say it is all relative and replaceable is questionable."

What masters the Brits are of understatement. As writer Erin Manning pointed out, at the same time Saunders exposed the verbal vandalism, a prominent philosopher has written a new book arguing that "Europe must call itself Christian."

In Why We Must Call Ourselves Christians, Marcello Pera writes that Europe's only hope for unity lies in acknowledging its Christian roots. It is "Christianity's concept of the human person as created in the image of God" that justifies European "values," he wrote.

He warns that if Europe cuts itself off "from these Christian principles . . . [it] will have destroyed [it] constitutional heritage" and leave itself vulnerable to attack from those hostile to its values.

What makes Pera's argument remarkable is that he is an atheist! His book came in response to questions posed by Pope Benedict.

That an atheist philosopher is ready to acknowledge Christianity's role in defining Europe exposes how preposterous these dictionary antics are-a kind of foolishness whose impact can be felt far beyond "numerous primary schools."

2009-01-13T15:44:00.001-08:00

Christianity Is No Longer Americans’ Default Faith

2009-01-12T11:36:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the New Year! In our first Barna Update of 2009, we look at the selection processes people are using in relation to the development of their faith and morals. Specifically, this Update dives into our findings regarding people’s openness to embracing faiths other than Christianity, the adoption of theological perspectives that are not from the Bible, and how significant faith is in people’s moral decision-making. President-elect Obama has promised significant change. It’s already happening in the spiritual realm! Read about it in the new Update. Click here Americans and Their Faith

Gideons International marks 100 years at world's bedside

2009-01-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

Gideons International is celebrating its 100th anniversary distributing Bibles and has begun efforts to hand out more Scriptures in the U.S. to boost a distribution rate that's remained flat in recent years.

2009-01-01T20:30:00.001-08:00

ICWJ General Meeting

2008-12-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

REMINDER!

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As New Year’s is so close to our scheduled monthly
General Meeting we have rescheduled
January’s meeting for the SECOND Friday of the month,

January 9^th, 10am to Noon at Christ the King Catholic Church
(29 North 32^nd Street, on the corner of Imperial Avenue in San Diego, 92102)

The ICWJ staff wishes you warm holiday greetings and looks forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Blessings,

Elizabeth Maldonado, Outreach Coordinator
Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice of San Diego County
619-584-5740
Elizabeth@ICWJ.org

Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice of San Diego County
Check us out on the web! Visit: http://www.ICWJ.org

The last sermon of the year!

2008-12-27T21:30:00.001-08:00

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Deut. 34:1-12; Philippians 3:12-16

The First Sunday after Christmas is always the last Sunday of the year, at least on our western calendar. The Jewish New Year has come and gone, Islamic New Year’s Day is December 29, the Chinese New Year is January 26. Having had four services focusing on the Advent, and a Christmas Eve Candle light service, it hardly seems appropriate to preach another Christmas sermon, and it’s not quite time for a New Year’s sermon, so what is a preacher to do? Well, without consulting my flock, I decided to take a look at where I am at this time of the year compared to where I would like to be. Looking at two organizations through which I’ve invested a lot of time and effort, ICWJ and the Affordable Housing Coalition, we are far from where we want to be in the matter of improving the lives of the working poor. I lament that there's a lot of unfinished business but I suspect there always will be; as our Lord noted, "The poor you will have with you always."

"Unfinished business", is not new to our age & time. Perhaps it is part of the human condition, something that we will find recorded in the life accounts of some of God’s most faithful servants. And so I began a search for scriptures that might shed some light on this matter for us. Hence the two readings for this morning replaced the Lectionary readings for today. Unfinished Business that's what this sad story of Moses is about. And it is precisely why St. Paul was giving his personal testimony to the Church at Philippi. "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect", he said, “but I press on to make this goal my own.” So now, surrounded by two great men like Moses and Paul perhaps we can consider the unfinished business of our lives during 2008 with less guilt.

The account of Moses' death which we read together is particularly sad because he had spent the last third of his life 40 years trying to forge a Nation out of a rebellious band of former slaves that he had brought out of Egypt at the Lord God's bidding. He went to Mt. Nebo just over the border from the Promised Land-- he looked across it, but died before actually reaching the goal he'd been moving toward. That's part of our human condition; circumstances well beyond our control often prevent the completion of that which we started out to accomplish. No matter how long or how short our lives may be, there is always going to be some unfinished business left at the end of them. Mozart died at the age of 35; who knows how much wonderful music died with him? And, Abraham Lincoln whose leadership was desperately needed to heal our nation at the end of that tragic war was denied that role by an assassin's bullet. And Martin Luther King, Jr. who had awakened the conscience of our nation, whose insistence on the principles of nonviolence was instrumental in moderating extremes on both sides of the issue of integration and full citizenship for all, was killed at the age of 39. Much unfinished business was left, and still remains.

But, there is another kind of unfinished business the kind that we can still address because we are the living. And that is really what I'd like us to think about on this last Sunday of 2008. And if you're here this morning without any unfinished business, just listen to this sermon as if you were a priest hearing confessions, and give the rest of us absolution on your way out the door.

We don't like loose ends, do we? We are uncomfortable when we have to end something without being able to complete it. We're taught from our earliest years, to finish what we start. "Don't put more on your plate than you're going to be able to eat". When I first went through the "chow line" as it was called, on a Navy ship, some Mother's words had been rearranged to read: "Take all you want but eat all you take." Don't take music lessons if you don't plan to master your instrument. Don't try out for a sport if you're not going to stick with it-- at least through the season. Don't start college unless you plan to graduate. We're taught that success demands sticking with a task until it's done. We're taught that a good rule for life is: "if a thing isn't worth finishing, it's probably not worth starting."

But there's another side of this coin. It's a great likelihood that none of us ever accomplishes everything we want to accomplish, no matter how long and hard we work at it. Part of coming to terms with life is learning to come to terms with loose ends. If we're trying to live successfully, there will never be a time when we reach all our goals. As we achieve one, we will immediately find another one. For as long as we live if we're truly living there will be some place we want to get to, some figurative river to cross, some figurative mountain to climb. So, how do we balance these two opposites that of wanting to finish what we start and of wanting to continue to truly live? I want to briefly share three observations about the unfinished business of life.

WE CAN, AND NEED TO, REDUCE THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS OF OUR LIVES.

For one thing, I'm thinking about the loose ends in our relationships. For most of us if not all of us it's true that if we died this minute, there's somebody in our lives who would have desperately needed to hear something that we desperately needed to say, but haven't yet said. These are loose ends that we can and should tie up. Who is it in your life that needs to hear you say: "I'm sorry," "I love you" I'm proud of you", "I forgive you", "I need you", "You mean very much to me", "Please forgive me", "I really appreciate all you've done for me"? To whom do you need to say some of these words-- or words like them? I appreciate so many of those clippings that Jean Hull gives me. This one seems so appropriate: "It is never too soon to do a kindness, for we never know how soon it will be too late." It reminds us that there will never be a better time than this moment. It also carries the somber reminder that there may never be another time. That's some business that we can finish.

I'm also thinking of some of the things we want and need to do for our personal enrichment. Things that are within your reach that we can do with a little effort. I don't know exactly what they are for you, but I raise the questions that I raise for myself. When will these things get done? Next year? Ten years from Now? When you retire? If you want to do something and it's within your reach, you don't have to leave that business unfinished. Vickie & I will have been married 20 years next Thursday and for many of those 20 years I’ve talked of a vacation trip to Greece, one of the places I enjoyed most during my travels in the Navy. God willing, we’ll finish that unfinished business during 2009!

WHILE IT'S GOOD TO FINISH WHAT WE BEGIN, THERE'S A LOT TO BE GAINED SIMPLY BY WORKING TOWARD OUR GOALS.

Perhaps you've heard the story of two small boys who decided to try to dig a hole to China. They dug fervently for a number of days, but they took time to play games in the hole. They studied all the bugs they found, and collected some in a bottle. After a while an older boy in the neighborhood came by and asked them what they were doing. "Digging a hole to China", came the reply. The older boy laughed out loud at the answer. "You'll never get to China," he said with contempt in his voice. At that, one of the excavators picked up a container of bugs and said, "So what if we don't get all the way to China? Look what we found on the way!"

Working toward worthy goals in our lives is commendable, and even if we don't completely reach those goals, we must take the pleasure we can get from the effort itself. After all, it's not just the destination it's the journey. Goals are good, but sometimes we may become so preoccupied with the top of the mountain that we fail to see the beautiful things all around us on the way up. We need to learn how to celebrate our progress by looking back once in a while to see how far we've come. As strange as it may seem, we also need to learn how to celebrate our struggles on the way up, for they made us strong enough to get where we are. All these things we can celebrate, quite apart from whether or not we ever reach the top of the mountain.

This final observation about our unfinished business is the one I'd like for us to leave here with today.

ULTIMATELY IT IS GOD, AND GOD ALONE, WHO MAKES THE DETERMINATION OF HOW COMPLETELY WE'VE FULFILLED OUR PURPOSE IN THIS WORLD.

To our minds, it is sad that Moses died when he did. So near, and yet so far away! He was allowed to see, but not to touch, the Promised Land. And as for Paul, we can be reasonably sure that he did not achieve his desired goal of "perfection" because like us, Paul was human. In our "achievement-oriented" thinking, the life of Moses was tragically unfulfilled. But notice how that chapter ended:

(Paraphrased) "There was never another one like him. Consider all that God had done through him. Nobody ever knew the Lord face-to-face as had Moses."

The Bible has other criteria than we do for evaluating the life of a person. In the judgment of this world, one's life is deemed successful on the basis of human standards: how prominent one becomes, how much power one exercises, how much material wealth one accumulates. The Bible, in sharp contrast, has only one real criterion for determining the success of the life of a person: conformity to God's will as it becomes made known to that individual. By that standard, the life of Moses was successful.

So, perhaps there is some unfinished business for all of us after all. Can we say that we are as fully tuned in to the will of the Father as we might be? Can we say that we are as spiritually open to God's guidance as we might be? Can we say that we have practiced the faith been as involved in Kingdom living-- as we might have been? Can we say that we truly love our neighbors as we love ourselves? If not, then, we have some unfinished business in our life of faith. We then can say with Paul, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things." Unfinished business we leave the year with it, and we'll leave this life with it. As it was with Moses-- as it was with Paul, we'll just have to trust God to make things come out right. Amen

SHARING THE LIGHT

2008-12-19T21:17:00.000-08:00

II Cor. 9:6-15; John 3:16-21

This is the season of lights-- as those of the Christian faith make extensive use of lighting in our decorations. Those of the Jewish Faith will observe the eight day season of "Hanukkah" beginning tomorrow a season which is characterized by the lighting of candles. This holiday commemorates the Jewish recapture of the Temple in Jerusalem under Judas Maccabaeus in 164 B.C.E. from the Syrian Greeks who had defiled it with pagan worship. According to the legend, the Jews found a cruse of consecrated oil in the Temple, only sufficient to keep the Eternal light burning for one day. However, by a miracle, the oil lasted eight days until a fresh supply could be properly prepared according to Jewish law. The first day of the season begins with the lighting of a single candle of an eight candle menorah. Each day an additional candle is lighted, until all are aglow on the last day of Hanukkah. It is more than "likely" that our advent wreath, with its four candles marking the four Sundays in Advent, surrounding the "Christ the King candle", lighted on Christmas Eve, was influenced by this Jewish observance. Hanukkah is called "The Festival of Lights" and the light of candles has been used to share the story of that miracle of light for over two thousand years.

It is interesting to note that John, in his Gospel interprets the meaning of the coming of Christ as the coming of "light into the world". The Gospel reading this morning began with what is probably the best known, and most often quoted passage in the New Testament: "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son ("only begotten Son" in the King James translation), that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life". We read that passage and we bask in its promise sometimes to the point that we do overlook the verses that follow those verses that refer to Christ as the "light". And, John begins to draw a distinction between those who live in the light, and those who do not. Those who do evil hate the light but those who live by the truth come into the light; light and darkness two eternal contrasts.

The creation story in Genesis says that God separated the two, the light he called day, and the darkness, he called night. But, in the natural world, we have gone to great lengths to have light, even when it is supposed to be dark. I remember as a lad reading the account of Thomas Edison's invention of the incandescent bulb and of being inspired by his persistence. He was literally driven, to the point that he abandoned any resemblance to a structured 24 hour day, sleeping only when he was exhausted eating only when he was on the brink of starvation to invent something that his posterity would come to take for granted. The first outdoor Christmas tree just across the Bay at the Coronado Hotel was lighted by Edison. The "season of lights", be they the candles of the menorah, or the Christmas lights that adorn trees and homes, shops and malls, comes when there are far more hours of darkness than of light.

But the light of which John speaks is a different kind of light it is neither the natural light of the sun, nor the artificial lights of man's creation; it a light that shines into the hearts and souls of God's people it is the light of life. The light is to be absorbed but also reflected; it is to be received, but also shared. And we, gathered here in worship on this fourth Sunday of Advent, in the midst of this season of lights have a common mission; to SHARE THE LIGHT, the light of Christ in a dark and needy world.

THE PERSONAL DIMENSION OF SHARING THE LIGHT

I've said it before, but not for a while the Church is the people! I don't like to say the really important things too often because they become so commonplace that we treat them as too ordinary just as we treat the light bulb. The Church is not the building the building is a place where the Church gathers. And the people are not just the church when they are gathered in that building they are the Church every day everywhere they go in all that they do. The people are the Church gathered, or the Church disbursed but they are always the Church. The symbol is repeated every Sunday as Gabriel goes to the altar and lights the taper from an altar candle before extinguishing the candles. He then carries that light to the back of the Church before others leave; signifying that we take the light from the Church gathered, out into the world. Individually, and uniquely, we are to share that light with the world.

Most especially, in this season, let the light that we share be the light of caring, the light of love. Let us remember that this is not uniformly and automatically a time of joy for everyone. While it would be good and the right thing for Christians to do in every season let us make more than the usual effort to be models of good interaction with our fellow human beings. In stores, on the streets, at work where ever our daily course of life takes us, let us be kind and caring in our relationships. Even if others (sometimes including store employees) seem a bit curt, or less helpful than we had hoped they would be, let's try even harder not to return "evil for evil". Let the light of Him who taught his followers to "do to others as we would have others do to us" reflect out into the world through our actions. We share the light in little ways and we may never know what effect it has on those touched by it.

AS A CONGREGATION, WE ARE CALLED TO SHARE THE LIGHT IN THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT

In one form or another, Plymouth Church has made a commitment for more than 95 years to "share the light". For those who have gone before even for some gathered here now it has sometimes been a struggle. Each year, our trustees ask us to make a financial pledge to help keep this Church moving forward. I would like to think that that, in part, is another way in which we affirm our resolve to share the light with the world around us.

Due to unfortunate timing on a health issue, I was not here for our pledge Sunday this year on the first Sunday of Advent. I wanted to affirm that it might be an unusual time in some respects. But in another respect, perhaps it is the most proper time. It is a time of gift-giving even a time when we recall the story of the Wise Men who brought gifts to the Christ child. I hope, that in our giving throughout the year, we can feel that in giving to the work of this Church, we are helping to share the light, His light, in the world.

The passage we read together this morning from Paul's second letter to Corinthians is interesting not only in what it says, but in the assumptions that lie behind his words. There is a "given" in Paul's thinking that the same law that applies in the natural world to "sowing", applies also in a spiritual sense. You can set the drill to plant your field with a lot less seed wheat but you must be prepared at harvest time to reap a much smaller harvest. Jesus said the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount, "The measure you give will be the measure you get". This is true not because Jesus and Paul said it they said this because it is true. One does not share the light to be rewarded, but the law of returns remains. One gives out of generosity and out of a cheerful heart not with the expectation of reward. But, the principle of "returns" remains.

In this season of lights, I’m urging us to make a year-round commitment to share the light that Jesus brought into the world. Because we believe the words of John 3:16, we know we have received the light of truth of which John speaks. And because we have received this light and seek to walk in the light every day we also have an obligation to share that light where we are as best we can. In a real sense, that is at the center of our Covenant with each other, that together we will do the work of Christ in our community, sharing the light of hope, of the knowledge of God’s love and grace, and giving that message, not just with words, but with the very lives we live to share the light!! Amen.

Report: Many Americans Say Other Faiths Can Lead to Eternal Life

2008-12-19T10:24:00.000-08:00

Following the release of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, commentators wondered what survey respondents - particularly Christians - had in mind when they agreed that "many religions can lead to eternal life." A new Pew Forum analysis probes this question more deeply and finds that a majority of all American Christians (52%) think at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life. View the report »

O Come O Come Emmanuel Popular Classic Favorite Christian Christmas songs music Gospel hymns

2008-12-18T12:20:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?

2008-12-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

To all my friends and family.

I will be making a conscious effort to wish everyone

a Merry Christmas this year ...

My way of saying that I am celebrating

the birth Of Jesus Christ.

So I am asking my email buddies,

if you agree with me,

to please do the same.

And if you'll pass this on to

your email buddies, and so on...

maybe we can prevent one more

American tradition from being lost in the sea of

"Political Correctness".

To one and All...

copy and paste this into an email you can send to your friends.

NEW USDA STATS REVEAL GROWING U.S. HUNGER CRISIS

2008-12-16T08:42:00.000-08:00

The USDA recently reported that 36.2 million Americans, including 12.4 million children, are food insecure. The study paints a stark picture of the pervasiveness of hunger in our nation.

“It is important to note that the USDA numbers…are 2007 figures and do not take into account the unprecedented economic crisis that our country is currently facing,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. “We believe that this is just the beginning of a downward trend and we expect things to get worse before they get better.” Learn more about this developing crisis and how you can make a difference!

Christmas season affects the way that Americans live

2008-12-15T09:29:00.001-08:00

Barna Survey Explores Changes in People’s Holiday Behaviors

The Christmas season affects the way that Americans live. A new Barna survey describes some of the ways in which Christmas changes people’s lifestyle during the holiday season. Will church attendance spike this season, as in past years? How many people expect to experience depression during the holidays? Which groups of adults foresee drinking more alcohol during this season? How many unchurched people are likely to attend religious services during the holidays? Find out the answers to these and other matters by reading the survey results. Click here

Holiday Behaviors

Why Do We Have Christmas Trees?

2008-12-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

The history behind evergreens, ornaments, and holiday gift giving.
Edwin and Jennifer Woodruff Tait

The evergreen tree was an ancient symbol of life in the midst of winter. Romans decorated their houses with evergreen branches during the New Year, and ancient inhabitants of northern Europe cut evergreen trees and planted them in boxes inside their houses in wintertime. Many early Christians were hostile to such practices. The second-century theologian Tertullian condemned those Christians who celebrated the winter festivals, or decorated their houses with laurel boughs in honor of the emperor.

Finish this article from ChristianHistory.net.

Featured Hymn

2008-12-01T20:51:00.001-08:00

"O Come O Come Immanuel"

This ancient Advent hymn may date back to a community of fifth-century Jewish Christians and perhaps was part of their Hanukkah festival. The text does include many elements of the Hanukkah celebration—remembrance of wilderness wandering, darkness and death, but also celebration of light (the use of candles) and, above all, wonderment about the hope for Christ's return ("O"). In the ninth century the text entered the Roman liturgy for use during Advent.

Read more about this hymn at the Hymnary
Read more about the Hymnary

Church Life Today

2008-11-25T10:16:00.000-08:00

GROWTH IN GRATITUDE

2008-11-20T18:17:00.001-08:00

DEUT. 26:1-11; LUKE 17:11-19

The last Sunday in the season of Pentecost coincides with our observance of National Thanksgiving. Since the Pentecost season emphasizes spiritual growth, it may be most fitting to end this season with emphasis on Growth in Gratitude.
By this time in your lives, some of you have heard up to three score & ten Thanksgiving sermons. They all run together, I imagine, and you can't distinguish one from the other. After all, there's only so much that can be said about giving thanks. We all know that we should be thankful to God for our blessings so I don't need to repeat that. We all know that, at times, we don't stop on our busy journey through life to say" thanks" as often as we should so I don't need to repeat that either. We all know that at times, we don't feel grateful when we should so I don't need to repeat that. I'm not promising you that I won't, just admitting that I don't need to.
We do have to admit that it always makes us feel good when people take their time to express appreciation to us. The late, great cowboy film star and all-round white-hat wearing good guy, Roy Rogers, thanked the people who helped make him what he was.
According to one account, after Roy starred in his first movie, he began receiving huge stacks of fan mail that he wanted to answer. However, his salary of $150 a week would not even cover the required postage. He talked to the head of Republic Pictures in the hope that the studio would handle some of his fan mail. He was summarily turned down and told he was foolish to think about answering fan mail because nobody else did. It took too much time and money.
Roy Rogers couldn’t buy that. It was his conviction that if someone thought enough of him to write him a fan letter, he should have enough respect for the person to answer it. So Roy Rogers took his show on the road. He traveled many miles and performed countless one night stands to raise the money to pay salaries of the four people it took to answer his fan mail. No wonder he was so loved. It always makes us feel good when people take their time to say thanks.
Does God need our gratitude? I can't say for sure, but it does seem that Jesus was offended by the nine Lepers who didn't take time to say thanks. Perhaps he was sad for them because he knew that people who have a proper “gratitude attitude” are happier and more effective in life. Take time to say thank you to family and friends who do good things for you, and take time to thank God for your many blessings. After all, as the scriptures remind us, "every good and perfect gift comes from God."
My sermon title this morning is "Growth In Gratitude". Not a very colorful title if I do say so myself. But it is an expression of a striving in my soul, and I trust, in yours as well. As we come to this last Sunday in the Christian season of Pentecost, Gratitude seems a most appropriate focus. This season of Pentecost reminds us of the delivery of the Good News, the sending of the Holy Spirit, and the birth of the Church. The last Sunday in one Season anticipates the first Sunday in another and the Season of Advent begins next Sunday. Another reason for gratitude! But to the question of this day--how do we grow in gratitude? Can we measure such growth?

I.THANKSGIVING REACHES THE LEVEL OF THE LIPS.

"Thank you" is one of the threads in the fabric of our common life; indeed, in the fabric of civilized people. One of the first things we try to teach our children is to say "thank you". I've attempted to learn a few words in a number of languages, often taken in "conversation" classes. The "good" teachers will make certain that their students learn the word "thank you", even before they learn to ask, "where is the bathroom?" and that's a pretty important phrase too! “Gracious”, “Merci”, “Domo arigato gozaimasu”; Spanish, French, and Japanese.

• I don’t have to remind you that good parents, by instruction and example, teach this word to their children.
• "Thank you" passes between good neighbors, as a token of appreciation for little things that good neighbors do for one another.
• "Thanks at mealtime can sound, or even become perfunctory but it is thanks at the level of the lips and we should not forget His benefits.

In our Gospel lesson this morning, only one of the ten Lepers whom Jesus healed turned back to say "Thank You". Jesus took note of that. No praise from the lips of the nine. But I ask myself, and invite you to ask yourself "Do I give thanks for nine out of every ten blessings or just one out of ten or somewhere in between. In that regard, would we be more like the nine lepers, or the one? How often are we saying thanks, letting those words reach the level of the lips?

II.THANKSGIVING THAT REACHES THE LEVEL OF THE HAND.

The first Scripture reading this morning was instruction to the "Children of Israel" regarding their gifts at harvest time. They were to devote a tenth of the harvest to care for the Levite (the priestly tribe who could own no property), for the needy of their own community, and for the sojourner who passed through their land. Although the use of this "tithe" was prescribed, that which was to prompt them to give it was their thankfulness to the Lord for the harvest. The gifts of their hands would be a measure, not only of the harvest, but of their true thankfulness for the harvest. It was also an acknowledgement that God was the God of the harvest-- and that giving thanks was a response to His provision for life.
The Christian view of giving does it have any parallel to that in Judaism? Is giving a tithe, or a gift, in any way a means of saying "Thank You" to God. It strikes me that it is. We are not "farmers", there's not an active one among us although I can attest that Leo Chance was a superb one in his day! But we all harvest, in one way or another, the benefits of our labors, or our good fortune. We use our time and our God-given talents to do the work of the world and in return, we are paid. Some here are retired and that's wonderful and are still reaping the benefits of a life of work, of vocation, in which they used their talents and time. "Thank you" is still appropriate and Plymouth Church is fortunate that so many of you continue to say "thank You" with your hands.

III.THANKSGIVING THAT REACHES THE LEVEL OF LIFE.

As many times as I have read that passage from Deuteronomy, it had never occurred to me that the true measure of our thankfulness may lie in the way we think of--or tell-- our own story. As the Thank offering is brought, the one bringing it retells his story. It is a familiar story, about Jacob, and the descendants of Jacob-- about their slavery-- and their freedom. About their wanderings, disobedience, and finally, their arrival in the promised land. Throughout the story is woven the acknowledgement that God is the ONE that brought them from slavery to freedom, from want to plenty.
They could have told the story differently. They could have said, "Our fathers had some misfortune falling into the hands of the Egyptians and becoming their slaves. But we've always been a clever and very strong willed people. We laid our plans, and when the time was right, we crossed the reed sea when the water was low, and the Egyptians' chariots mired down, and we escaped, just as we planned it. We travelled for quite a span of years, looking for the best land to settle, and with our cunning and strength, we took over this land from the Canaanites. With clenched fist, and great pride, they could have told the story this way-- but then they would have no one to whom they should be thankful. You see, if God does not somehow fit into the equation of your life, you do not have a reason or more importantly an object for Thanksgiving.
Or, they could have said, "We've always been lucky." After we got away from the Egyptians, it seemed like every time we were running out of water, we'd just sort of stumble onto a big spring somewhere. And food, well, it just seemed to drop out of the sky. We got to this country of Canaan at the right time. They were so weak from fighting the Assyrians, and the Philistines that they just kind of gave up, and as our luck would have it, we were here to take over. If life is a matter of luck, one doesn't have anyone to be thankful to, either.
The way you tell your story from the heart to yourself, may tell you more about your true thanksgiving than any of the three score years and ten worth of Thanksgiving sermons. Where does God fit in the equation of YOUR life story. Do you see life, YOUR life as a gift of God? Do you see talents, YOUR talents as a gift from God? Do you see opportunity, YOUR opportunity as a gift from God? If the answer is YES, then you have someone, the real someone to be thankful to.
And you'll bring the thanks of your lips, and of your hands--indeed, the kind of living thanks that gratitude of the heart brings. May we all grow toward that! Amen.

What are you reading these days?

2008-11-18T19:38:00.000-08:00

Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church - Michael Horton, Escondido, California 2008

Is it possible that we have left Christ out of Christianity? Are the faith and practice of American Christians today more American than Christian? Have we allowed the church to be taken captive to the prevailing culture? These are the provocative questions Michael Horton addresses in this thoughtful, insightful book. His analysis should give us pause as we consider the current state of Christianity--even evangelical Christianity--in America

Invoking Martin Luther's treatise On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, Michael Horton fears that the church in America has also been willingly taken captive. The captors are American culture and ideals: consumerism, pragmatism, self-sufficiency, individualism, positive thinking, personal prosperity, and nationalism. Though these are antithetical to the gospel, we have often made them part and parcel with it.

Horton argues that while we haven't yet arrived at Christless Christianity, we are well on our way. Though we invoke the name of Christ, too often Christ and the Christ-centered gospel are pushed aside. The result is a message and a faith that are, in Horton's words, "trivial, sentimental, affirming, and irrelevant." This alternative "gospel" is a message of moralism, personal comfort, self-help, self-improvement, and individualistic religion. It trivializes God, making him a means to our selfish ends. Horton skillfully diagnoses the problem and points to the solution: a return to the unadulterated gospel of salvation. Here is a must-read for anyone concerned about the state and future of Christianity and the church in America.

Michael Horton is the J. Gresham Machen professor of apologetics and systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California (Escondido, California), host of The White Horse Inn national radio broadcast, and editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine. He is author of several books, including Power Religion, A Better Way, Putting Amazing Back Into Grace, God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology (Baker, 2006), and Too Good to be True: Finding Hope in a World of Hype (Zondervan, 2006). Other writings of Michael Horton

Buy your own copy of this book at the Evangelical Bible Book Store in North Park at 3812 Grim Avenue between North Park Way and University Avenue.

Christian History

2008-11-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

Misusing History
Thomas Jefferson's "wall of separation" metaphor allowed the Supreme Court to redefine church-state law and policy—and not necessarily in a good way.
By Daniel Dreisbach

In last week's article, Daniel Dreisbach told the story of how the bitterly contested election of 1800 brought the question of religion's place in civic life to the forefront and provided the backdrop to Jefferson's phrase "a wall of separation between Church & State." This week he raises the provocative question: Was Jefferson correct to say the First Amendment built a "wall of separation"? Or does the modern Court's use of this famous metaphor actually distort our understanding of the First Amendment?

Finish this article from ChristianHistory.net.

You can learn more about Christianity and the American Revolution by visiting our archives.

Church Buildings
Why and when did Christians start constructing special buildings for worship?
Answered by Everett Ferguson

Greetings to friends of ICWJ!

2008-11-13T08:51:00.000-08:00

We are less than one month away from the Tenth Anniversary Voices for Justice Benefit Breakfast of the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice of San Diego County! We hope you are planning to join us on Thursday, December 4 at 7:30 a.m. to honor Steve Cushman, Quynh Nguyen, The ICWJ Executive Committee Members, as well as workers from our 2008 campaigns. This year will be an opportunity to come together in fellowship and celebrate the ICWJ’s achievements of not only the past year, but indeed the past decade and recognize the significant achievements we have shared, including important Living Wage victories.

Since 1998, the advocacy and activism of ICWJ members has resulted in unprecedented advances in the lives of working families in San Diego. We hope that you or your affiliated organization will consider a generous Sponsorship Contribution, placing an advertisement or greeting in the Event Program Book, and/or making a special donation for this year’s Voices for Justice Breakfast*. In solidarity we can continue to change the lives of San Diego workers and their families!

We look forward to having you join us on December 4^th!

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If you would like to put an advertisement in the Program Book,

please contact Darren Snapper no later than Monday, November 17

at (619) 584-5744, ext. 28 or at Voices4Justice@ICWJ.org.

To download and print the response form, click HERE.

Details below! Information about the Voices for Justice Breakfast and how you can make a reservation and contribution are below. For any questions contact Darren Snapper, Voices for Justice Event Coordinator at (619) 584-5744, ext. 28.

Blessings and peace,

Rabbi Laurie Coskey & Darren Snapper

Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice

3727 Camino Del Rio South, Suite 100 | San Diego, CA 92108

(619) 584-5740 | (619) 584-5748 fax

RabbiLaurie@icwj.org | Voices4Justice@ICWJ.org | www.ICWJ.org

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support of campaigns that lift workers out of poverty!