Sunday, July 31, 2016

7-31-2016



      Good Morning All!! 
      Matthew 16:5; “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees”       
     Some of you remember the Beatles.  They were/are one of the biggest bands in the history of rock and roll music.  When the band broke up forty years, it was quite the spectacle.  There were many theories as to why the broke up; drug use, creative differences, differences in management thought and the like.  The most common reason for the breakup was believed to be because of the relationship between John Lennon and Yoko Ono.  Yoko Ono and John Lennon took a path of unique events like spiritualisms, drugs, etc.  Many of the fans of the band would call radio stations and claim that “Yoko, you’re splitting up the band!”  After years of working together, the band split up because of the influence of a single person. 
    In our verse, Jesus is warning his disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees.  The little influences which can infect the teaching of truth and the well-being of the Church, which can lead it in a way or direction that it is not supposed to go.  These little, seemingly, meaningless comments or actions can cause harm.  He is warning them about the little influences which can destroy “the group” the amazing thing is that it never takes much leaven (yeast) to work this way.
    We see the “leaven of the Pharisees” often, unfortunately, we don’t recognize it.  It occurs every time and any time that we allow sin to harm the body of Christ.  It can occur in ways that we don’t see at the time. Perhaps a person has an idea for a service project or a worship experience but it gets voted down.  Are we hurt because our idea didn’t fly?  Were we one of those who shot the idea down because deep down we were jealous?  Do we let little comments come from our mouths which are little cuts into another person, slicing them down to size a little at a time?  Do we refuse to admit that we are wrong and simply dig our heels in?  Are we easily offended by the slightest comment or action?
    These are a few ways that the “leaven of the Pharisees” can infect the Body of Christ, causing us to battle with each other rather than place all our efforts into the service of Jesus.  The disciples fought this same leaven, as they too wondered about who was the greatest; the struggle is as old as the Bible and will continue until Christ returns; the cost of working with sinful men.  We must be on guard at all times against this leaven.  We must be careful to make sure that when we look or listen; we do so with faith, trusting in God to lead his Church.  In the explanation to the eighth commandment, we are told to “put the best construction on everything”; giving all a chance to aid the body of Christ in its growth and expansion in the task of bringing Christ message of redeeming love to all. 
Father of mercy, remove the leaven in my life.  Bring me closer to you.  Help me to see that all can work together to serve you.  We all have many gifts or talents which, when shared bring glory to you and aid to our neighbor.  Give us that unity to grow in you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret    

Saturday, July 30, 2016

7-30-2016



Good Morning All!! 
Hebrews 11:8; “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going”.
    We all love heroes.  We love to watch the parades and the homecoming and the celebrations.  We love to cheer for our heroes.  So who are your heroes?  Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt,  maybe Sally Ride or Christa McAuliffe, maybe Babe Ruth or Harmon Killebrew, maybe Audie Murphy or Sergeant York, maybe your parents or grandparents, who are your heroes?  One problem we have with heroes is that when the truth about them comes out, they aren’t always so heroic.  Franklin Roosevelt was a womanizer; Babe Ruth was a drunken lout. 
    Our verse for today is from Hebrews 11.  It is often referred to as the “Hall of Faith.”  It lists many of the Old Testament characters who lived their life by faith.  It is really a shame that we look at this chapter and think “Oh, if I were only like them; then all would be fine and dandy.”  We often think that because when we talk of these people of faith, we only speak of their greatness.  Abraham was going to offer Isaac, his son his only son, as a sacrifice to God.  Noah built the ark in spite of all of the taunting that he received.  Abraham lied about his wife because he didn’t trust God.  He also used a handmaiden to give him the son that God hadn’t delivered yet.  As soon as Noah got off the ark, he got drunk and lay naked in his tent.  Some heroes.
    Yet that is the exact point.  These “great” people of the Bible weren’t that great.  They were people on whom God looked with grace.  One of the best verses in Genesis is 6:8 “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord”.  That is what this verse and the entire bible is about.  You and I are not perfect; far from it.  We all have skeletons in our closet that would make any type of hero worship of us flounder in a hurry.  God looks upon you with his love with his grace and gives you that faith to get you through the day’s events.
    Grace finds us in God’s eye.  It seeks us out and searches the depths of our depraved world to bring us hope, to bring us peace and to give us God’s undeserved love.  That is what put Abraham in the “Hall of Faith” and that is what puts you there as well.  None of us are perfect; we are all sinners.  We all have the remnants of sin in our past that causes us to never feel worthy of God’s grace.  Fortunately, we don’t have to be worthy.  We are made worthy by Jesus; we are made worthy because of God’s grace poured out upon us.  We, just as those listed in the “Hall of Faith,” live by faith.  Yes, we are sinful beings but through God’s grace, we live in his wondrous mercy; trusting that he will take care of us and protect us until we reach our heavenly home.
Father of all mercies, through Jesus we find grace in your eyes.  We are brought into your marvelous family and given the peace and strength to battle this world’s woes.  Guard us by your mighty arm and give to those who struggle the most your Spirit of comfort.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen
God’s Peace,                                           
Pastor Bret   

Friday, July 29, 2016

7-29-2016



Good Morning All!! 
Ephesians 2:8; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”
    I want you to imagine for a moment that you have just received a gift card to your favorite restaurant for $1000.  You get excited and you and your spouse and your family go out for supper.  You order expensive food and enjoy the meal thoroughly.  You laugh and talk freely because the meal is free.  After you use the card there is some leftover so you decide to come back again next week.  When you return, you find out that no money has been taken off the card account.  So you have another large meal with your family.  The next week you come back and the same thing happens; the card never runs out of money.
   Now you are excited.  Maybe you could invite a friend or two to come along but who would you invite?  Would you invite your neighbors or would you invite someone that used to be very important in your life at one time but you both moved on, perhaps a former co-worker or someone you used to go to school with.  Would you invite the new person at work that you just met?  Wouldn’t it be exciting?  You wouldn’t have to pay for supper, they wouldn’t have to pay for supper; the entire evening meal would be already paid for, a gift from some kind benefactor.  The really fun thing is that next time, you can either bring a whole new set of people or you can bring the same ones you brought this time.
   Would you spend time trying to match up people you know so they could now have some new friends?  Maybe, just maybe, you could call a few of those people with whom you have had a falling out and try to fix it so that you are friends again.  That would be nice.  Think of all the things you could do with a great gift like that.
    You have a great gift like that.  God has given you the gift of salvation, an everlasting gift that never runs out.  God pours his grace on you, over you and in you.  He pours so much grace upon you that there is more than enough to share; so do you?  Do you share God’s grace with those around you or do you try and hide it away?
    We share God’s grace by telling others about the love and peace we have through Jesus.  We also share that grace by treating people as God treats us and that is with more care and understanding than we deserve.  We share God’s grace by giving a smile and a kind word rather than a growl.  We share God’s grace by speaking softly to deflect anger and being calm instead of agitated.  We show God’s grace by being patient with the store clerk who is doing the best that he can.  God showers you with more grace than you can ever envision; share a little with those around you. 
Father of all grace, you pour your love out upon us like a river.  Give us the wisdom to share that same grace with those around us. Help us to seek out those who are most in need of your grace.  Guide us to the hurt, the lonely and those of broken-spirit.  Deliver your grace to them.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret

Thursday, July 28, 2016

7-28-2016



Good Morning All!! 
               Matthew 14:29; “Jesus said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 
    Peter couldn’t wait.  He saw that it as Jesus and he couldn’t wait.  You wonder what the other disciples thought.  They were in the middle of the Sea of Galilee and in the deep part as well!  What was he thinking?  The fool is lucky he didn’t drown.  Is that the way we think?  Be careful; don’t do anything foolish, play it safe.  Is that the way we operate?  What if Jesus said to us, “Come; come get out of the boat.”
    When we read this story in Matthew, we almost always focus on Peter and the fact that he began to sink but today, let’s think a little differently.  Let’s look at the fact that Peter got out of the boat.  Would you have gotten out of the boat?  There was a lot of water, a lot of deep water and don’t forget the wind and the waves.  Would you really get out of the boat?  Or would you have stayed in the boat, like the other disciples, and waited for Jesus to get on board?
    There are too many times when we as Christians choose to stay in the boat.  We choose to play it safe.  We don’t want a fuss; we don’t want a ruckus.  We just want plain safe Christianity.  We spend our time focusing on “don’t sin.”  Don’t do anything wrong, don’t make a mistake, don’t foul anything up.  We stay in the boat.  We belong to churches that are nervous about increasing their mission goal.  “We don’t know what the year might bring; it is better to send in a number we know we can make and then try to send over that amount.”  So we stay in the boat.  “We have to really think about any type of outreach; we might bite off more than we can handle.”  So we stay in the boat.  “Starting a daycare or pre-school could be very difficult; we better study it some more.”  So we stay in the boat.  We avoid sinning; we keep our heads down and just stay in the boat.
     Too often we hide in the boat when Jesus is telling us to “get out of the boat.”  When we look at this story, Peter was never in any danger; he was always under the watchful and loving eye of Jesus.  Rather than be safe we should jump headlong into serving Jesus, in any manner possible.  Christ did not call us to be watchers; he called us to be participants.  We are to be in the game.  We are to take his message of reconciliation, healing and hope and go forth.  We are to jump out of the boat and serve him because we are always under his watchful and loving eye.  Don’t play it safe, witness to those around you and even to those who are farther away.  Take God’s love and share it in any method you can.  Get out of the boat; Jesus has you covered!
Father in heaven, stir your Spirit in me.  Don’t let me be complacent or comfortable.  Break my heart as I look at the pain in the world.  Move me by your Spirit to get out of the boat and to share your message of love and forgiveness. Stir in me the desire to aid my fellow man.  Stir in me the desire to bring comfort and hope to a broken world.  But above all, keep my eyes focused on Jesus that I may never sink in fear.  Guard as you lead me forward.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret