So…
On your way to church today, what did you see?
One person in the community is looking for their dog who went missing, a Siberian Huskey. Did you see it?
Or maybe you were so busy arguing with the kids or your spouse you didn’t see anything? That’s an assumption. My father made us sing as we went!
One of our church members reported excitedly that they saw the Mount Hope Police this morning. They said it was really hard to miss with those red and blue light flashing in their rear-view mirror.
Let me be clear, if you are in that much of a hurry to get to church that you get a ticket from the Popo, you let me know, because I am so proud of you!
Rushing like that to church so you don’t miss a second of this amazing community of faith.
I’ll make you a deal. If you tell me how much the ticket was, I will make a contribution to the church in your name for the same amount, so you don’t have to worry about your offering that Sunday!
So, on your way to church today, what did you see?
Peter and John are headed to the Temple after Pentecost, which we discovered last week was their regular big church gathering. They also were part of small groups, where the real spiritual growth was going on, but…
They made it a principle of their faith that they would go to “big” worship. It was that important to them. You can skip worship, just like you can skip the gym. You miss once or twice, no bigee. But…
In time, too much no church, just like too much no exercise means a flabby…spirit! Not ready, not resilient, not prepared for challenges, or injury, in danger of overuse pain because your spiritual flexibility and strength is less that optimal.
They decided not to skip worship! And on the way they saw something.
Not a deer and fawn on the lawn, not the dashboard doing 45 in a 30, not houses, and cars, and optional stop signs.
They saw people. And in particular, they saw a neighbor in need.
And it occurred to them that maybe with the power they had been given by the Holy Spirit that they could do something about it.
Note, they didn’t do what they couldn’t do. That is always a good excuse, “well Lord, I couldn’t help because the need was greater than I could do anything about.”
God said he loved the world. What God asked of us was to love our neighbor. And the paralyzed man at the door of the Temple was their neighbor.
They didn’t have money for the paralyzed man. But they still could put the power of God to work, bringing healing and making a difference!
I have been thinking a bit about our mission statement, our vision and our values as a congregation. Sometimes it is good to go back to the basics and ask:
Who are we?
What are we trying to accomplish?
And what makes us unique?
Understand those three things can really sharpen up what happens on Sunday morning and during the week, because it allows you to focus on what is essential, and potentially to walk away from what is taking time, energy and resources, but really is only tendential to our special calling as the Otisville – Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church.
It needs work, it needs refinement, but I had to laugh when after looking at it six or seven separate times, yesterday one of our core values just popped up in a discussion, “Dream Big, Scale Back”.
Several years ago, I asked Mark Yuengling who was working locally as a set builder for some off-Broadway shows, if we could change the sanctuary into the site of the empty tomb for our Easter services.
He said he would think about it and get back to me and he did. Across the front of the church was a canvas painting of a hillside with a tomb, with a large round tombstone. On Sunday morning as the service started, the tombstone rolled away, and angel came out and Bill Byrne dressed as a Roman soldier fainted.
It was amazing! But as Mark pointed out, it was all an illusion, meant to evoke a sense that you were there. And he was the one who said, in theater, in order to help the audience feel like they are there, you dream big, and then scale back.
You take the wildest of dreams, and then say, but of this what can we do, to be found being faithful.
Peter and John didn’t have the finances to drop gold coins into the paralytic man’s hands. But they did have something else, something far more valuable, and opportunity for this man to find the healing he needed and wanted, if he was will to stand up.
It is what we do as a church do all the time. We dream big and scale back to fit what we can do; think Rachel’s Elephant-free Garden in Namibia.
Backpacks with breakfast and lunch for every kid in a food scare house attending the Otisville school.
Wheelchairs, walkers, commodes, and other hospital aids for folks who need help right now.
And funds for the Ronald McDonald house so folks who need to stay for just a day or two and do so with our scholarship help.
And that is only the beginning, because every Sunday, on our way to worship, we see, we remember, we pray for, and we reach out to folks who need the power of God in their lives, and then, instead of walking by, we do something.
So, on your way to church today, what did you see?
We, God’s people, are called to Make a difference, in Jesus Name!
And so, we shall. Amen.
Monday, June 24, 2019
Monday, June 17, 2019
Sermon for June 16 from Acts 2:42-47
So...
We have been meeting at Janet Miedema’s house for our Wednesday night bible studies, and as always, they are a free-for-all.
The coffee is hot, the desserts are delicious, but what makes the gathering is the comedy. Yes, we are studying the bible, and by that I mean we, at home, read the Scripture passage, this week it was Hebrews chapter 3, and we individually (and sometimes as couples) read the study guides questions and come up with what we think is a good answer.
But I have got to be honest, it goes off the rails as soon as we start talking. This is not your aunt Gertrude’s bible study! It is in fact, a small group, a life group, a discipleship group that has at it’s core a few minutes of bible stuck in the middle.
Yes, we talk about our answers to each of the questions, but inevitably someone says about one of them, “That was a really lousy question!” And then its on.
Plus, we talk about life, and how were doing and what is happening and who needs prayer and why.
We talk about Derrick’s regular visits by the Jehovah’s Witnesses where we have him convinced, I think, that he should invite them to worship some Sunday!
And together, we try to figure out how to be faithful disciples in our day-to-day lives.
I reminded the group that Sue was retiring this June after 21 years of time working for Orange County Office of the Aging, the Middletown School district and 17 disconnected years at the Minisink Valley Middle School as a 7&8 grade special education Science and Social Studies teacher.
Because she’s retiring, we had a financial guy, actually two of them, over to talk to us about what to do with her retirement income, and one of them asked, “well, do you want to leave anything for the kids?”
I get it, they want to know if we want to put all our resources in something like an annuity, where you get more income, but at the end, the money is gone.
And while I am thinking about that, she says, “no, we plan to use it all!” And don’t worry, me being me, I already shared that with Brian, Rachel and Katie.
Because the bible study, our small group, was thinking about eternity, about how you live now, so that you can live in God’s presence forever! About the choices we make, the distractions we deal with, the ease of getting off track and saying we love God and we are serving him while spending all our time and energy doing all kinds of other stuff!
Small groups, life groups, church families, tribes, bible studies, whatever you call them, are a way, smack dab in the middle of the week, to keep you focused, keep you praying, keep you laughing, keep you on the way of Jesus, just like it was 2000 years ago for the apostles and disciples and followers of Jesus in Jerusalem!
You can meet at church like the Wednesday morning bible study does, ten women and me.
Or you can meet at a house like we do at Janet Miedema’s with coffee and last week ice cream and the week before Katie Jackson’s blueberry heaven.
I’ve heard of a men’s small group that meets at a bratwurst pub and eats lunch and has beverages.
I know of a mom’s small group that meets at a church’s fellowship hall and the kids play while they exchange prayer concerns and do bible study in the midst of all kinds of interruptions.
And, of course, the old Bible and Brew idea, plus my friend Jay’s “tasting” bible studies.
Why do they do all this?
Because they wanted to be together!
Because they want to do what they could to sustain and grow their faith!
Because they wanted a place to share what they have seen God do and what they needed prayer for, and they wanted to know that someone was praying for them, and they were not willing to go more than a couple of days without that kind of spiritual support.
After Jesus death and resurrection, Ascension, and the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the community of faith was not going to just go back to the same old, same old.
They went to the Temple. They saw the big worship experience there, and really understood its meaning now. But they wanted and needed more. So, they got together in small groups.
And they ate together, and they prayed together, and they studied together, they shared with and cared for each other, together.
I am always amazed by the number of church folks who are and are not in bible studies or small groups. Because it is the place where God’s people grow the fastest and the strongest, hands down!
So, if you are interested in being part of a small group, or think that you would be willing to host or lead a small group, let me know.
We have been meeting at Janet Miedema’s house for our Wednesday night bible studies, and as always, they are a free-for-all.
The coffee is hot, the desserts are delicious, but what makes the gathering is the comedy. Yes, we are studying the bible, and by that I mean we, at home, read the Scripture passage, this week it was Hebrews chapter 3, and we individually (and sometimes as couples) read the study guides questions and come up with what we think is a good answer.
But I have got to be honest, it goes off the rails as soon as we start talking. This is not your aunt Gertrude’s bible study! It is in fact, a small group, a life group, a discipleship group that has at it’s core a few minutes of bible stuck in the middle.
Yes, we talk about our answers to each of the questions, but inevitably someone says about one of them, “That was a really lousy question!” And then its on.
Plus, we talk about life, and how were doing and what is happening and who needs prayer and why.
We talk about Derrick’s regular visits by the Jehovah’s Witnesses where we have him convinced, I think, that he should invite them to worship some Sunday!
And together, we try to figure out how to be faithful disciples in our day-to-day lives.
I reminded the group that Sue was retiring this June after 21 years of time working for Orange County Office of the Aging, the Middletown School district and 17 disconnected years at the Minisink Valley Middle School as a 7&8 grade special education Science and Social Studies teacher.
Because she’s retiring, we had a financial guy, actually two of them, over to talk to us about what to do with her retirement income, and one of them asked, “well, do you want to leave anything for the kids?”
I get it, they want to know if we want to put all our resources in something like an annuity, where you get more income, but at the end, the money is gone.
And while I am thinking about that, she says, “no, we plan to use it all!” And don’t worry, me being me, I already shared that with Brian, Rachel and Katie.
Because the bible study, our small group, was thinking about eternity, about how you live now, so that you can live in God’s presence forever! About the choices we make, the distractions we deal with, the ease of getting off track and saying we love God and we are serving him while spending all our time and energy doing all kinds of other stuff!
Small groups, life groups, church families, tribes, bible studies, whatever you call them, are a way, smack dab in the middle of the week, to keep you focused, keep you praying, keep you laughing, keep you on the way of Jesus, just like it was 2000 years ago for the apostles and disciples and followers of Jesus in Jerusalem!
You can meet at church like the Wednesday morning bible study does, ten women and me.
Or you can meet at a house like we do at Janet Miedema’s with coffee and last week ice cream and the week before Katie Jackson’s blueberry heaven.
I’ve heard of a men’s small group that meets at a bratwurst pub and eats lunch and has beverages.
I know of a mom’s small group that meets at a church’s fellowship hall and the kids play while they exchange prayer concerns and do bible study in the midst of all kinds of interruptions.
And, of course, the old Bible and Brew idea, plus my friend Jay’s “tasting” bible studies.
Why do they do all this?
Because they wanted to be together!
Because they want to do what they could to sustain and grow their faith!
Because they wanted a place to share what they have seen God do and what they needed prayer for, and they wanted to know that someone was praying for them, and they were not willing to go more than a couple of days without that kind of spiritual support.
After Jesus death and resurrection, Ascension, and the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the community of faith was not going to just go back to the same old, same old.
They went to the Temple. They saw the big worship experience there, and really understood its meaning now. But they wanted and needed more. So, they got together in small groups.
And they ate together, and they prayed together, and they studied together, they shared with and cared for each other, together.
I am always amazed by the number of church folks who are and are not in bible studies or small groups. Because it is the place where God’s people grow the fastest and the strongest, hands down!
So, if you are interested in being part of a small group, or think that you would be willing to host or lead a small group, let me know.
Summer has its challenges, but fall is coming. Would it be nice to have a bunch of new small groups for people to consider being a part of.
“Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved.”
We, God’s people, are called to Make a difference, in Jesus Name!
And so, we shall. Amen.
“Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved.”
We, God’s people, are called to Make a difference, in Jesus Name!
And so, we shall. Amen.
Monday, June 10, 2019
Sermon for June 9 Pentecost
So…
Legos!
And to be clear, this not about Legoland, although that seems to have caused almost as much controversy as the Tower of Bebel.
Rather, it’s about building a tower of brinks and tar, instead of stone and mortar.
I’m not sure why that matters, maybe because stone wasn’t readily available, so they could make bricks using mud and fire. And as for using tar instead of mortar, maybe that was because mortar, which is made of sand was hard to find, but pools of the sticky gooey black stuff was floating in pools of water nearby.
In any case, the people of the time decided to band together and make a great tower, a huge tower, one that would scrap the sky as it were, and would make them world famous, so cool, as a symbol of their self-made status, totally self-reliant, the most amazing people on the planet ever, and it seems, totally oblivious to God’s presence and power.
Part of the reason they were able to do all of this, Genesis tells us, was because, oddly enough, they all spoke the same language. This is after the flood Noah floated around in, so, maybe they were all related?
In any case, the tower, built of brinks, was to be a symbol of their self-reliance. They were planning to show the world they were their own Gods, that is until the God of time and space intervened.
So…
How many of you know how to Babel?
Have any of you tried talking to a baby recently? That’s what they do, at least for a while, they babble.
Noah, our grandson, talks a lot. We just have no clue what he is saying! He likes to say Nanananana, so, my wife Sue, his Nana, likes to believe he’s talking about her.
For those of you who were here for the Mystery Dinner Theater know there is a lot to talk about.
But he also likes to shout, so who knows. He babbles, talks using sounds, shaping them in his mouth, kind of testing to see which ones get a reaction.
Do you remember which word you said first when you were a kid? Was it Momma, or Dada, or was it the all famous, NO!
Of course, at some point we will talk, most of us, anyway. And talk, and talk, and talk. We all as we grow and mature and begin to communicate with the others around us so we can get what we need, make ourselves understood, help others too.
Going beyond babbling to talking is a huge developmental change because when we can communicate, we can get things done!
As is true in the story about the Tower of Babel; a story that would have been very familiar to the folks in Jerusalem, because it is one of the big stories of the Old Testament, and would particularly have come to mind very easily after Pentecost.
Why?
Because way back in time God had separated people by languages, and now God was putting things back together!
Tons of people were in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, or the Festival of weeks, as it was known, fifty days after Passover, a celebration of the wheat harvest, and there they heard all about Jesus death and resurrection.
Legos!
And to be clear, this not about Legoland, although that seems to have caused almost as much controversy as the Tower of Bebel.
Rather, it’s about building a tower of brinks and tar, instead of stone and mortar.
I’m not sure why that matters, maybe because stone wasn’t readily available, so they could make bricks using mud and fire. And as for using tar instead of mortar, maybe that was because mortar, which is made of sand was hard to find, but pools of the sticky gooey black stuff was floating in pools of water nearby.
In any case, the people of the time decided to band together and make a great tower, a huge tower, one that would scrap the sky as it were, and would make them world famous, so cool, as a symbol of their self-made status, totally self-reliant, the most amazing people on the planet ever, and it seems, totally oblivious to God’s presence and power.
Part of the reason they were able to do all of this, Genesis tells us, was because, oddly enough, they all spoke the same language. This is after the flood Noah floated around in, so, maybe they were all related?
In any case, the tower, built of brinks, was to be a symbol of their self-reliance. They were planning to show the world they were their own Gods, that is until the God of time and space intervened.
So…
How many of you know how to Babel?
Have any of you tried talking to a baby recently? That’s what they do, at least for a while, they babble.
Noah, our grandson, talks a lot. We just have no clue what he is saying! He likes to say Nanananana, so, my wife Sue, his Nana, likes to believe he’s talking about her.
For those of you who were here for the Mystery Dinner Theater know there is a lot to talk about.
But he also likes to shout, so who knows. He babbles, talks using sounds, shaping them in his mouth, kind of testing to see which ones get a reaction.
Do you remember which word you said first when you were a kid? Was it Momma, or Dada, or was it the all famous, NO!
Of course, at some point we will talk, most of us, anyway. And talk, and talk, and talk. We all as we grow and mature and begin to communicate with the others around us so we can get what we need, make ourselves understood, help others too.
Going beyond babbling to talking is a huge developmental change because when we can communicate, we can get things done!
As is true in the story about the Tower of Babel; a story that would have been very familiar to the folks in Jerusalem, because it is one of the big stories of the Old Testament, and would particularly have come to mind very easily after Pentecost.
Why?
Because way back in time God had separated people by languages, and now God was putting things back together!
Tons of people were in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, or the Festival of weeks, as it was known, fifty days after Passover, a celebration of the wheat harvest, and there they heard all about Jesus death and resurrection.
But, and ere’s the crazy thing, they were hearing about Jesus death and resurrection in their own native languages!
Yes, the people in Jerusalem were all Jewish. Yes, they all understood some Hebrew. But their native languages, that is the languages they spoke at home, and with their friends, and out in the places of business, were all different!
Natives from Jerusalem spoke Aramaic, a different dialect of Aramaic from the Galileans. Most business in Jesus’ times throughout the Roman Empire was conducted in Greek.
People from Rome would have spoken Latin. And the people from the area of Iran would have spoken Parthian and even other languages were possible, since Acts 2 mentions Arabia and even parts of Egypt.
So you see it was a miracle, and a miracle, and a miracle!
One, everyone, no matter their language, the one they thought in and understood in, heard the gospel in their language.
Two, the speakers were the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, able, and most importantly, willing, to share God’s amazing love with people they didn’t know, and presumed they couldn’t communicate with.
And third, the separation of people into languages God had instituted at Babble turned around, so that all could see not the amazing power of people, but the amazing power of God!
In Christ and through Christ, by God’s action, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and made able in all situations to do what God has called us to do, because God has given us what we need to do it!!
We, God’s people, are called to Make a difference, in Jesus Name!
And so, we shall.
Amen.
Yes, the people in Jerusalem were all Jewish. Yes, they all understood some Hebrew. But their native languages, that is the languages they spoke at home, and with their friends, and out in the places of business, were all different!
Natives from Jerusalem spoke Aramaic, a different dialect of Aramaic from the Galileans. Most business in Jesus’ times throughout the Roman Empire was conducted in Greek.
People from Rome would have spoken Latin. And the people from the area of Iran would have spoken Parthian and even other languages were possible, since Acts 2 mentions Arabia and even parts of Egypt.
So you see it was a miracle, and a miracle, and a miracle!
One, everyone, no matter their language, the one they thought in and understood in, heard the gospel in their language.
Two, the speakers were the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, able, and most importantly, willing, to share God’s amazing love with people they didn’t know, and presumed they couldn’t communicate with.
And third, the separation of people into languages God had instituted at Babble turned around, so that all could see not the amazing power of people, but the amazing power of God!
In Christ and through Christ, by God’s action, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and made able in all situations to do what God has called us to do, because God has given us what we need to do it!!
We, God’s people, are called to Make a difference, in Jesus Name!
And so, we shall.
Amen.
Monday, June 03, 2019
Sermon for June 2 from Matthew 8:1-17
So…
What are you afraid of? Spiders? Mice? Presbyterians? Just asking!
And what would you do, if you could do it, unafraid?
Going in a slightly different direction, what is it that is holding you back from being God’s complete person, giving your whole life to follow Jesus?
One of the things that astounds me about Jesus is his seeming lack of fear.
In this story, he was not afraid of the leper, though everyone else thought the leper was contagious.
He was not afraid of the soldier, even though everyone else thought soldiers were the enemy.
He was not afraid of Peter’s mother-in-law, even though she was sick, feverish, and a woman.
He was not afraid of the religious authorities, priests, scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, or the Sanhedrin. Or for that matter, the Romans.
He was not even afraid of demons.
So, if Jesus can heal a leper, and a soldier’s servant, an ill woman, and a person with a demon, unafraid, what about you?
Not only is it possible that you could be healed if that’s what you need, but you could also become one of God’s healing people!
As we will see in the week’s after Pentecost, God’s people in the church did all kinds of healing ministry: physical healing of wounds and sores and even of death; but also healing of emotional wounds, and spiritual injuries, and even economic nightmares, like the ones plaguing the widows and orphans of Jerusalem.
The apostles grabbed a few really faithful believers and told them to get to work making sure hungry people were fed. Unafraid they went at it, because they knew God’s power was at work in them!
Far too many of us live life scared.
We don’t have to…
The power and presence of the Holy Spirit is available to us!
I was talking to Mallory Hunter on Thursday. Mallory is Wes Hunter’s granddaughter. She came to Otisville to honor her grandfather and to be with the family. She put the picture boards together with Jesse I think and then delivered them to the church Thursday night.
She has moved from tiny little Otisville to LA to pursue a career as a dancer, singer, and model, and so far has done really well. She has her own music video. She has appeared in a music video with Cardi B, and with DJ Kaleed (I’d say look them up, but make sure you consult a 20 or 30 something before you do, and have an AED handy!)
And she said there are a bunch more coming.
But it’s what she said about that move to the craziness of LA that reminded me of what the Women’s Conference told our women a few week’s ago.
Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do scared!
It all seems too big, too risky. But if you don’t, aren’t you being less than what God made you to be. To be a blessing, whether feeding the hungry or making people want to sing and dance?
We God’s people have been called…
To love boldly, to live boldly, to care boldly, to give boldly, and to grow boldly, no matter the circumstances.
Because it is what Jesus would do! And it is what we do together!
We are called to Make a difference, in Jesus Name! And so we shall. Amen.
What are you afraid of? Spiders? Mice? Presbyterians? Just asking!
And what would you do, if you could do it, unafraid?
Going in a slightly different direction, what is it that is holding you back from being God’s complete person, giving your whole life to follow Jesus?
One of the things that astounds me about Jesus is his seeming lack of fear.
In this story, he was not afraid of the leper, though everyone else thought the leper was contagious.
He was not afraid of the soldier, even though everyone else thought soldiers were the enemy.
He was not afraid of Peter’s mother-in-law, even though she was sick, feverish, and a woman.
He was not afraid of the religious authorities, priests, scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, or the Sanhedrin. Or for that matter, the Romans.
He was not even afraid of demons.
So, if Jesus can heal a leper, and a soldier’s servant, an ill woman, and a person with a demon, unafraid, what about you?
Not only is it possible that you could be healed if that’s what you need, but you could also become one of God’s healing people!
As we will see in the week’s after Pentecost, God’s people in the church did all kinds of healing ministry: physical healing of wounds and sores and even of death; but also healing of emotional wounds, and spiritual injuries, and even economic nightmares, like the ones plaguing the widows and orphans of Jerusalem.
The apostles grabbed a few really faithful believers and told them to get to work making sure hungry people were fed. Unafraid they went at it, because they knew God’s power was at work in them!
Far too many of us live life scared.
We don’t have to…
The power and presence of the Holy Spirit is available to us!
I was talking to Mallory Hunter on Thursday. Mallory is Wes Hunter’s granddaughter. She came to Otisville to honor her grandfather and to be with the family. She put the picture boards together with Jesse I think and then delivered them to the church Thursday night.
She has moved from tiny little Otisville to LA to pursue a career as a dancer, singer, and model, and so far has done really well. She has her own music video. She has appeared in a music video with Cardi B, and with DJ Kaleed (I’d say look them up, but make sure you consult a 20 or 30 something before you do, and have an AED handy!)
And she said there are a bunch more coming.
But it’s what she said about that move to the craziness of LA that reminded me of what the Women’s Conference told our women a few week’s ago.
Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do scared!
It all seems too big, too risky. But if you don’t, aren’t you being less than what God made you to be. To be a blessing, whether feeding the hungry or making people want to sing and dance?
We God’s people have been called…
To love boldly, to live boldly, to care boldly, to give boldly, and to grow boldly, no matter the circumstances.
Because it is what Jesus would do! And it is what we do together!
We are called to Make a difference, in Jesus Name! And so we shall. Amen.
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