pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: church


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Centering on Christ

Reading: Acts 2:42-47

Verse 44: “All the believers were together and had everything in common.”

Photo credit: Clay Banks

As I read these verses about the early church I marvel at this community. These words remind me of the feelings I get when I read Psalm 23. All is well and right in the world. God is definitely present and there is a peace that passes understanding. Love, generosity, kindness, fellowship, connection, food, prayer – these words summarize the church described in today’s passage.

In verse 44 we read, “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” Harmony is the word that seems to best fit this image. It wasn’t just that they shared their bread or other things with each other. It wasn’t just that any and all who showed up felt loved and welcomed. It wasn’t just that they sang and prayed and worshipped together each day. It wasn’t just that they shared life together in intimate and personal ways. It was all of this. In the last verse we read that God was adding to their number daily.

These early Christians were known for their “glad and sincere hearts.” This was easily identifiable. The community was genuine and true. What was the source of all this? Jesus Christ was alive and well in their hearts. The Spirit of Christ was present to them and in their gatherings. Centering on Christ led these believers to live as a community of faith that attracted outsiders. It drew them to come inside. May it be so for our churches once again.

Prayer: Lord of all, what a great vision today of your kingdom here on earth! Move in our churches and in our hearts so that we better model this love and grace, this generosity and fellowship to the needy world. Amen.


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The Spirit at Work

Reading: Ezekiel 37:11-14

Verse 14: “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land.”

Photo credit: Luka Savcic

Yesterday’s portion of Ezekiel 37 ended with a vast multitude standing where dry bones had once been. The wind, the breath, the Spirit – pneuma – had filled dead lungs and brought new life. This vision reminds us that God can and will bring new life, hope, restoration. As we too fill ourselves with the Spirit of God, we can once again stand on solid ground.

God explains the vision to Ezekiel and to us in verse 11. These dry bones represent “the whole house of Israel.” As a community of faith they have become dry and scattered, strewn out in the desert of exile. Their hope was gone. But God was not finished with them. I’ve heard it said a few times recently that death proceeds resurrection and new life. These are the overarching themes in this week’s readings. Sometimes, yes, the death is physical. At other times we die to self, surrendering our will to God’s ways. And sometimes the death is to a sin or behavior or prejudice that we bear. Each leads to new and abundant life.

In Ezekiel’s day the house of Israel was all who believed in God. It was not in a good place. Sometimes this is true of the church today. It has been this way from time to time since day 1. As I consider the thought of death and resurrection and new life, it feels like the church is in this cycle now. This is not a bad thing. God is in control. I trust that God is at work. We are right where God wants us to be for God’s plans and purposes. Can you see the dry bones? Can you sense the Spirit at work, bringing forth new life once again?

Prayer: Lord God, at times the church feels battered and broken. It can feel like a bad wreck now and then. Yet your Spirit is alive and well, moving in and through us, drawing us all to a new thing, to new life. That will look different. That is good. In the midst, Lord sustain us in the valley, fill us with new life, and lead us out into what you have planned for your church. Amen.


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The Beloved Community

Reading: Matthew 5:1-12

Verses 1-2: “His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.”

Photo credit: Clay Banks

Today we begin in the Beatitudes. These “blessed are” statements start off the longest teaching of Jesus recorded in the scriptures. While each statement certainly has meaning and value yet today, we will focus on the whole. Much of Jesus’ teaching pointed to a bigger picture. That is part of what he is doing with the Beatitudes. As a whole these statements paint a vision for the beloved community, for the church. A kingdom-living community of faith will reflect and live out these ideals.

Much of what Jesus said was counter-cultural and it remains so today. To be a peacemaker or to be humble, to be willing to face persecution, to openly desire God – these marks of the Christian are not the norm in the world. To comfort the mourning, to be pure in heart – these are also not the norms of our world. Yet we, as followers of Christ, are called to stand out from the world and to stand up against much of what the world values and pursues. Living out these ideals we will come to stand alongside those that the world devalues and marginalizes. In humble service we will minister to those close to the heart of God. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, lead me past self and closer to your heart. Open me to the folks and situations that break your heart. Use me to build up your vision for the world. Amen.


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Come and See

Reading: John 1:35-42

Verse 41: “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah.'”

As we turn again to John’s gospel today we see that two of John the Baptist’s disciples leave him to follow Jesus. After hearing John declare Jesus “the Lamb of God,” Andrew and another disciple follow Jesus down the road. Noticing someone is tailing him, Jesus asks them what they want. They ask where he is heading – this is a polite way to ask if they can join him. Jesus responds by saying, “Come and you will see.” Jesus invites them to join him – and not just for the day.

Andrew then exhibits a practice that we all should emulate. Knowing in his heart that Jesus is the Messiah, he goes and finds his brother. Simon comes and sees Jesus too. Without introduction, Jesus identifies Simon by name and informs him that he will be called Cephas (or Peter in Greek).

A few questions come to my heart as I reflect on this passage. First, how regularly do I come and see Jesus? This can be going to church, reading the Bible, praying, fasting… Second, who is our Simon? Who is our brother or sister, our neighbor or friend, stranger, or relative that needs to come and see Jesus too? And, third, how will we connect the two? We can pick them up and bring them to church or Bible study. We can take them to coffee or to lunch…

In our hearts we know that Jesus is the Messiah. May we invite and help others to come and see the Lord.

Prayer: Lord God, you are my all in all, my rock and my redeemer, my Savior and my friend. This day use me so that others may come and see the Christ. Amen.


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Prince of Peace

Reading: Psalm 122

Verse 8: “For the sake of my brothers [and sisters] and friends, I will say, ‘Peace be with you.'”

Today we begin the season of Advent! It is a season of preparation, a season to ready ourselves to celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace. It is a time to take in the spirit of this Psalm of Ascents, to regularly head up to the house of the Lord for worship and praise.

The second half of the Psalm focuses on the theme of peace. In the context of the Psalm, it is peace for Jerusalem and for David’s fellow Israelites. Reading these words for today, we can seek peace for our churches and for our world as well as for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Reading these words, we can also commit to a pilgrimage – not to Jerusalem but to Bethlehem.

There is an invitational spirit to this Psalm. It is an invitation to journey together, to worship and live in community. May we also commit to this witness in Advent. No other season so naturally raises people’s awareness of Jesus. Being aware of this, may we choose to be invitational people, seeking to draw others into a relationship with our Prince of Peace. As we journey together towards Bethlehem, seeking to live out our own commitment to following the way of Christ, may our very lives seek to say to others, “Peace be with you,” as we share the Prince of Peace with a world in need of Christ’s peace.

Prayer: Lord God, you bring peace to my life in so many ways. Your very presence is a natural experience of peace. May this spirit be in me as I seek to serve you this week. Amen.


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Proclaim Christ the King!

Reading: Colossians 1:15-20

Verses 19-20: “God was pleased to have all of God’s fullness dwell in Christ, and through him to reconcile to the Godself all things.”

It is fitting to come to “Reign of Christ” Sunday as we read a section of Colossians titled, “The Supremacy of Christ.” Paul begins by acknowledging that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.” Taking on flesh, Jesus showed us what God’s love looks like when fully lived out. Continuing we are reminded that “by him all things were created.” Since the beginning of time, “all things were created by him and for him.” It makes perfect sense that Jesus the human trained and worked as a carpenter – it is work right up his alley!

In verses 17-18 we read that Jesus “holds all things together” and that “he is the head of the body.” Love us what unites and binds together. Jesus is love because God is love. “Faith, hope, and love abide. But the greatest of these is love” (1st Corinthians 13:13.) Love is the lead of the church, the body of all God’s children. Paul also reminds us that Christ is “the firstborn from among the dead.” Christ’s resurrection opened the way for all who believe to one day experience eternal life.

New life was not all that was won at the cross. In verses 19-20 we read, “God was pleased to have all of God’s fullness dwell in Christ, and through him to reconcile to the Godself all things.” Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, also comes through the cross. Over and over again we can be made right again and again with God through Jesus Christ. Jesus offers redemption and restoration “by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Christ is our all in all, our King of kings, our Lord of lords. In this Reign of Christ Sunday, may we all joyfully proclaim, thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for coming and living amongst us, reigning here as the sinless one who was able to defeat the power of sin. We no longer have to be bound by our guilt and shame. Thank you for giving your life for our lives, rising again to show us the way to life eternal. Lord, reign in my heart today and every day. Amen.


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At Least as Much?

Reading: Luke 15:1-10

Verse 7: “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

Photo credit: Stormseeker

Several weeks ago I got home from running errands and couldn’t find my cell phone. Instant panic. Now, if I was missing my shopping list – no worries. If I was missing my water bottle, then I’d probably check at ‘lost and found’ next time I was in those stores. But my cell phone?! I mentally retraced my steps and knew I had used my phone at our last stop – Sam’s Club. Our shopping list was on my phone. My wife called and there was a phone with a description that matched mine at the customer service counter. Huge sigh of relief. Yet I had to go right away to retrieve that which I had lost. Any similar experiences?

In our verses today Jesus tells two parables about things that were lost: a sheep and a coin. These stories are told in response to the religious leaders grumbling about the crowd that Jesus is hanging with. To them, the sinners weren’t worth anything. Yes, maybe they could come to the temple – once they cleaned themselves up and were following the Law. But to go out and engage them, to actually search for them while still in their sin, well, no way. To the religious leaders, these sinners were about as valuable as a used shopping list on a piece of scrap paper.

In these 2 parables, Jesus tells of a shepherd who leaves the 99 in an open field to go off and find one lost sheep and of a woman who hyper-cleans her home to find the one coun she’s lost from her pile of 10 that she had just counted. In both cases the lost are found and a celebration commences. Jesus declares, “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

It’s awesome that 99 are in church, but what about the 1 who isn’t? Do we search for them at least as much as you or I would search for our lost cell phone?

Prayer: Lord God, I rejoice again and again when you search for me and find me after I’ve wandered. Help me, in turn, to search for those who are lost and need to be found. Guide me to shepherd them home to you. Amen.


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What Counts

Reading: Galatians 6:1-16

Verse 15: “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.”

Paul’s letter to the Galatians focused on being the community of faith. It was a “how to” letter about being the church. The natural way churches formed was sometimes a barrier to unity and acceptance. Paul’s initial audience in most places were Jews. It is natural to begin conversations about Jesus with folks who are religious in some way. They are more open to the conversation. We follow suit. For example, we’re a lot more likely to invite a new neighbor to church if they tell us they’re looking for a new church home. A lot more likely than when the new neighbor doesn’t fit our idea of someone who is “churchy.” For the Jews that became Christians, they had certain boxes that they thought needed checked. That’s the danger of starting a church with religious people.

The focus of today’s passage is circumcision/uncircumcision. That’s not really a thing anymore. But we have lots of things that we substitute today: white/nonwhite, upper class/lower class, educated/uneducated, conservative/liberal, neat and tidy/rough around the edges, Christian/nonbeliever, orthodox/unorthodox… The thing is, as it was with circumcision, these are all outward signs. God straightened us out on this argument way back in 1st Samuel 16, when Samuel anointed David. God said, “Man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Today we have identifiers that read “Christian.” We include things like: goes to church on Sunday, reads the Bible, prays before meals in public. In the initial look, these too are just outward signs. The bigger question – and the one that I believe concerns God – is this: Do these practices lead to inner transformation? Asked another way, does our worship on Sunday morning affect how we treat someone on the other side of one of those substitute pairings? Does our Bible study impact how we love someone who is different than us? Does our prayer life fundamentally change how we see and welcome the “other”? If not, we are not becoming “new creations.” That’s what counts, according to Paul. May we be transformed day by day, becoming more and more like Jesus each step of the journey.

Prayer: Lord, help me to see as you see. Help me to see the heart. Doing so, may I love as you love. Amen.


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In Order That

Reading: John 17:20-26

Verse 26: “I have made you known to them, and I will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Photo credit: Freestocks

In John 17 Jesus prays for his disciples – for those with him that day and for all who would one day choose to follow him as Lord and Savior. In our passage Jesus prays for unity. Jesus prays that all who believe will be as one, just as God and Jesus are one. As you cannot get closer than God and Jesus, this is a bold and big prayer.

I wonder, how big and far and wide is Jesus seeing as he offers these words? Is he just thinking of my family? Is he just thinking of my church? Just my denomination? Or is Jesus thinking of all who call themselves disciples of Jesus Christ?

In verse 26 we read, “I have made you known to them, and I will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” Here we find the source of the unity for which Jesus prays. It begins with Christ. Jesus was and continues to be present – first with the original disciples in person and then with all who would follow in Spirit. Jesus is present “in order that” we would fully know love. In order that we would know Jesus and his love… Here is where we find out unity, everywhere from our families to the global church. Love!

In order that the world would know Jesus, may they know us, his followers, by our love. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, when it is hard, help me to love. When it is challenging, help me to love. When it is difficult, help me to love. When it would be easier to walk away, to ignore, to react, to lash out… help me to love. Amen.


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More Open, More Accessible

Reading: Acts 5:27-32

Verse 31: “God exalted him… that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”

As we begin in Acts 5 today we focus on Jesus’ gifts of repentance and forgiveness. This was the primary conflict point between Jesus and the religious leaders. To the Jews, forgiveness came through the priests, the temple, the sacrificial system. It has been that way since Moses led the people on the 40 year wander. To the Israelites it feels like this has been the way back to God for, well, forever. It is practically all they’ve ever known. The rituals, the sacrifice, the role of priests – it was all threatened by Jesus and now is being challenged by his followers. The apostles were teaching and preaching about repentance and forgiveness and they were healing and forgiving sins in Jesus’ name.

There has always been and definitely remains a personal aspect to repentance and forgiveness. In Protestant denominations these are things we practice on a daily (or more frequent) basis. While we remember and celebrate Holy Communion, we believe that we can repent and receive forgiveness anytime, anywhere, on our own. The shift away from priests and the temple and the whole sacrificial system was a seismic shift in Jesus’ day and in the years to follow. This radical change to a more open and accessible church created great tension with the powers that be – enough to kill Jesus, enough to persecute and eventually martyr many who would follow Jesus.

How does the church today maintain this spirit? How do we as Christians stand up to keep the church open and accessible? How do the powers that be seek to work against these things? In many ways this is our charge to resist and oppose evil and injustice in the world. It is our call to stand with the widows and orphans, with all who are marginalized or oppressed by our culture, society, and even the larger church. It is therefore also our call to continue to move the church forward, ever drawing the circle wider, ever making the church more open and more accessible. O Lord, may it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to be one who opens the door just a bit wider, who makes welcome just a bit more real. Empower me to do this again tomorrow and again the days after. Give me eyes and heart to see and connect to all of your beloved children. Amen.