Sunday's Prayer

May the Lamb of God, who once came to take away the sins of the world, take away from us every stain of sin. Amen.
And may he who came to redeem what was lost, at his second coming not cast away what he has redeemed. Amen.
That, when he comes, we may have perpetual joy with him on whom we have believed. Amen.
--Mozarabic Breiviary

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Thought for the Day

This much is certain: the greatest thing each person can do is to give himself to God utterly and unconditionally--weaknesses, fears, and all. For God loves obedience more than good intentions or second-best offerings, which are all too often made under the guise of weakness.
--Soren Kierkegaard

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Thought for the Day

What the exodus first taught: first, that wherever you live, it is probably in Egypt. Second, that there is a better place, a world more attractive a promised land. And third, that "the way to the land is through the wilderness." There is no way to get from here to there except by joining together and marching.
--Michael Walzer, Exodus and Revolution

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Thought for the Day

I believe in the sun, even it it does not shine.
I believe in love, even if I do not feel it.
I believe in God, even if I do not see him.
--An inscription on a wall of the Warsaw Ghetto by an unknown Jew, circa 1942

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Thought for the Day

There are none in the humanly "down" position so low that they cannot be lifted up by entering God's order, and none in the humanly "up" position so high that they can disregard God's point of view on their lives...The barren, the widow, the orphan, the eunuch, the alien, all models of human hopelessness, are fruitful and secure in God's care.
--Dallas Willard

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Thought for the Day

The way things are are not the way things have to be.
--Emmanuel Katongole & Chris Rice

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Gospel Reading for November 30

The sermon text for November 30 is Mark 1:1-8. You will find it below in the NRSV, NIV, and The Message.

NRSV
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight” ’,
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

NIV
1The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2It is written in Isaiah the prophet:
"I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way"—
3"a voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.' " 4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The Message
1-3The good news of Jesus Christ—the Message!—begins here, following to the letter the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

Watch closely: I'm sending my preacher ahead of you;
He'll make the road smooth for you.
Thunder in the desert!
Prepare for God's arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!

4-6John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey.
7-8As he preached he said, "The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will change your life. I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism—a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit—will change you from the inside out."

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Thought for the Day

Seriously and frequently mediate on the account that men are to give of using their wealth. We are not lords of our riches, but stewards; and a steward must give an account of his stewardship.
--William Gouge

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Sunday's Prayer

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Thought for the Day

Love to God and love to neighbor are like two doors that open simultaneously. It is impossible to open the one without opening the other, and impossible to shut the one without also shutting the other.
--Soren Kierkegaard

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Thought for the Day

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I a doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
--Thomas Merton

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Thought for the Day

God is interested in a lot of things besides religion. God is the Lord and Creator of all life, and there are manifestations of the holy in its celebration or in its repudiation--in every aspect of the common life.
--Joseph Sittler

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Thought for the Day

God is beautiful. He is the most beautiful of beings...He is beautiful through Himself and in Himself, beautiful absolutely.
--Jacques Maritain

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Thought for the Day

For so many of the problems now ailing us--from shameful wastefulness to growing economic inequality, to independence-killing indebtedness, to runaway mindless consumerism--I believe that the philosophy of thrift is the closest thing we have to a miracle cure.
--David Blankenhorn

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The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

I will preach on the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus found in Luke 16:19-31 on Faith-Promise Sunday, November 23. Luke is the only Evangelist that includes this parable in his writing and it follows in the NRSV, NIV, and The Message.

NRSV
‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” 25But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” 27He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” 29Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” 30He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” 31He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” ’

NIV
19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

The Message
19-21"There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man's table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.
22-24"Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, 'Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I'm in agony in this fire.'
25-26"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It's not like that here. Here he's consoled and you're tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.'
27-28"The rich man said, 'Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won't end up here in this place of torment.'
29"Abraham answered, 'They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.'
30"'I know, Father Abraham,' he said, 'but they're not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.'
31"Abraham replied, 'If they won't listen to Moses and the Prophets, they're not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.'"

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Thought for the Day

Frugality is good, if liberality be join'd with it. The first is leaving off superfluous expenses; the last bestowing them to the Benefit of others that need.
--William Penn

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Sunday's Prayer

Our God is the God of all,
The God of heaven and earth,
Of the sea and of the rivers;
The God of the sun and of the moon and of all the stars;
The God of the lofty mountains
and of the lowly valleys.
He has His dwelling around heaven and earth,
and sea, and all that in them is.
He inspires all,
He gives life to all,
He dominates all,
He supports all.
He lights the light of the sun.
He furnishes the light of the night.
he has made springs in dry land...
He is the God of heaven and earth,
of sea and rivers,
of sun, moon and stars,
of the lofty mountain and the lowly valley,
the God above heaven,
and in heaven,
and under heaven.
--St. Patrick

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Thought for the Day

Scholars sensitive to the function of place in biblical narrative observe that Jesus...frequently presses the people closest to him into places they find threatening. Jesus is always redefining the nature of "center." He moves regularly beyond the safety and exclusiveness of the Jewish homeland in Galilee to include Gentiles in outlying regions where his disciples are reluctant to go. He functions repeatedly as a boundary crosser, pushing his disciples to edges they find exceedingly uncomfortable.
--Belden G. Lane

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Thought for the Day

Discipleship is the imitation of God's humility, God's service.
--Rowan Williams

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Thought for the Day

God is hiding in the world. Our task is to let the divine emerge from our deeds.
--Abraham Joshua Heschel

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Thought for the Day

Sometimes the will of God is scary because he is asking us to choose between a life that looks successful and a life that is actually significant between a life that wins the applause of our peers and a life that actually transforms lives through love.
--Gary Haugen

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Thought for the Day

There are two things that are always the will of God and almost always dangerous: telling the truth and loving needy people.
--Gary Haugen

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Parable of the Sower

This coming Sunday I will preach on the well-know but not always well-understood Parable of the Sower. It is found in Matthew 13:3-23, Mark 4:3-20, and Luke 8:5-15. I will use Mark 4:3-20 as the main text for examining this parable. Below I have included it in the NRSV, NIV, and The Message.

NRSV
‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. 7Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’ 9And he said, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’
10 When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11And he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret* of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; 12in order that
“they may indeed look, but not perceive,
and may indeed listen, but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.” ’
13 And he said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? 14The sower sows the word. 15These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. 17But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, 19but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. 20And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’

NIV
3"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."
9Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that,
" 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"
13Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

The Message
3-8"Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams.
9"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"
10-12When they were off by themselves, those who were close to him, along with the Twelve, asked about the stories. He told them, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can't see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight. These are people—

Whose eyes are open but don't see a thing,
Whose ears are open but don't understand a word,
Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven."

13He continued, "Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way.
14-15"The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.
16-17"And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
18-19"The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.
20"But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams."

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Thought for the Day

We don't believe something by merely saying we believe it or even when we believe that we believe it. We believe something when we act as if it were true.
--Dallas Willard

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Sunday's Prayer

Dear God, silence all voices within our minds but your own. Help us to seek and be able to follow your will. May our prayers be joined with those of our sisters and brothers in the faith, that together we may glorify your name and enjoy your fellowship forever. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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Mission Accomplished!

The missions team was able to meet its goal of finishing the house so that the family can move in. I talked with Pastor Liz around 6:45 p.m. yesterday and they had just finished and were leaving for Camp Gospel. Hope and her family were overjoyed at the work the team did and the fact that they can move in. They all shared tears and prayers.

Today they head home and if the flights go well they should arrive back in Boston mid-afternoon. Tomorrow several of the team members will share their stories at morning worship.

Here is a picture of most of the team:



One of the skilled carpenters on the team:



One of the sanding and painting crew:



Thanks for your prayers!

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Thought for the Day

Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this. Whether it be a brief, single encounter or the daily fellowship of years, Christian community is only this. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ.
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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More Pictures

Working on steps.


The Man!

All in a days work.

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Pictures from Mississippi

I didn't talk with anyone last evening from the mission trip so I don't know all that they accomplished yesterday. But Pastor Liz had access to a computer and emailed me some pictures of the house and the team working on it.

This is a picture of the almost completed house.

This is a picture of Hope, one of the owners, in the not-yet-finished house.

One of our skilled levelers!

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Thought for the Day

Nobody that I have ever met started going to church with the intention of cultivating hypocrisy, but when we realize how simple a matter it is to escape detection, before we know it, there we are. Neither have I ever met anyone who is self-aware of hypocrisy. Like high blood pressure, it is a "silent killer," but in these matters it is the interior life of faith and prayer, not the circulatory system, that is damaged. Frequenting a religious place and engaging in a religious practice can get us into a lot of trouble that we aren't even aware we are in.
--Eugene Peterson

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Hump Day

On short-term missions trips the mid-point is called, "hump day." Things are downhill after it. For the mission team in Mississippi, hump day was a long but good work day.

They finished the work underneath the house and finished part of the decking. They poured the footings for the braces that would hold up the heating and air conditioning units and they put braces on all of the beams holding the house up. They worked on two sets of stairs (remember the house is on 12 foot stilts). They finished painting the woodwork and shelving inside.

It was Bill Sobo's birthday yesterday so someone bought a birthday cake and they celebrated at the work site at lunch.

It was another great weather day, mid 70's and low humidity.

Today they are planning on painting the inside of the house. They are still hopeful that they can complete the house tomorrow. That is what they are working toward.

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Thought for the Day

In the spiritual confusion of the last hundred years, many of us overlooked the incomparable beauty of our old, poor homes. Dazzled by the lights of the metropolis,the luminous visions that for so many generations shone in the little candles were extinguished for some of us.
In our zeal to change we ridiculed superstition until we lost our ability to believe. We have helped to extinguish the light our fathers had kindled. We have bartered holiness for convenience, loyalty for success, wisdom for information, prayers for sermons, tradition for fashion.
--Abraham Joshua Heschel

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The Work Goes On

Yesterday the mission team continued their hard work on the house. They worked on decking, insulating under the house, and putting a plastic netting over the insulation, removed excessive grout inside, painted some woodwork, and worked on siding. The weather has been great: it was in the mid 70's with low humidity. The team has raved about Neal's incredible oversight of and help in their work.

As it turns out, there are actually 80 people staying at Camp Gospel from different parts of the country: California, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Cindy and Pat stayed back yesterday and cooked a fabulous evening meal.

Today they planned on continuing to work on the deck, install the plastic netting underneath the house, paint the woodwork and begin to paint the walls. They have been working from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and have been so tired they have no trouble sleeping at night.

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Thought for the Day

Within the true church there is a mysterious unity that overrides all divisive factors. In groups which in my ignorant piousness I formerly "frowned upon," I have found men so dedicated to Christ and so in love with the truth that I have felt unworthy to be in their presence.
--Billy Graham

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Making Headway

The mission trip members had a good and hard day of work yesterday. The are working on a house in Bay St. Louis on the gulf coast of Mississippi that was partially constructed by the family that will be living in it. Currently six family members from three generations are living in one FEMA trailer. Initially they had two trailers, but this past year Hurricane Gustav wiped out one of them, forcing all six of them into one very crowded trailer.

After Hurricane Katrina destroyed their home, they began to build the current one, but ran out of money to complete it. It is on twelve foot pilings and one of the things that the team did yesterday was to insulate the underside of it. They put up drywall, dug a thirty foot trench for sewer pipes, and did some cleaning up as well.

Today a couple of the team members are staying back at Camp Gospel where they are being housed to do cooking for the our team as well as several other teams who are staying there. All together there are about sixty people at the camp. Others are doing cleaning both inside and outside and hoping that they can begin painting on Wednesday. Their goal which they think they have a good chance of meeting is to finish the house by Friday afternoon.

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Thought for the Day

I first got acquainted with Jesus when I was a child, singing, "Jesus Loves Me" in Sunday school, addressing bedtime prayers to "Dear Lord Jesus"...I associated Jesus with Kool-Aid and sugar cookies and gold stars for good attendance...Jesus, I [later] found bore little resemblance to the Mister Rogers figure I had met in Sunday school, and was remarkably unlike the person I had studied in Bible college. For one thing he was far less tame.
--Philip Yancey

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A Long Day

The day didn't go according to plan for those on the adult mission trip to Mississippi, but then that tends to be the norm for mission trips. It turns out that the airlines had cancelled one of their flights, so that rather than taking off at 7:40 a.m. flying to Dallas and catching a connecting flight to Gulfport, MS and arriving around 4:30 p.m., the didn't leave until 11:40 a.m. for Miami, and then flew to New Orleans. The had to rent cars at the airport and then drive to the Gulfport airport where the they picked up the vans that they had reserved. That is about a 1 1/2 hour drive. They finally arrived at the place where they are staying in Pass Christian around 11:00 p.m. That's a long day!

I talked with Pastor Liz by phone this morning and they were on their way to the work site in Pass Christian where they were expecting to work on stairs and drywall. She said that everyone was in good spirits and ready to get to work. I am planning on talking with them at the end or beginning of each day to get an update on the work that they have done and any other interesting insights they have had or events that have occurred.

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Thought for the Day

Our political leadership has been at its best when those leaders have dared to enter into the world of gray...It requires far less courage to live in the black and white than it does to live in the gray. The world of gray requires that we show up and be present. it does not afford us the luxury of putting life on automatic pilot.
--Byron Williams

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Sunday's Prayer

Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that I may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Thought for the Day

The logic of God's love is this: Love relates itself inversely to the greatness and excellence of the object. If I am a nobody, it in my wretchedness I feel more miserable than the most miserable person of all, then it is eternally, no absolutely, certain that God loves me.
--Soren Kierkegaard

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