Do You Hear What I Hear?

   Can you hear Perry Como crooning that it is starting to look a lot like Christmas? Do you agree there is as much to hear at Christmas as there is to see? 

   For me, I know what season it is when I hear Bing Crosby singing White Christmas, or I'll be Home for Christmas or even that Hawaiian classic, Mele Kalikimaka. His voice captures the season, for me. But, the list is long, isn't it?

   Can you hear Johnny Mathis singing Silver Bells? 

   What about Bobby Helms singing Jingle Bell Rock?

   What about the persuasive appeals of Dean Martin singing Baby, Its Cold Outside?  

   What about Brenda Lee is Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. 

   I think Gene Autry singing Frosty the Snowman can probably elicit as much audience participation as any, though Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is high on the list, too. And, I haven't even mentioned the tunes from Charlie Brown's Christmas movie. 

   Music is so important to what it means to prepare for Christmas. Even as we think about that first Christmas, we hear a heavenly chorus singing praises to God over the heads of shepherds as described in Luke 2.

   The combined choirs that have been preparing for months now will touch your heart on Sunday at 6:00 PM. Join us this Sunday evening for music that prepares us, again, for Christmas to come. Christmas coming every year is God's way of reminding us of our need for a savior. Christmas is the evidence of God's hope in and plans for the world. 

   Grace and peace, Scott

Fake News, Bad News and Good News

The news has been in the news, lately. People are talking about how the media covers current events and also about what people consider to be news. Is all news the same? What about in the church; what is the content of the church's message?

Fake News
According to Wikipedia, "Fake news websites publish hoaxes, propaganda, and disinformation to drive web traffic inflamed by social media. They are distinguished from news satire, because they mislead and profit from readers believing the stories to be true." It is amazing how facts and truth have become increasingly subjective (based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions). People are quick to believe a thing is true based on what they feel or think.

Some people call this the Post-Truth era. Just last month criticism of Facebook and Google grew for how they allowed their algorithms to disseminate multiple fake news articles to millions of people. Many see a click-bait fake news headline and quickly share the article before taking the time to dive into the validity of the content. It seems articles based on facts are not nearly as “headline-worthy” or interesting to people as those that give social media users a chance to say, “I told you so!”
Christians have no business clicking or sharing this kind of news.

Bad News
No one wants to hear bad news. If we could have our way, bad news would never happen. But, is there a place for the news we don't want to hear? For instance, the Scripture reading for this past weekend from Isaiah 1 and 2 was pretty stark. It told of sins against God and injustice against each other. God, speaking through the prophet, even said that God was no longer interested in people practicing religion inside the Sanctuary if they continued to live poorly outside in the world. It was about how badly we've messed up. This was the reading that churches around the world embraced to get ready for Christmas. What place does bad news have in our lives as Christians? How much bad news (the kind that speaks about sin and our need of a Savior) do we want to include in worship?
Christians cannot grasp our need for Jesus without knowing how bad our own stories have gotten.

Good News
Jesus. The best news ever told. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is the best news. God has made promises to deliver us. We need to focus our vision, and adjust our lives to recognize the evidence that it is already happening around us.
Christians cannot share the good news enough. We are nothing, if not witnesses to the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world. There is nothing fake about that. Grace and peace.

The Next (Huge) Thing You Are Going to Do

   What is it? Think about it: the giant goal, the amazing project, asking him out or asking her to marry you, the next purchase, starting that degree, or transitioning into that career field. What is the next, big thing you think about when you find a little quite time apart from the demands of the right now? Let me come back to that...
   We are all thinking ahead, at least some of the time. The difference between the "get-things-done" folks and the the others who stop at dreaming is that the first group is able to convert their dreams into actionable next steps. Planning for a great future is about taking something too large for today and turning it into small, achievable tasks that move you forward.
   Worship is like this. My goal, every week, is that we would hear from God, we would adjust ourselves back in the right direction, and that we would commit to the Holy Spirit's next steps for us.
   Christmas is like this. Christmas is more than a single day. Christmas is about the amazing truth that God came to earth to save us. It is so big we must approach it in small parts. This is the very reason that the church spends four weeks preparing for Christmas.
   It all starts this weekend, in worship. Christmas is still four weeks away, but we begin the journey now. 

   So, about that next, giant thing from earlier. Have you prayed about it? Have you asked God for feedback? Have you starting making a list? Have you make the napkin-sketch plan for how to get from here to there? Have you shared it with your best friend and asked them to hold you accountable? 
   Grace and peace, to us all, as we look to the future.

Our History Runs Deep

   Bishop Lawson Bryan, who started in September as leader of United Methodists in South Georgia, passed along an interesting piece of information this week...
   "One of the great traditions of The United Methodist Church is the presentation of a Bible to each newly elected president. This practice dates back to the very first president of the United States when Bishop Francis Asbury presented a Bible to President George Washington in 1789. The tradition has continued with each subsequent president. When the Council of Bishops met recently at Epworth By The Sea each bishop added his or her signature to a Bible that will be presented to Donald Trump following his inauguration." In addition to a letter requesting a date to present the Bible to the new president, Bishop Bruce Ough sent along this prayer,

And so, I pray for you and our nation: Holy God, creator of us all,

Send your Spirit of peace, justice and freedom upon us;

Break down the walls of political partisanship and economic disparity,

and make us one. Give us wisdom to walk in your ways.

Remind us that your ways are not our ways;

That your power and might transcend the plans of every nation.

Teach us again to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.

Amen.

The Peace of the Lord,

Bishop Bruce R. Ough, President

On behalf of the Council of Bishops

The United Methodist Church

   To be United Methodist is to be connected to ministers and laypersons - men and women - who have literally helped to shape the history of our nation. It is no wonder that both Francis Asbury and John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, are remembered with statues of them on horseback in our nation's capital. Here you see the crowds gathered at the dedication of Asbury's statue in 1924 with President Calvin Coolidge presiding.

   Let us be a people of influence and witness as the holidays approach. Let us offer the love and hospitality fitting citizens of this nation and God's Kingdom. Grace and peace, Scott

Resentment is Not Right

   I pray that you are living this day and all of the days ahead with the deep, uniquely Christian awareness that

• God is good
• the future is filled with hope
• and that our witness to the world matters.

   C.S. Lewis, the popular, British theologian of the last century, was fond of writing about the future in fantastic ways. He also wrote some about politics. He said that the person who focuses too much on politics can be tempted to spend too much time comparing themselves to others. The comparison lie leads to measuring others in unfair ways. He goes on to say person then...

...therefore resents every kind of superiority in others; denigrates it; wishes its annihilation. Presently he suspects every mere difference of being a claim to superiority. No one must be different from himself in voice, clothes, manners, recreations, choice of food: “Here is someone who speaks English rather more clearly and euphoniously than I — it must be a vile, upstage, la-di-da affectation. Here’s a fellow who says he doesn’t like hot dogs — thinks himself too good for them, no doubt. Here’s a man who hasn’t turned on the jukebox — he’s one of those highbrows and is doing it to show off. If they were honest-to-God all-right Joes they’d be like me. They’ve no business to be different. It’s undemocratic.” - from Screwtape Proposes a Toast, 1959

   Did you catch that? If we're not careful, we begin to hate our differences, living as though, "People who are different are bad." You and I know that Jesus is not in such thoughts. But, how often have our thoughts moved down this exact same path?
   My prayer is that we focus on what is kind, honorable, and true. May we not fall into the trap of thinking about ourselves as compared to others, but instead stand firm on the truth that God is good, our future in Christ is amazing, and being led by the Spirit is the greatest witness we can have.
   Grace and peace, Scott

November 9 Matters More

   Is anyone out there tired of the 2016 Election Season? One reason is its length. The first candidate to formally organize a committee to explore a run for the presidency did so on November 20, 2014 - 720 days before next week's election day. The first person to formally declare their candidacy did that in March 2015, 597 days before election day. The length is not the only thing that has wearied Americans; another reason is the tone. Mudslinging is a polite description of what candidates and their surrogates have been throwing in every direction. Take heart, November 8 is almost here.
   Yet, I believe with everything in me that November 9 matters more. Most likely, in the wee hours after the polls have closed on Tuesday, someone will be declared the winner. However, despite the election coming to a conclusion, 40% of the country will feel like losers. Think about it; apart from the election season, most surveys find that 40% support one party, 40% support the other, and the remaining 20% are independent or support a third party. So, the end of the election does not end the division and the frustration many Americans are having. It will not be over on Tuesday.
   I believe November 9 matters more. For one, we have to be a united nation, again. But, for Christians, our toughest job starts Wednesday: to witness to the to love of God and truth of Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes so that we would be witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Jesus said, "everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other" (John 13:35). Sing the tune in your head as you read these words: They will know we are Christians by our love. We are not called to be Republicans by our Facebook posts or loyalty to Fox News. We are not called to be Democrats by our yard signs or window decals. We are called to be Christians. People will know it by our love.
   Every person you meet on November 9 and forward will need to hear something good...
Tell them God loves them.
Tell them you love them.
Tell them we are still united.
Let us be kind, for our witness matters more than winning. #Nov9mattersmore
   Grace and peace, Scott

In Position to See God

   I tried to stay focused on the words as the young people stood in front of everyone to receive their Bibles. It was difficult. I was really proud of them. What a moment for them, to be recognized for being present and for wanting to learn and grow. Those two traits will take them far in life and faith. The words of the Church in that moment were,

Receive the Word of God. Learn its stories and study its words. Its stories belong to us all, and these words speak to us all. They tell us who we are. They tell us that we belong to one another, for we are the people of God.

  

I keep returning to the truth captured here; the Bible contains old stories that we grow up to realize are our stories. We are the lost sheep, the wayward son, the parent who celebrates. We are the sinner who comes back, the disciple who still has doubts.

   Our church is literally changing the lives of children every week. It happens because we rely on the Word of God and it happens because of adults who serve with love and grace. 

   The theologian Karl Barth suggested that reading the Bible is like walking out of a building to see everyone standing in place and gazing up at the sky, only to realize that what they are looking at is blocked from your view by the building. From the expressions on their faces, you know you want to see what they are seeing. So, you move yourself into position to see for yourself. I celebrate every parent who is moving their child into position to see what we see in the Bible; the grace of God, the love of Jesus, and the ongoing power of the Spirit.

   Grace and peace, Scott

The joy and heartache of youth

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

The third verse of one of most-beloved hymns, Come, thou Fount of every blessing, is literally filled with more truth and life experience than can be expounded upon in any brief space. No truer words have been written about humanity; we are in such significant debt to God we will never repay the amount; the best our hearts can hope for is to be bound to God; our very souls too often wander away from their true home; and in the end we will stand in courts above with nothing but our hearts on display.
   Written by Robert Robinson in 1758, you'd think it was penned by one of the great composers and theologians of all-time. I guess it was. But, would you believe that Robinson was only 23 years old when he wrote it? How can that be, I exclaim? In addition, he'd only known opened the door to Justifying Grace, being saved by Jesus Christ, three years earlier. He'd been in a barber's apprentice and was influenced by the preaching of George Whitfield, one of John Wesley's closest friends.
   I am now twenty years older than Robinson was when he wrote these words. On my best days I don't think I grasp my own sinfulness, and the towering grace and goodness of God, half as well as he does here. Yet, God has grace for us both. I am forgiven despite my wandering heart and the debts of my soul. I am now a new creation, free to move past the weight of sin and into the light of holiness of heart and life. Lord, let it be!
   Even now, our community is reeling at the news of the death of a young person, allegedly at the hands of two other teenagers. Lord, heal the deep and terrible wounds that remain in the lives of their loved ones. Lord, give us the courage to engage young people with the very love that has saved us and offer to them a witness to abundant life and the hope of God's glory. Finally, may we see the goodness of God and the potential of grace in the lives of every person. Grace and peace, Scott