Gratitude

Pk’s Corner

November 2016

Gratitude

1 Chronicles 16:34 “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.”

We are getting into a time of year that will just get busier.  The holidays are rushing toward us like a runaway locomotive.  There is so much to schedule and to prepare.  There are so many events that have to be attended.  In all this hustle and bustle, we may be tempted to forget worship.

Have you ever thought about why we worship, and why we give our time, talents and gifts to the church?  I challenge you with this one word answer…Gratitude.

The reason we celebrate this holidays is to express our gratitude to the risen Christ.  Thanksgiving, though steeped in the traditions of the Pilgrims, is actually a day set aside to be thankful for all that we have, whether it is much or little.  Christmas is set aside so that we can honor the birth of the one person who will save us from our sins and give us eternal life. 

But we tend to overlook that each Sunday is set aside to give us an opportunity to show gratitude to God for his love.  His creation provides our every need, and there is nothing we have that did not originally come from God’s creation.  Many of us are grateful for God’s hand of providence that has brought us through rough times, and even deatdly illness. 

This is what worship is truly about; showing our gratitude to a loving God.  Now, God does not force this upon us.  He does not demand we thank him, that is not what a loving parent does.  It is our privilege to offer God our thanks.

When we come to worship, we need to be there to show our gratitude, and not just in our presence, but also in our giving.  Loving our neighbor and meeting their needs shows gratitude to God for meeting our needs.  Our time of offering is a sign of Gratitude to all that God has done for us.

So, as we plunge into the coming holiday season, let’s not neglect any opportunity to show our gratitude to the one who has given us everything.  Show your gratitude by worshiping, giving, loving, and helping.  Remember everything God provides in your life, and be thankful.

Amen

Change

Pk’s Corner

September  2016

Ephesians 4:17 (NRSV)  ¹⁷ Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds.

There is a change in the air.  The weather will soon start cooling.  The kids have already started school.  Clothing styles are moving from keeping cool to keeping warm.  In a few months, our government will even change.  The question is, are you changing. ?

Knowing Christ is not about keeping things status quo.  Knowing Christ is about change.  Knowing Christ means you are putting on a new self and casting the old away. 

In Wesleyan terminology this is called going on to perfection.  These changes that take place are because God is working on you to bring you closer to him.  Our acceptance of Christ is the step we take then God takes it from there.  But it also means that we have to be willing to let go of our old life.

Each day a conscious decision must be made, do we fall back into our old ways, or do we let God continue to do his perfecting work on us.  Paul understood the temptation to those who wanted to fall back to the old ways.  Each and every person has within them the voice that tells us the old way was better.  We can choose to listen to that voice, or we can choose to keep Christ in our hearts.

God calls us and will keep calling us to have a deeper relationship with him.  That relationship shows in the way we live and the way we love one another.  It isn’t always easy, but every step we take with Christ brings us closer to him.

So, are you changing?

Amen

Keeping the tomb empty.

Pk’s Corner

April 2016

Mark 16:6 but he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He has been raised; he is not here.  Look, there is the place they laid him.” (NRSV)

I can only imagine the fear, surprise, joy and sorrow that was felt when the women first came to the tomb.  In the four gospels, we have similar accounts of the event, and they all lead to one conclusion; the tomb was empty.

We celebrate the new beginning that this action means.  Death has been conquered and is no longer to be feared.  We have a risen savior who has died for our sins and then came back to life to bring us to him.  We have hope in the risen Christ, and that hope gives us strength to face the trials of life.

But, we also tend to hang out at the tomb.  God empties the tomb, and still we want to fill it up.   The tomb is meant to be empty, and we insist on keeping it full.  You see, we tend to gravitate back to world views and thus we come back to the tomb.  Death is abolished, yet the world seems set on living in death.

Now you are probably thinking, “Gosh Kent, what has gotten into you”, all I ask is you bear with me.   The reality is this, any time we turn away from Christ we go back into the tomb.  Every time we do not love our neighbor, we fill the tomb.  Every time we stop loving one another, we fill the tomb.  Every deaf ear turned to those in trouble, fills the tomb.  Every time we ignore a hungry person, every time we refuse to shelter the homeless, every time we have not shared the word of God, we fill the tomb.

The empty tomb is meant to stay empty.  The only way to keep it empty is to be the people God has called us to be.  Not the once a year Christians who think about following Christ during Lent, but the 24/7, 365 followers of Christ we are called to be.

You see, the empty tomb moved the bar up.  We are not called to be white washed tombs, but children of the Risen Son.  We are not meant to be among the dead, but to live with the living Christ.

So, are you keeping the tomb empty?

Amen

Who Killed Jesus?

Pk’s Corner

March 2016

Mark 15:20 (NRSV

 ²⁰ After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him.  Then they led him out to crucify him.

Once while I was getting a cup of coffee between church services, one of the members of the adult class confronted me.  Her voice was a bit on the shrill side as she point blank asked me the question, “Preacher, who killed Jesus.”

It seems the class had a discussion going that descended to blaming a particular people for crucifying Christ.  The camps divided into blaming the entire Roman nation, or the entire Jewish nation.  My response as I looked her in the eye, “I killed Jesus”.  Needless to say, this set her back, and a whole new discussion ensued. 

As I look at this verse, I realize how easy it is to replace “they” with “we”.  We stripped him, and we led him to the cross.  

You see, we have all sinned, and only the one without sin can save us from sin, but that had to be paid for at the cross.  Each of our sins is like a hammer strike on the nails.  Yet, our repentance is a new resurrection into the Body of Christ.  

Granted, in that time and place, the blame of crucifixion falls on two peoples, the Roman army and the Jewish hierarchy, but ultimately the crucifixion hammer is in my hand. 

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world…” puts in a nutshell the power of Christ in our lives.  That one act of execution covered every sin everywhere for all eternity.  This means that those who repent and believe will have everlasting life. 

Yes, the blame is laid on you and me, but the gift of eternal life, is Christ’s to share with all who believe. 

Thank you God.

Amen