The Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 21, 2010
March 21, 2010
John 12:1-8
Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living. [2] Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them. [3] Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus’ feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house.
[4] Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, [5] “Why wasn’t this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces.” [6] He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them.
[7] Jesus said, “Let her alone. She’s anticipating and honoring the day of my burial. [8] You always have the poor with you. You don’t always have me.”
Faith Lens: March 17-23, 2010
Smells Like Frankincense
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Contributed by Jay Gamelin, pastor at Jacob’s Porch, a Lutheran campus mission to The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Warm-up Question
What is the one thing (thing means object, not person) you think you could not give away if someone who really needed it asked for it? Why?
Smells Like Frankincense
The royal family of Oman wants the world to know that frankincense is the scent of Gold, both figuratively and literally. Twenty-five years ago the royal family of Oman commissioned a French perfumer to create a fragrance for the nation of Oman and “Gold”, the name of the fragrance created, is considered by many to be one of the greatest perfumes. For 25 years the company has sold this perfume for a non-recession-fearing price of $230 for a 50ml bottle, about 1.7oz. Currently it sells through many department stores in Europe, Russia, the U.S. and Asia. The royal family is now looking to move into the European markets by opening a store in London. As the family grows its presence, it hopes to grow its coffers as well.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs estimate that the global beauty industry (consisting of skin care products worth $24 billion; make-up, $18 billion; hair-care products, $38 billion; and $15 billion of perfumes) is growing at up to 7% a year, more than twice the rate of the developed world’s GDP. The sector’s market leader, L’Oreal, has had compound annual profits growth of 14% for 13 years. Sales of Beiersdorf’s Nivea have grown at 14% a year over the same period.
Discussion Questions
- What perfumes or colognes do you like or use? How much would you be willing to pay for this perfume?
- What is one beauty product you would be willing to give up for the rest of your life? What is one beauty product you would not give up?
Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 21, 2010 (Fifth Sunday of Lent)
(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)
For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.
Gospel Reflection
It’s a hard lesson this week. In the face of the way Americans consume the world’s resources (6% of the world’s population consuming 43% of the world’s resources) it seems you would want to be on the side of Judas Iscariot. Why waste this perfume when it could be sold and given to the poor? I know what he is saying—I even agree! How could we allow such waste, especially when it comes to something one could call frivolous and luxurious like perfume? No one on the planet needs perfume. It is only a luxury with no point other than to smell good.
But Jesus rebukes Judas. He says it is time for perfume. He remarks that it is not time to be without. It has a place, this waste. Jesus gives permission for excess. Jesus says it is OK to overdo it. What gives? How is there value in throwing money away?
We are surrounded by darkness. We see the problems of the world every day. The temptation is to pour our whole selves solely into saving the world in any way that we can. But Jesus points us to the idea that we must not always address the dark. Sometimes we are called to celebrate in the light. Sometimes we must sing, even if the poor are still poor. Sometimes we need to eat well, even feast, even if there are hungry people in the world. We are not called to a life without; instead, we are called to a life of moderation.
As the Buddhist tenet says, “everything in moderation including moderation.” We can fast but we must also learn to feast when it is the right time. We must learn when to go without and when to spend prodigally. As the poet Jack Gilbert argues in his remarkable and wonderful poem “A Brief for the Defense”, we must risk the ability to delight in the world. Indeed, Gilbert goes so far as to argue that only to pay attention to injustice is akin to praising the devil. We must learn to love beauty, to enjoy company, to celebrate when the time is right, and to love a beautiful and wonderful world, even in the face of injustice.
We must learn to live with what we have, but this means having room to celebrate, to feast, to enjoy as well. We must feast when the bridegroom is present. We must risk delight.
Quotables:
For a copy of Jack Gilbert’s “A Brief for the Defense”, pick up a copy of “Refusing Heaven” at your local bookseller. For a chance to read the poem, visit the Poetry center at Smith College website: http://www.smith.edu/poetrycenter/poets/abrief.html
Discussion Questions
- What is something you “feast” on, something that helps you celebrate life? (i.e. music, eating with friends, dates with your beloved, buying gifts) What would life feel like without this feasting? How would it feel to lose this forever?
- This “thing” that you feast on, what would it look like to live this in moderation? Could you put limits on what you spend? What time you give?
Activity Suggestion
The Essentials: Have every person in the group sit down with pencil and paper. They are going to take a trip, let’s say to Paris, for two weeks. Have each person take about 5 minutes to write down a packing list. Try to think of everything they would want to bring.
After they go, have everyone share their lists with one another. If someone says the same thing as on your list, cross it off your lists. If someone says 2 pairs of pants, cross two off but leave the 3rd. After everyone shares, see what items remain on people’s lists that have not been crossed off. Then discuss:
- These things left on your list, do you consider them essentials? Why or why not? What would happen if you left these behind?
- These things everyone crossed off, which of these things do you think you could do without in traveling? What would happen if you left them behind?
- How do you decide what is necessary in life? What guides your decisions? Is it how you feel? What you think?
Closing Prayer:
Jesus, we celebrate your presence. We feast with you every Sunday. We thank you that we may live a life of plenty. But also teach us God with what we should do with our plenty. Teach us moderation so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways. In your holy name we pray, AMEN.
Leave Boldly: Leaving a Lasting Impression March 20, 2010
March 19, 2010
Leave Boldly: Leaving a Lasting Impression
March 20, 2010
One Month to Live
30 days to a no-regrets Life
by Kerry and Chris Shook.
Principle 1: Live Passionately, Living each day as if it were your last.
Principle 2: Love Completely, showing others love that transcends and transforms.
Principle 3: Learn Humbly, growing through your problems and pain
Principle 4: Leave Boldly, Creating a legacy that will impact generations
Day 28, March 20, 2010—Leaving a Lasting Impression
“My children will not remember the words of wisdom I’ve passed along over the years, nor will yours remember the good advise you’ve given. However, etched in their minds and planted in their hearts is a permanent picture of who you are and how you’ve lived before them.” – Dorothy Kelley Patterson
“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill
“Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out.” This is God’s Message: ”If your sins are blood-red, they’ll be snow-white. If they’re red like crimson, they’ll be like wool. Isaiah 1:18
That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure. Philip. 2:13
God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, Titus 2:11-12
Today we are aware of our environmental footprints and how we are trying to decrease that footprint. But we should also be seeking to increase our spiritual footprint. One of the ways that we increase our spiritual footprint is lived out in how we treat others. We are invited by God to serve others, love God and give from what we’ve been given.
Think of a time that your spiritual beliefs led to a practical application of serving others. What need in you did it meet?
Pollution Solution
God calls us to look within and examine our own conscience without judging everyone else. Sin is sin and we all fall short of God’s standard. We all have polluted souls that need to be cleaned.
Jesus Christ forgives and cleanses us of our deepest debris allowing us to love and serve our neighbors. If we want to leave a legacy of grace for those who come after us, we must begin by acknowledging our personal need for God’s forgiveness.
When you reflect on your sins and shortcomings, does it drive you to God’s grace or deeper into hiding?
Recycling Grace
There is a reciprocal relationship between the forgiveness we experience and the forgiveness we extend. This is called recycling grace – giving generously what we’ve received from God.
“The king summoned the man and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. [33] Shouldn’t you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?’ [34] The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. [35] And that’s exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn’t forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy.” Matthew 18:32-35
God loves us just the way you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay that way. And were not asked to even clean ourselves up before Christ will love us. The Bible says, that while we were still sinners, Christ loves us and forgives us. Grace accepts us where we are, but grace also gives us the power to change.
No lasting change can be made in our lives unless we’re transformed and energized by the ultimate power source, the grace of God. Only God’s grace can allow us to let go of past hurts and forgive others. Only God’s grace can motivate us to set our pride, shame, guilt and regret aside and ask others to forgive us. The more we can put the practice of grace into our lives, the greater the legacy we will leave.
“Grace isn’t a little prayer that you chant before a meal. It’s a way to live.” – Jackie Windspear
Prayer: Gracious Father, Your grace is so much more abundant and satisfying than I realized. There is no end to the supply of grace we’re able to receive and exchange. Help me to be generous, but never frivolous in my grace encounters with you and others. Amen.
Leave Boldly: Making a World of Difference March 19, 2010
March 19, 2010
Leave Boldly: Making a World of Difference
March 19, 2010
One Month to Live
30 days to a no-regrets Life
by Kerry and Chris Shook.
Principle 1: Live Passionately, Living each day as if it were your last.
Principle 2: Love Completely, showing others love that transcends and transforms.
Principle 3: Learn Humbly, growing through your problems and pain
Principle 4: Leave Boldly, Creating a legacy that will impact generations
Day 27, March 19, 2010—Making a World of Difference
“The true measure of an individual is how he treats a person who can do him absolutely no good.” – Ann Landers
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2
In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. Romans 12:4-6
If our goal in life is to be happy by being comfortable and safe, by avoiding all risk-then we have a problem. We will lose touch not just with the needs of others but with ourselves. God created us to take risks and face huge challenges. Martin Luther’s quote, “If you’re going to sin, sin boldly.” This comes from the idea that we can risk boldly for God, because we’re being held by the love of God.
Maybe by now you are thinking that it is too late to leave a lasting legacy. You don’t have money or power to make a difference in this world. However, don’t under estimate the power God has to use each and every one of us, every day, to bless this world.
How important is comfort to you at this stage of your life? What conveniences would be hardest for you to give up? Your computer? Ipod? Mattress? Hot showers? Coffee maker?
Power of One
Helen Keller said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”
Every day we are bombarded by the news media of the needs of the world, which leads to numbing apathy or resigned defeat. “Why try?” “The problems are bigger than me?”
If we realign our view with God’s perspective, we will do what we can do, no matter how small or inconsequential our efforts may appear. If we touch one life, we may make a difference between life and death, physical as well as spiritual – for another human being. If we make it a habit to do what we can, when we can, where we can, we will be transformed as we help others.
Living Sacrifice
Sometimes it hard to justify the life we enjoy here in
America, while most of the world lives on less than $2/day. Three billion people in the world live on less than $2/day. It is sobering.
We can’t see beyond our own lives for two reasons.
1. Our desire to control our own safe and comfortable world.
2. We are driven to acquire more than give away more.
Paul says in Romans, “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.” We are to become living sacrifices.
Yes we can live the lives we enjoy. However, if we want to grow in character and in faith, then we must be willing to change our goal from one of safety to one of sacrifice.
How? Begin with prayer. Pray for the poor, for their needs, for their healing. It will connect your heart to theirs. We will begin to look beyond ourselves and to rely on God to show us how to love and help those we’re praying for.
How often do you let opportunities pass you by because your contribution feels too small?
Action Required
If you want to experience the full adventure that your life is intended to be, then you have to be willing to take action and serve those in need with God’s love. We are called to offer our time, our talents, our treasure as living sacrifices to God.
1. Time: is the most precious and limited commodity that we have. No one controls this commodity but you. How you spend it reveals what’s planted most firmly in your heart.
2. Talents: You have knowledge, abilities, and skills that can change the lives of others if you will only share them. Most of us underestimate the power we have just by being present in the life of someone else.
3. Money: How we spend our money tells a great deal about who we are and what we value. We need to enjoy our blessings and give generously to those in need. Being satisfied and giving generously is what it means to be a good steward of God’s gifts.
Together we can change the world.
Prayer: God, make my heart sensitive to hurting people and help me see others as you see them. Give me the strength today to see someone’s needs and meet it in your Strength. Amen.
Leave Boldly: Staying the Course When Your Life Crashes March 18, 2010
March 18, 2010
Leave Boldly: Staying the Course When Your Life Crashes
March 18, 2010
One Month to Live
30 days to a no-regrets Life
by Kerry and Chris Shook.
Principle 1: Live Passionately, Living each day as if it were your last.
Principle 2: Love Completely, showing others love that transcends and transforms.
Principle 3: Learn Humbly, growing through your problems and pain
Principle 4: Leave Boldly, Creating a legacy that will impact generations
Day 26, March 18, 2010—Staying the Course When Your Life Crashes
“Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“When you were born, you were crying, and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you will be smiling, and everyone around you will be crying.” – Anonymous
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” Psalm 37:3-5
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Often when were on a time crunch, when our schedules get overloaded, we feel overwhelmed, and the walls start closing in, everything starts to collide, and our lives start falling down around us. Often we are unable to put the pieces together again.
There are a couple of basic causes of most of life’s collisions. If we want to leave an enduring legacy, we have to get on the right road with the Master Driver.
When was the last time you experienced a life collision, a season or experience in which you found yourself coming apart at the seams? How did you respond? How will you respond to the next collision differently based on what you learned from that experience?
Crash Course
A Collision of values. What we perceive as schedule-related collisions are usually value-based crashes. You may say that God is number one in your priorities, but the reality is that He gets your leftovers in time, talent and finances.
One of the greatest sources of stress and frustration in our lives is this collision of values. If our time was suddenly limited to a short period on this earth, we would work hard to align our actions with our beliefs.
A Collision of wills. Sometimes our will collides with God’s will. We get to chose which path we take in life. We can travel in God’s direction, or we can chart our own course. Going our own way often leads to a collision between God’s will and ours.
In what areas of your life do you see the greatest discrepancy between your will and God’s – relationships, finances, spiritual growth, something else?
Willpower
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” Psalm 37:3-5
There are three principles for staying in God’s will.
1. Trust: If we don’t trust God, we’ll want to get behind the steering wheel and take control. This struggle for the wheel is a daily occurrence in our lives. We’re always trying to wrestle the steering wheel away from God. Why? Because we think we can drive better than God and we know what’s best for our lives. Trusting God to guide us means we relinquish control of our lives.
2. Delight: In Hebrew “to enjoy.” When you delight I someone, you enjoy their company, and you want to spend time with them. We often think that if God loves us, he would let us take control of our lives. Rather, God want us to long to be with him, to know Him, to love Him more than any destination we could reach on our own. When we delight in God, our heart’s desires often change. We no longer want our way but His way.
3. Commit: We have to come to a place where we commit to following God’s will. We like to keep God’s way as an option, only if we like it. Commitment, means going God’s way and having it revealed as we follow Him.
Do you feel like you’re damaged beyond repair? That your will and God’s have collided so many times that you’re not sure if you can take one more crash. God still wants to take the wheel in your life. Step out in faith and allow God to take you on a journey. When our will collides with His, He is the only one who can rebuild and redirect us to trusting, delighting and committing to His path.
Prayer: God, our wills collide so many times each and every day. Help me to trust you, delight in you, and commit myself and my life to you, so I’ll recognize you more as my constant companion. Amen.
Leave Boldly: Using Eternal Building Materials March 17, 2010
March 17, 2010
Leave Boldly: Using Eternal Building Materials
March 17, 2010
One Month to Live
30 days to a no-regrets Life
by Kerry and Chris Shook.
Principle 1: Live Passionately, Living each day as if it were your last.
Principle 2: Love Completely, showing others love that transcends and transforms.
Principle 3: Learn Humbly, growing through your problems and pain
Principle 4: Leave Boldly, Creating a legacy that will impact generations
Day 25, March 17, 2010—Using Eternal Building Materials
“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” – Henry David Thoreau
“He is not fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” – Jim Elliot
“But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach.” Matthew 7:26
Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; 1 Cor. 3:12-14
God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. Romans 8:29
We’re all building bridges in our lives, but where are they leading? All our possessions on this earth will be washed away someday, but we last forever – We’re eternal beings. Our legacy is like a bridge; obviously we’d like it not only to endure but to lead others to a significant destination in their lives. So much in this world feels temporary, fragile, and finite that it is difficult to believe that anything we do can have a lasting effect.
What daily chores, routines, or responsibilities seem ceaseless in your life? Dishes? Cooking? E-mails? Phone calls? Driving? Ask God to help you remember that everything you do is noticed by Him.
Eternal Building Materials
If you want to ensure a legacy that will outlast you, that can withstand the ultimate fire drill, you need three key building materials.
First you need convictions. What do you stand for? Convictions are those core values from God’s Word that never change, they’re eternal. Studying God’s word is not enough, we must put it into our lives for it to be a conviction. “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach.” Matthew 7:26 Convictions anchor us, shape us, permeates our lives and becomes a part of who we are.
Second you need character. When we die, we don’t take anything with us except our character, which is at our core. To shape our character God will use:
1. Problems. Sometimes the problems are like fine sandpaper smoothing the edges. Other times they are like a jack hammer chipping away huge chunks that don’t look like Jesus.
2. Pressures. To be Christ like is to keep patience under pressure.
3. People. God likes to use people in our lives to enrich our character. Everyone one of us has people in our lives who are hard to love. God is making your life a work of art that reflects his image.
In what areas of your life are you currently experiencing the most pressure? How have you responded to it so far? How might God be using it to build character?
Third you need community. We need each other. To build the bridges and lasting legacies requires investing in people. We need teammates that help us build bridges that ultimately lead others to God.
Prayer: Eternal Lord, help me keep my eyes clearly focused on you and your kingdom. Today as I build my life, help me chose eternal building materials that will withstand the storms of this life.
Leave Boldly: Planting for the Future March 16, 2010
March 16, 2010
Leave Boldly: Planting for the Future
March 16, 2010
One Month to Live
30 days to a no-regrets Life
by Kerry and Chris Shook.
Principle 1: Live Passionately, Living each day as if it were your last.
Principle 2: Love Completely, showing others love that transcends and transforms.
Principle 3: Learn Humbly, growing through your problems and pain
Principle 4: Leave Boldly, Creating a legacy that will impact generations
Day 24, March 16, 2010—Planting for the Future
“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Faith is to believe hat you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” – Saint Augustine
And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Matthew 13:3-8
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24
Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!— Galatians 6:7
Every day, every moment, with every action, you’re planting something. So the question is what exactly are you planting? What is the cumulative effect of your words, actions, and intentions on those around you and those ahead of you?
From the outside, it may be difficult to discern between a seed and a pebble. But of course, inside they are vastly different. The seed has power and potential in it; it produces life. Unfortunately, some of us are spending our time planting rocks that have no potential, no life, and no fruit.
What item represents an enduring legacy to you – a family home? Your grandmother’s ring? Your family reputation? Your favorite mountain? The ocean? Something else?
Spiritual Gardening
In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who believes in the power of his seeds. He is planting seeds of faith. If we’re going to live lives that outlast us, then we must continually plant seeds of faith.
When people look at your life from the outside what do they see? Does it appear that you are a success farmer? The test to determine if we’re planting really seeds or not, comes your motivation for planting. Are you planting seeds to meet your own needs or to meet the needs of others? John 12:24 reminds us that the nature of seeds is to die, to give itself for others. When we invest in people’s lives, then our legacy becomes like a giant oak, providing life for generations to come.
What did you do this last week that will last for the rest of this year? For ten years? For eternity? How much time did you spend this week reading God’s Word compared to the time you spent searching the web or watching television?
Soil Samples
Most farmers will tell you that where you plant is just as important as what you plant. Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13 talks about different types of soil, different types of lives that come in contact with the Word of God.
1. Callous Life: Not interested in spiritual things at all. They live for themselves.
2. Comfortable Life: These people follow Jesus but are not growing deep in their relationship with him. They give up and drop out when the problems and stresses of life arise.
3. Crowded Life: The seed begins to grow, but then the thorns and weeds choke out the young plants. Each day brings good intentions for spending time with God, but it never happens.
4. Rich Life: This person spends time with God, lets the word grow and bear fruit in their life.
If you want to know that your life matters, then you must be willing to plant eternal seeds in the fertile places of your life. When you focus on knowing God’s Word and commit to loving others selflessly, you can expect God to be actively in your life, helping you to put down roots and bear fruit for others.
Prayer: Merciful God, Why does it feel like a chore to serve you? I struggle to spend time with you, to trust you, to let you in my heart. Here I am Lord. Work the soil of my life to be able to receive the eternal seeds of your kingdom. Amen.
Leave Boldly: Creating a Lasting Legacy March 15, 2010
March 15, 2010
Leave Boldly: Creating a Lasting Legacy
March 15, 2010
One Month to Live
30 days to a no-regrets Life
by Kerry and Chris Shook.
Principle 1: Live Passionately, Living each day as if it were your last.
Principle 2: Love Completely, showing others love that transcends and transforms.
Principle 3: Learn Humbly, growing through your problems and pain
Principle 4: Leave Boldly, Creating a legacy that will impact generations
Day 23, March 15, 2010—Creating a Lasting Legacy
“The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” – William James
“Let’s tell our young people that the best books are yet to be written; the best paintings have not yet been painted; the best governments are yet to be formed; the best is yet to be done by them.” – John Erskine
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17
Too many of us work nonstop, are over scheduled and too busy to slow down. Until our bodies force us to slow down. Then we are faced with the reality that all we have worked for won’t last. After we die it will be gone like a sandcastle at high tide.
As we begin the final section and focus on the principle of leaving boldly, it is so important to understand the investment required to leaving a lasting legacy. The only way to create a lasting legacy is to pour your most valuable resource into the investments with the greatest returns: people. Our relationships are the only investments that can’t be destroyed by a fire or natural disaster or be lost in the stock market.
If we’re going to leave a legacy that the waves of time can’t wash away, we need to do an on-site inspection of the life we’re currently building. We must honestly evaluate the castle we’re constructing to make sure it’s no made of sinking sand.
For what would you like to be remembered? How are you contributing to this goal right now? How long will this legacy last?
Influence Evaluation
Are you more concerned with making a name for yourself than making an impact on others? The names of rock stars, movie stars, pro athletes, politicians, presidents, kings and queens will one day be forgotten. We belong to Christ, and it’s His name that will last; only when we live to influence others for Him will we leave an enduring legacy. We will be forgotten one day. Only what we do for God, how we fulfill the purpose for which He made us will remain.
Affluence Inspection
The affluence inspection isn’t about the amount of money you have, but what you do with it. There is nothing wrong with having resources and wealth as long as we realize that all the material things we have are temporary. We should enjoy the material possessions God gives us but never get too attached to them.
The only way to pass the affluence inspection is by giving. If we keep all that we own and earn only for ourselves, we have failed. We must learn to be givers that make a difference. God wants us to be channels of His blessings.
Think about the possessions you will leave behind one day. Who will inherit them? Remember, we don’t really own anything. We’re just stewards of what God has given us.
Obedience Exam
Trying to understand what God wants you to do, is one of the greatest secrets to leaving a legacy of substance. To find out what God wants you to do; you have to spend time with God, listening and then obeying. When we use our influence and affluence to obey God, we will be enabled to leave behind a lasting legacy.
Prayer: Merciful God, I throw away so many of your resources every day. I will never be a perfect steward, but help me to be a better steward. Help me to use even the smallest amounts of time, money and influence for your kingdom. Redirect me when I have gone off course that I may leave a lasting legacy for those I love. Amen.
LENT 4C March 14, 2010
March 13, 2010
LENT 4C
March 14, 2010
SCRIPTURES
- Joshua 5:9-12. The “disgrace of Egypt” is rolled away, and on the day after the Passover, the people are able to feast from the fruit of the land.
- Psalm 32 (
- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. In Christ, God was reconciling the world, not counting our trespasses, and makes us who are in Christ to be ministers of reconciliation.
- Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32. The parable of a prodigal Father, the wandering and repentance of a younger son, and a resentful firstborn brother.
-We seldom hear the word prodigal used outside the context of this parable, and people often mistakenly assume that it means “bad.” Instead, prodigal means generous, abundant, or wasteful, so prodigality is not necessarily bad. God created species and resources prodigally (abundantly), and it was good (Genesis 1:31). A philanthropist can give money prodigally (generously) to a good cause. In this parable, prodigal takes on a negative tone because the younger son “squandered his property in dissolute living” (v. 13), spending his money prodigally (wastefully).
-This chapter includes three parables that deal with that which was lost but now is found. First is the Parable of the Lost Sheep (15:1-7). Second is the Parable of the Lost Coin (15:8-10). Third is the Parable of the Prodigal Son and his Elder Brother
-This is really a story about a father who lost two sons. (More often we refer to it as the parable of the Prodigal Son) (parables tell us something about God)
-The Angry Elder Brother illustrates the ungracious attitude of the Pharisees and the scribes toward Jesus’ relationships with the sinners and tax collectors.
- Sermon outline by Thomas Garlitz: Three wanderers, the Israelites (OT. reading), the younger son (Luke reading) and you and I. (2 Corinthians reading) All three readings contain the theme of wandering, entering and restoration.
- Luke talks about lost coin, lost sheep and lost son. Also, The Laborers in the vineyard has similar message.
- The older brother had earned it all. None of it was by grace. He is the picture of a moral, uptight, frigid church goer. His religion had worn him down till he felt like a slave and was.
-Will the older son go in to the party, or not? Will the Pharisees and scribes reach out to accept those they consider “sinners”? Will we? Jesus didn’t finish the story. He’s left that to us.
- No one even remembered to invite him, (elder brother) to the party
- Resurrections necessitate celebration.
- Extravagant love of God both fulfills and violates our sense of right and wrong. BB Taylor
- The younger brother lives entirely by grace. The elder brother by obedience. Which one is the slave?
–Come on, the father says to his elder son, stand here on our side, on the side of human beings. BBTaylor
-If the younger son is going to survive, he badly needs some of his older brother’s discipline and devotion. If the older son is going to survive, he badly needs some of his younger brother’s brokenness and humility.
-I don’t know if you have ever noticed, but there is something about having only two choices that can absolutely paralyze you. Often, when a third choice materializes, it comes as a gift straight from God. The elder brother’s third choice is to redefine righteousness–to abandon the lower righteousness (of being right all alone in the yard) for the higher righteousness (of embracing the wrongdoer)
-We are so afraid of letting people off the hook. We are so resentful of unearned love. Unless we happen to be the ones toward whom the father is running, with his arms wide open and tears wetting his beard. Amen. Barbara Brown Tayor.
- Could just as well been called the story of the prodigal father. (Extravagant, reckless)
-This story has often been called a mini gospel.
-The way the parable plays out, it is the righteous who are excluded, indeed who exclude themselves from God’s presence, since God welcomes the lost who are found. I wonder who God will find more joy in than me?! Dan Nelson
- Possible sermon themes: Forgiveness, unconditional love, the law, repentance, retributive justice
- To God, the lost are as significant as the found.
- A good time to talk about retributive justice. When are mercy, grace and compassion the fulfillment of justice and not the denial of justice?
- Two other prodigals: 1. Martin Luther whose father was overly strict caused Martin to spend years using all kinds of religious exercises to relieve his guilt. Not till he discovered he was saved by grace not by works was he able to enjoy Christian life. 2. Paul, a staunch Pharisee strove to perfection under the law until he met Christ on road to Damascus and realized he was saved by grace. Lindy
-But nonetheless, the point is that you can never get away from the love that will not let you go and the elder brother standing there in the courtyard in his own hell is never going to get away from the Jesus who seeks him and wills to raise him from the dead.
-The three “lost and found” stories in Luke are saying the same thing: God is concerned with our getting, not what we deserve, but what we need. DeJong
- Sermon Great expectations. Most of the bad things that happen to us are because our expectations are not reasonable–
Both sons had great expectations that were blown to pieces. this parable is about all of us and our great expectations in marriage, child raising, job performance, and life! It’s not the expectations that are wrong but where we expect to find them. The two sons were looking for permanent joys in the wrong places. At Christmas time we look for permanent joys in the wrong places. We should never lose our great expectations…they are not the problem…it is where we expect them to be fulfilled that might be a problem. Lindy
- Remember, parables were to tell us what God was like.
SERMON FORGIVENESS We usually associate this story with unconditional love but it is also a good time to remind us all the need for unconditional forgiveness. It’s hard to forgive, (the father); it’s hard to accept forgiveness, (younger son ) and it’s deadly if we fail to forgive. (the elder son)
- Is a letting go more than a forgetting (what did the elder brother have to let go of?)
- It’s God’s presence in the forgiver that enables forgiveness to happen.
- Jesus did not take something out of us to make us good. He helped us recognize something with in..truth,
love, forgiveness, etc. Evil, virtue
- forgiveness is when you no longer need to punish
- Forgiveness is not just an occasional act: it is a permanent attitude. Martin Luther King Jr.
- To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee. William H. Walton
- Anger and un-forgiveness are blood relatives.
- Aramaic word for forgive is shaw it means, to untie
-”Don’t marinate in it” Schlessinger
- Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. Paul Boese
- Forgiveness is a by product of healing Hazeleden
- Forgiveness is a process…not just one act.
- Forgiveness is an act of faith. (trust that God is a better justice maker than I am.) Yancey
- Forgiveness is choosing to love. It is the first skill of self-giving love. Gandhi
QUOTES
- There is nothing we can do to make God love us more. There is nothing we can do to make God love us less. Thomas Fortenberry
- Amazing Grace: I once was lost, but now am found was blind, but now I see. . John Newton
- Home is the place where when you have to go there, they have to let you in. Robert Frost
- Love is self enlarging M. Scott Peck
- Love does not possess someone it frees someone. Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
- Love is most powerful and most powerless Buechner
- Those who deserve love the least, need it the most. Cindy lederman
- When you feel unloved, it’s not because you are not receiving love but because you are withholding it. Kubler Ross.
- If you are to love the flawed world which is all around you, you must first love your flawed self. Robert Clarke
- We must be more than our brother’s keepers…we must be our brother’s brother. Rev. TuTu
- Hate can blind as much as love
- Hope is always having an option
- Lousy Living or Lousy Loving Sermon Writer
CHILDREN
1. -There is an invisible thread which connects us to God.
-How long do you think it is. (very short…God is with in us)
-How strong? (unbreakable)
-What’s it called (love)
-What happens when we do not acknowledge it? (nothing, emptyness, God still loves us…)
2. (God in heaven holds each person on a string). When you sin, you cut the string Then God ties it up again, making a knot…thereby bringing you a little closer to Him, etc.
3. God is the big eraser. (forgiver)
HUMOR
- The great thing about this story is that we can identify with all three characters (except the fatted calf)
- The prodigal pig
ILLUSTRATIONS
-Few are aware that The Prodigal Son has a Buddhist parallel in one of the major writings of Mahayana Buddhism. The Buddhist parable is part of the famous Saddharmapundarika Sutra (also called the Lotus Sutra, composed at the end of the second century AD) [it's very long!]
PRAYER PHRASES
- …open us that we might hear some new word from this very familiar story. May we discover ourselves and our place at the party thrown by the father.
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REPENTANCE Literally the word means Turn around!
-Illustration Sin is like mud on a window. God’s love and mercy is like the sun trying to shine through to us to light our way, cheer us and give us life. But the mud keeps the sun from shining through the window. The mud stops the rays from reaching us. It doesn’t stop God from trying to shine on us but it stops us from being able to receive the light of the world. With the tears of repentance we ask forgiveness and the mud is washed away. So the reason repenting is so important is because without it we have obstacles between us and God’s grace. Rev. Elizabeth Lee Sel
-It isn’t our job to judge others. But it is our responsibility to call others to repent, the judgment is between them and God
-The ground for repentance must include soil for acting out the new identity.
-We shall have to repent, not so much for the evil deeds of the wicked people, but for the appalling silence of the good
people. M. L. King Jr.
-If we put off repentance another day, we have a day more to repent of, and a day less to repent in.
- It is much easier to repent of sins that we have committed than to repent of those we intend to commit. Josh Billings
- Does repentance precede grace or vs.vs.?
-Not expressing or repressing but confessing.
-You’ve got to get them lost before you can get them saved.
- Wow! it’s now already. Buechner
- Repentance is not about the past but about the future!!
- The best we can become is redeemed sinners
-Repent brings the past into the present.
- Repent equals opportunity.
- Christians are like manure….they tend to stink when all piled together. They fertilize when spread around properly
Learn Humbly: Road Signs March 13, 2010
March 13, 2010
Learn Humbly: Road Signs
March 13, 2010
One Month to Live
30 days to a no-regrets Life
by Kerry and Chris Shook.
Principle 1: Live Passionately, Living each day as if it were your last.
Principle 2: Love Completely, showing others love that transcends and transforms.
Principle 3: Learn Humbly, growing through your problems and pain
Principle 4: Leave Boldly, Creating a legacy that will impact generations
Day 22, March 13, 2010—Road Signs
“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” – C. S. Lewis
“Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God.” William Carey
Now the wife of a member of the company of prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.” Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.” He said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not just a few. Then go in, and shut the door behind you and your children, and start pouring into all these vessels; when each is full, set it aside.” So she left him and shut the door behind her and her children; they kept bringing vessels to her, and she kept pouring. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” But he said to her, “There are no more.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 2 Kings 4:1-6
Are you walking through a dry season in your life, when nothing seems to go right? Maybe you’re thinking that it would take a miracle to turn your life around – for your marriage to survive, your business to succeed, your children to return. First: God is in the miracle business. Second: There is no special formula or magic words. God is not a genie, to grant us three wishes. However the only way to experience the miraculous is to move in God’s direction. There may be no special formula, but there are some road signs that can help us on our journey.
One-Way Streets
If you want God to work a miracle in your life, you have to realize there are two one-way streets you have to travel on to start the miracle. The first is to admit your need. The second is going to God as the only One who can lead you in the right direction. There is only one outside source who can provide the miracle needed. We can go directly to God, the only One with the power, wisdom and love to focus on our best interests.
How difficult is it for you to admit your needs? What keeps you from sharing them with people who care about you? What keeps you from turning them over to God?
Stop, Look, Listen
The next road sing on our journey is a stop sign. We will need to stop and assess what we have to work with. God always beings from where we are and with what we have; He doesn’t just zap us and make everything perfect. Give to God your time, talent, resources and energy, no matter how limited they may seem, they will be God’s starting place.
You-Turns Allowed
The third road sign on the journey is make a U-turn from a negative direction to a positive. We often react to problems with sweeping exaggerations, that everything is bad and nothing is good, there is no hope.
Faith is not ignoring the present reality; it’s acknowledging that with God all things are possible. It’s not pretending that a problem doesn’t exist-faith helps you see from a new perspective, through God’s eyes. God takes the little bit that we have and multiplies it; he takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary. These miracles, works of God’s grace reveal God’s presence in our lives. A U-turn takes us from the negativity of the problem and turns us back to God.
Yield Ahead
The fourth sign is the yield sign. We need to begin serving others with the blessing He’s already given us. In the lesson from 2 Kings, the widow was told to give all her neighbors the oil blessing that she was to receive. When we are in the middle of a problem, we tend to horde our time, our resources and energy to take care of our needs. We are usually unaware of the empty vessels that surround us. Worries and problems tend to blind us. So find so empty vessels this Lent that need you to pour life into them.
The miracle God provides may not look like what we asked for, but ultimately we recognize how he has given us more than what we could have even imagined.
Prayer: Almighty God we are all on the journey of life. Right now some of us are in desperate need of a miracle. We don’t have the vision to see beyond the mud hole we are stuck in. Come and work in our lives with your power, grace mercy and love. Open our lives to be a blessing, to be an answered prayer to others. Take our ordinary lives and make them extraordinary for service to you and our neighbors. Amen.
Calumet Lutheran Ministries
March 12, 2010
On the northern shore of Lake Ossipee, at the edge of New Hampshire’s magnificent Mount Washington Valley, Calumet is the camp and conference center partnering with 200 congregations of the New England Synod, ELCA. Throughout the entire year, Calumet hosts thousands and thousands of folks of all ages, from all backgrounds and all walks of life. In addition to supporting Calumet directly, each year Zion Lutheran pays one-half of one week’s tuition for every Zion young person who attends summer camp.
Camp Calumet (www.calumet.org)
