The Sunday morning church hour is often considered to be the most segregated hour in America. Warner Sallman’s “Head of Christ” is a well-known representation of our Savior, but it might be a little historically inaccurate. Once, in Matthew 15:21-28, a Canaanite woman stood up to Jesus in a battle of words. What do these ideas have to do with each other? Click the link below to hear Pastor David’s message on the state of our dividedness.
Cleaning up the mess…again
One of the joys of dog ownership is cleaning up after the dogs when they’re sick. Wait, did I say “joys”? I meant “trials.” This time the culprit is our girl, Lindy – I think she may have picked up a bit of a bug, or perhaps she ate too many blackberries from our back yard. In any case, the past week or so has been less than pleasant for all of us. But as I cleaned up after her for the third or fourth time, I thought to myself, “There’s a sermon in this.”
No matter how many times Lindy makes a mess in her crate or in our mud room, Tara and I will clean it up. We’re certainly not happy that she does it, and after a while we’ve come to realize that she doesn’t do it on purpose. That helps to reduce our anger toward her; in fact, when I was cleaning up after Lindy this week, I found myself feeling sorry for her that she felt so sick.
Theologically speaking, the correlation between my relationship with Lindy and God’s relationship with any of his people is pretty weak. In fact, the analogy breaks down at a fundamental level. We often do make messes of our lives: not simply through mistakes, but through something quite displeasing to the Lord – sin. I imagine that our propensity to sin again and again smells pretty rotten in God’s nose.
But sin isn’t quite like Lindy’s sickness. While my dog might get sick because of something she ate, we sin against God willfully, deliberately, on purpose. And to our shame we find ourselves continuing to sin even after we initially accept God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. (Remember my understanding of holiness: we do not become “perfect” in the sense of never sinning again; our perfection lies in wholeheartedly loving God and other people. Sin is still a possibility for those who have been saved.)
How amazing God’s love and forgiveness are, given this recurrence of sin in our lives! I willingly clean up after my dog when she has an accident; God willingly forgives our sins even when we offend him intentionally. I love my dog and remember that she does not mean to make my life difficult; God loves us even though we make his life difficult. God cleans up our messes time and time again – thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Friends, remember that the Lord is slow to anger and abounding in love (Jonah 4:2). Remember that the Lord calls us to live holy lives and that he desires for us to live free from the power of sin. And remember God’s words of comfort and challenge found in Romans 6, which is your reading assignment for this week.
–Pastor David
Why am I alone?
Elijah, one of the greatest Old Testament prophets, saw the God of Israel do some amazing things in his day. Yet when popular sentiment turned against him, he experienced something we all feel occasionally: complete abandonment and loneliness. Click the link below to hear Pastor David tell the story of 1 Kings 19:9-18 and connect God’s response to Elijah to today’s world.
A Testimony of Thankfulness
“We thank You, O God! We give thanks because You are near. People everywhere tell of Your wonderful deeds.” (Psalm 75:1 NLT)
Word travels quickly in a small church, and if you’re reading this on paper, then this is probably old news to you: this week, I was involved in a car crash. On the way to the Detroit airport, my sister-in-law and I got off the highway for a pit stop, and we were rear-ended by another driver while I was changing lanes. Both Leah and I were unharmed except for some soreness the next morning, and to the best of my knowledge, the other driver was not seriously hurt. Leah’s car, which I was driving, is pretty well banged up, though.
Automobile accidents like these are such random occurrences. Any number of choices, actions, or other incidents could have changed the outcome of this event. If only we had left home a minute or two earlier or later; if only I had set the cruise control a hair lower when we first got on the highway; if only we had to stop for gas before we left home…
I am reminded of the terrible collision that occurred in 2006, while I was a math teacher at Taylor University in Indiana. You may have heard of it: a semi-truck crossed the median and hit a van full of Taylor students and staff going the opposite direction. Four students and a staff member were killed; the driver, the front passenger, and one other student survived. Here, the “if only”s involve microseconds: a split second one direction, and no collision happens; a split second the other direction, and the driver, the front passenger, and the other surviving student may not have been so fortunate.
Does God design these events to happen? Does God control the variables? Does God determine who survives car crashes and who doesn’t?
In times like these, it’s helpful for me to count our blessings, with the full awareness that many other people have not been so fortunate. I am thankful that we were hit squarely in the back of the car and not on either the driver’s or passenger’s sides. I am thankful that there was no oncoming traffic, so we were able to careen to the other side of the street without causing more destruction. I am thankful that Leah was able to make her flight on time, thanks to the police officer calling a cab for us. I am thankful that we all have another day to breathe, to enjoy God’s creation, to tell of his mercies, to rest in him.
Personally, I don’t believe God predestines the outcomes of car crashes and other random human events. I think he may very well be surprised when these events occur, just as we are. But I do believe wholeheartedly that God walks with us through times of trial, that God grants peace to his people no matter the circumstance, and that no matter what happens to us, he will care for us. Thanks be to God!
–Pastor David
Why struggle with God?
Jacob wrestled with a man in Genesis 32:22-32 – or did he wrestle with God? He won the match but suffered a dislocated hip. He got a new name but didn’t learn the name of his opponent. How can this ancient, mysterious story connect to our lives today? Click the link below to hear Pastor David’s message on this passage.
Finding Answers
Lately, I’ve been asking a lot of questions. Our current sermon series asks a number of questions that have proven to be obstacles to faith for many people. The past couple of website articles (like this one) have posed questions, as well – sometimes introspective, sometimes relating to our world. And I’ve even invited folks at church to ask questions of God and to let me know what those questions are. Thanks to those of you who have taken up that challenge – it’s been quite illuminating for me to hear from you!
With all of these questions, you might start to wonder if and when we’ll find any answers. So today I’d like to take a few moments to describe where I find answers to big questions of faith, and perhaps this can be useful for you, too.
Scripture. As disciples of Christ, our first and most important source of answers is the God-inspired book which introduces us to Christ. Whenever any issue arises, whether it involves relationships at home, management of time and resources, the meaning of life, or anything else, our first course of action is to look to the Bible to glean from its harvest of wisdom. This does not mean, however, that we simply find one or two verses to support the position we already feel is true. On the contrary, we read scripture holistically, from cover to cover, so that we can discover God’s real intention for our lives and his real answers to our questions.
Tradition. In the two thousand years since the New Testament was written – and more since the Old Testament was written – many, many people of faith have lived, died, and struggled with real-life issues in between. We do ourselves a great disservice when we imagine that we’re the first people to struggle with specific questions of faith. Are we struggling to make ends meet and afraid that our resources will soon run out? Let’s see what St. Francis of Assisi believed about material possessions. Are we concerned about the existence of evil in the world? Let’s read recent authors such as C.S. Lewis and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and let’s read ancient writers like St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. We have much to learn from how those who came before us handled the issues we face today.
Reason. The answers to our deepest questions must, in the end, make sense to us. One complaint I’ve heard from people outside the faith is that in order to be a good Christian, you have to “check your brain at the door.” To some extent, I see what they mean: it’s awfully difficult to believe in a God who is one and yet three, to believe that Jesus is fully human and fully divine, to believe that one man’s public execution 2,000 years ago has any bearing whatsoever on our eternal destiny. Yet these and all other issues of faith must be filtered through the brains God gave us. Our questions must find answers that involve our abilities to reason and make sense of the world around us.
Experience. As we search for answers to our deepest questions, we do so as people who have already experienced God’s grace in our lives on many occasions. Are you wondering if God really loves you right now? Think back, if you can, to a moment when you were sure that he did love you. Are you struggling through a difficult situation and unsure how it will be resolved? Think back, if you can, to another difficult period in your life, and remember how God helped to bring you through it. Our experiences can be rich resources for realizing how involved in our lives the Lord truly is. Our experiences can confirm the truths and answers we find in scripture.
May the Lord continue to bless us as we continue to wrestle with questions of faith. Rest assured that there are answers, that God determines those answers, and that he has given us plenty of tools to discover those answers – even though they may take a lifetime to find.
–Pastor David
Why is evil in the world?
The parable of the weeds, which Jesus told in Matthew 13:24-30 and explained in Matthew 13:36-43, raises many questions. With murders and bombings taking place all over the world, we ask many of those questions: How can such evil take place in the world? Why does God allow suffering, if he is good and powerful? Click the link below to hear Pastor David’s reflection on this parable, its explanation, its promise for a harvest, and its implications for today.
Murder in Midland?
As you may have heard in the local news, a man was murdered outside the Burger King near the Midland Mall this week. Is this an anomaly, or is this to be expected in today’s world? Are we comfortable thinking this kind of thing happens in Saginaw but not in Midland? Should we avoid that restaurant for the time being for our own safety, or should we continue going about our everyday lives?
It surely is tragic when one person takes another person’s life. The ramifications of such an action are very broad, affecting more than just the two people involved. In this case, there are two school-aged children who will grow up with their mother in prison. The Burger King employees who were present at the time will remember this event forever. Lives are changed tremendously when one person kills another.
What should our response be as Christians who live in this community? I believe situations like this are opportunities for us to serve as community leaders who bring order, meaning, comfort, and peace to those affected by tragedy. As ambassadors for Christ, we can share the blessings of a relationship with the Lord with those who are hurting. In the next few weeks, if you find yourself near the Midland Mall around lunchtime or dinnertime, I encourage you to eat at the Burger King and say something encouraging or compassionate to the people who are working there. If you hear someone talking about this story in the grocery store, strike up a conversation and be an agent of peace and reconciliation.
Remember that most murders involve people who know each other; random acts of violence are much less common. We do not need to fear other people in our town because a murder has taken place in a public location. On the contrary, this event is more reason for us to be involved in community, to bring the message of forgiveness and salvation and healing through Christ to a world that is desperately in need.
Friends, remember that we belong to the Lord and that this life is fleeting – especially when compared to the eternal relationship with the Lord which is promised to us who believe in him. Do not be afraid; use every opportunity to draw closer to the Lord and to help others to do the same.
–Pastor David
How is it with your soul?
Many Christians and many churches are good about asking other people to turn to Christ, to express faith in him, to be redeemed and reborn. However, our task as followers of Christ goes beyond that: we must constantly be involved in the work of discipleship, maturing in the faith and becoming more like the Lord.
I was reminded of this while reading Dr. Gil Stafford’s new book “Signals at the Crossroads,” which is a compilation of his two earlier “Crossroads” books with some new material he was writing at the time of his death. In this book, Stafford mentions the preachers in the Methodist movement, which began in the early 1800s. These preachers were very concerned not just with a person’s conversion to Christ but a person’s maturity in Christ. One of the questions they asked frequently of their congregations was this: “How is it with your soul?”
Often we are content – or we imagine we would be content – with pews filled with warm bodies. Is that our goal? Are we pleased with numerical church growth? I think we should strive for that, yes! We should continually reach out to our community so that more sheep might be brought into the Lord’s flock. We certainly are called to make more disciples.
But of course the work does not stop there. We are called to make better disciples, as well. Once a person commits to Christ and begins attending church, the process of growth has begun. That process, rightly understood, is never fully completed; each of us should continue to grow in Christ month after month, year after year. Personal challenges must be overcome. Our impulses and desires must be brought under control in the name of Christ. Our relationships must be transformed to reflect the love of Christ to each other and to the world.
Each of us is on this journey of growth toward maturity. None of us has arrived, because none of us is completely like Christ yet. Part of our work as the church is to spur each other on to greater heights of discipleship. We walk together and support one another as one body while we draw closer to the Lord.
So, fellow believer, consider this question prayerfully today: How is it with your soul? And the follow-up is this: with whom will you share your answer to that question?
–Pastor David
Where is Good Soil?
At Mt. Haley we have begun a new series of sermons which will follow the gospel of Matthew and will raise some difficult questions of faith. This Sunday, Pastor David preached from Matthew 13:1-23, the Parable of the Sower, a passage which raises several questions: Where is good soil? Why don’t all churches grow quickly? Are some people simply designed not to accept the seed of the message of Christ? Click the link below to hear this sermon.