Memorizing Scripture

If you were raised in church, like I was, you may have committed certain verses of the Bible to memory.  When I was a child, my home church had various Wednesday evening programs.  I remember one of them was called “Bible Mountaineers” – the different age groups of children had labels such as “Cliff Climbers” and “Summit Scalers” – and through the course of the year, we had specific verses and passages of scripture that we were encouraged to memorize.  Those assignments ranged from simple verses (“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23 NIV) to entire chapters (I crammed all of 1 Corinthians 13 into my short-term memory one week!).

photo by valleyboy74
photo by valleyboy74

Even if you were not raised in church, or if you are not a believer, you probably know at least part of one Bible verse.  All I have to say is “John 3:16” and some words might come to mind.  (“For God so loved the world…”)  Here’s an easy one to memorize right now:  “Jesus wept,” John 11:35, the shortest verse in the Bible!  That’s not a flippant idea, by the way; even that one verse reminds us, in its context, that Jesus feels the pain of the loss of loved ones.  His friend Lazarus had died, and while the story ends with rejoicing in Lazarus’s resurrection, Jesus still wept when he was shown Lazarus’s tomb.

In any case, church-sponsored active memorization of scripture usually ends for us when we graduate high school – or even earlier.  If you desire, as I do, that our children at Mt. Haley would be raised in the Christian faith and memorize important passages of scripture, then take this idea to heart:  Our children will do what they see us doing.

This goes beyond memorizing scripture, of course.  Our children will behave the way they observe adults behaving; they will worship how adults worship.  They will resolve conflicts the way they see adults resolve conflicts.  Our children are watching us, and if they do not see us taking discipleship, outreach, and community seriously, then they may not take those components of Christian life seriously when they are adults.

Why is it important for us to memorize scripture in particular?  The Bible is the foundation for our journey of discipleship; it is God’s word for those who would follow him.  The Bible contains everything necessary to describe, understand, and apply salvation in Christ to our lives.  (By the way, this is as far as I go in approaching theological terms like “infallible” and “inerrant.”  But that’s another conversation.)

Memorizing scripture keeps the word of God at the front of our thoughts.  Memorizing scripture helps us recognize false teachings and ethically questionable practices.  Memorizing scripture proves useful in our times of trouble, conflict, or sorrow.  Memorizing scripture gives us words to say to others when they have such experiences.  Memorizing scripture allows us more opportunities to meditate on the word of God on a daily basis.  This is transformational!

So does your spiritual diet include this practice?  Here are some passages that would be worthwhile to commit to memory.  (Can you add to this list?)

  • Psalm 23
  • Psalm 46
  • Isaiah 53
  • Matthew 6:9-13
  • Matthew 11:25-30
  • Romans 8:28-39
  • Philippians 3:7-14
  • Colossians 1:15-20
  • Colossians 3:12-17

–Pastor David

Prayer Changes Us: Thanksgiving

This week, Pastor David walks us through Psalm 30, a prayer of thanksgiving.  We often express our thankfulness to God for various blessings, but giving thanks should be transformative for us, not simply an afterthought that we direct toward God.  How does this psalm – written for the dedication of the temple – change our attitude toward thanksgiving?  Listen in:

Listen now!

Prayer Changes Us: Adoration

In this first of a series of four messages on the topic of prayer, Pastor David walks us through what Psalm 139 says about the nature of God.  These attributes of God are praiseworthy and can transform how we go about praying.  How should our prayer lives be oriented?  Listen in to yesterday’s message by clicking this link.  (Please note: Pastor David was fighting off a stomach bug during the service, so this message is shorter and “lower-key” compared to normal.)

Listen now!

Green Beans and Scripture

It’s that time of year again:  the time when our garden’s green beans are in full swing.  Those of you who grow (or have grown) green beans know that once they start producing, you are going to be swimming in beans for a little while.  Tara and I are enjoying our second harvest season here at the church parsonage, and believe me, we love green beans.  We love them so much that we planted twice as many as we did last year!  “Swimming” in beans might not be the right term for what we are experiencing right now.  It’s more like a green bean flood.

photo by zoyachubby
photo by zoyachubby

The amazing thing about picking green beans is that it seems there are always more to pick.  Just when you think you have moved every leaf and branch, another few beans catch your eye as they dangle secretly behind another hidden branch.  You can pick all the beans you can see, but if you move a foot away – or look at the plant from the opposite side – you will see many more beans to pick.  And of course if you manage to find all the full-grown beans in one picking, just come back in another day or two and you’ll have that many more to harvest.

In much the same way, there is something to be said for continual Bible study.  If we read a portion of scripture once, we cannot hope to have gleaned all of its meaning.  It takes continual effort, time, and different life perspectives for us to benefit fully from the Word of God speaking into our lives.  In fact, while I work on each week’s sermon, I read and re-read the sermon text several times – many times out loud – so I have many opportunities to see the passage from many different angles.  Just like a cluster of green bean plants, there is always something more to find.

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in scripture: at 176 verses in length, it is quite the work of poetry!  The theme of this massive psalm is the love we have for scripture, for God’s word, for God’s law.  Each of the psalm’s 22 sections (one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet) repeats the theme:  scripture is worth our love and attention.  Read the next-to-last section, verses 161-168:

Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word. I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law. Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands. I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you. (Psalm 119:161-168 NIV)

By the way, whatever you love you will spend a great deal of time studying, thinking about, remembering, practicing, and working toward.  We find it easy to do these things for people whom we love.  I find it easy to pick green beans, because I love the harvest.  What is your attitude toward the Word of God?

A Life of Sacrifice

The book of Hebrews concludes with a series of exhortations, calling the church to conduct itself in specific ways.  Each of these encourages believers to give up something else of value: a sacrifice in the truest sense of the term.  How does Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 connect to our everyday lives – and to our memory of faithful Christians who have run the race before us?  Listen to Pastor David’s message by clicking this link:

Listen now!

Going to Town
photo by salvobrick
photo by salvobrick

Over the past few years, I have learned the art of “going to town” – that is, combining errands into one trip so that we don’t drive 40 minutes round-trip simply to get eggs and a gallon of milk.  You see, life in Indianapolis was much different for us:  we could get to a grocery store, the bank, or the post office in only five minutes.  Living here in the country, in the neighborhood of the church, has changed our approach to life, at least in that regard.

“Going to town” is something we plan for, something we do intentionally, with wisdom, and with purpose.  This attitude is heightened when it involves catching a plane in Flint or a show in Toledo.

How much more should we be careful, intentional, and excited about going the city of God!

By “the city of God,” I don’t just mean heaven.  Yes, we should be careful about going there, of course.  But I believe “the city of God” refers to the way God helps us settle in his presence – beginning even in this life, and continuing into eternity.  Read these words, which we read in worship on separate weeks earlier this month:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say this– those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.  … Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord. (Psalm 107:1-9, 43 NIV)

“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? … My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man– the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath. They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria. I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord. (Hosea 11:8-11 NIV)

Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:16 NIV)

Be intentional about following God on the journey.  Cry out to God when you are lost, and give thanks when the way is made clear for you.  And remember:  God is in the business of expressing his love for us by providing places, physical and spiritual, in which we can settle.

–Pastor David

Approach With Caution

How should God’s covenant with us affect our worship of God?  Hebrews 12:18-29 contrasts the covenant scene of the Ten Commandments with our current situation in Christ.  In very dramatic language, scripture calls us to approach the Lord with caution, for “our God is a consuming fire.”  Listen to Pastor David’s message on this passage, which prepared the Mt. Haley congregation for the Lord’s Supper:

Listen now!

Good News

By now, you probably have heard the story of Antoinette Tuff, the Georgia school bookkeeper who this week helped to prevent a tragic school shooting by talking with the 20-year-old man who entered the school armed with an AK-47.  Many people are talking about, writing about, and celebrating the heroic actions and bravery of this woman.  Ms. Tuff kept the potential shooter talking while he decided what to do: whether to attack students and staff, injure himself, or surrender to the police.  For half an hour, she kept calm and spoke wisdom to this young man until, ultimately, he laid down his gun without having injured or killed a single person.

photo by Br3nda
photo by Br3nda

This is a tremendous story of love and compassion in action.  I want to highlight a few principles for us to consider:

  • This threat was met with the love of Christ.  As I listened to the recording of Ms. Tuff’s 911 call, I was amazed by how she spoke kindly to him, treated him with compassion, and even told him that she loved him.  She spoke openly of pain in her past that led her to consider suicide, but she reassured him that this was not the best answer.  She told him that she was proud of him for giving up without hurting anyone.  The love of Christ is powerful, because even in tense and dangerous situations, this love empowers us to treat other people as human beings with real needs.  “So in everything, do to others as you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12 NIV).
  • This threat was met with nonviolence.  This story should be a powerful reminder to us that dangerous situations can be handled appropriately with nonviolence.  Historically, the Church of God is a peace-loving organization.  We believe that the way of Jesus is one of peace, not violence; hope, not fear; love, not anger.  Jesus instructed a disciple to sheathe his sword when the Lord was arrested (Matthew 26:50-52).  Jesus himself, while being beaten and ridiculed, did not fight back against his assailants (Luke 22:63-66).  Even when the end result was his own death, Jesus was never violent – and his disciples carried on that tradition at his instruction.
  • This threat was met with preparation.  School employees undergo regular training on what to do in exactly this scenario.  Ms. Tuff gave witness to that after the fact; the training helped her handle the situation with her instincts.  Put differently, the training formed her into the kind of person that could appropriately handle this potential shooting.  Jesus was tempted by the devil before beginning his ministry (Matthew 4:1-11).  Jesus invested heavily in his disciples so they would know how to behave after his death, resurrection, and ascension.  Later, Paul instructed young Timothy to persist in his spiritual practices so that his life would be transformed, along with the lives of those around him (1 Timothy 4:12-16).

What would our lives look like if we were to live by the love of Christ, an attitude of nonviolence, and daily spiritual preparation?  How would we – and our culture – be transformed?

–Pastor David

All or Nothing

This Sunday was a special day: three of our young people were baptized during the morning service!  In this sermon, which came immediately before the baptisms, Pastor David preached on Hebrews 11:29-12:3, a passage that encourages us to remember that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  Listen in to this message on how God calls us to be faithful to him in all circumstances:

Listen now!