“I do not do what I want to do. Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Paul’s words in Romans 7:14-25 ring true in today’s world, in a variety of ways. How can Jesus rescue us from the things that bind us? What difference does faith in Christ make in the fight against human trafficking? Listen in to Pastor David’s sermon as we continue our Lenten series on this important subject:
Are We To Spend That Much?
A huge crowd had full hearts but empty stomachs. Jesus asked his disciples to feed the thousands of guests. But they complained: “Are we to spend that much?” Maybe, just maybe, that was the wrong question to ask. Pastor David helps us explore the issue of stewardship in this sermon on Mark 6:30-44.
How to Read Scripture
Many of us at Mt. Haley are about to embark on a year-long journey through God’s Word. We will be reading through the “Chronological Bible” – every verse of scripture arranged, to the best of our understanding, in the order in which biblical events occurred. Whether or not you have read through the Bible before, this will surely be a fascinating experience!
Reading the Bible regularly is an important part of the life of a disciple of Jesus. But if you are like me, sometimes reading the Bible becomes mundane, repetitive, and – dare I say it? – boring. Sometimes I find myself scanning over words on the page and not allowing them to sink into my soul, to shape how I think, to speak new truths to me. I believe this is a pretty common challenge for anyone who does any task repeatedly. It takes constant dedication to such a task to make it continually meaningful.
An ancient Christian tradition may be of some help to us as we go about the task of reading scripture for our personal spiritual growth. This tradition is called lectio divina, a Latin phrase that means “divine reading.” For centuries, Christians have found this four-step process of reading the Bible to be very meaningful. I recently read a book that summarizes this process quite well:
- Lectio. Read the passage carefully, paying special attention to words or phrases that jump out at you. Use your imagination. In a narrative passage, try to picture the scene and yourself as one of the participants… How would you feel? What would you say? … Read the passage again. After using your imagination to place yourself within its world, ask the crucial question: what is God saying to me through this text today? … What am I to believe? What am I to do? Of what am I to repent? For what am I to give thanks?
- Meditatio. Meditate on what you have seen, smelled, felt, and, above all, heard in your reading. Dwell. Linger. Abide. Chew the cud. Having entered into the text, let it wash over you so that it becomes the place where you are more fully than the room in which you sit.
- Oratio. Pray. Having listened for God’s word in God’s word, respond. Tell God what’s on your mind. Tell God everything, including the intruding thoughts that keep distracting you from attention to the text. Say “Thank you.” Say “I’m sorry.” Ask for help in understanding and embodying this text.
- Contemplatio. Contemplate. Remind yourself that in this conversation with the text you are having a conversation with God, that you are in the presence of God, and that by grace through faith God is lovingly with you. As in meditatio, let this mutual presence be the place where, for these moments, you consciously dwell.
(quoted from Merold Westphal, “Whose Community? Which Interpretation? Philosophical Hermeneutics for the Church,” Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, ©2009)
May God illuminate our lives and shape our thoughts and actions through the ministry of his written word.
Increasing God’s Investment
What would you do if you were entrusted with a million dollars? Would you try to make it grow? In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to this type of situation. Listen in as Pastor David preaches on this passage and challenges us to consider how we live as Christians:
Practicing What We Preach
Jesus criticized the religious leaders of his day for their hypocrisy. Good thing we aren’t like them, right? Maybe we should think carefully about the masks we wear. Listen in to Pastor David’s sermon on Matthew 23:1-12.
Loving as God Loves
Jesus famously gave us the two Great Commandments in Matthew 22:34-40. What does this have to do with the mathematical concept of a “basis”? And how does it tie in to our practice of sharing the Lord’s Supper together? Listen in to Pastor David’s sermon from this week:
A Risky First Move
Today I hope you’ll allow me to be a little bit nerdy. One of my favorite hobbies is the game of chess. I don’t write about chess often (in fact, only once before, and that was three years ago). But a thought struck me today about the game that I’d like to share with you.
Chess is a strategy game between two players who alternate turns moving their pieces on an 8×8 playing board. The object of the game is to force the capture of the opponent’s king. Checkmate your opponent’s king and you win.
At the beginning of the game, all the chess pieces are set up in a standard position, with each player’s pieces on that player’s side of the board. The king is located right in the middle of the board, next to his queen, behind a row of pawns.
The game’s first move sets the tone for the whole game. There are only twenty options for this very first move: any of the first player’s eight pawns can move either one or two squares forward (sixteen options), and either of the two knights can move to one of two squares (four options).
Do you know what moves are most commonly played first? I checked an online database of chess games played by grandmasters and amateurs alike, both recently and in the past. (I know, but I asked for permission be a little nerdy.) This database contains nearly 7 million chess games. Of those millions of games, the vast majority (over 83% of them) start with one of these moves:
Advance the pawn in front of the king, or the one in front of the queen, two squares.
Even if you don’t know anything else about the game of chess, think about the consequences of these two most frequently played opening moves. The object of the game is to capture the other player’s king; as a corollary, you want to protect your king at all costs. And yet the most common opening moves of the game push one of the king’s closest defenders away from him, exposing him to potential attack.
It is a risky first move.
So it is to be in the game of Christian life. We can play defensively, keeping all our pawns close to home. But the greatest success in following Jesus comes from taking the risks of stepping forward in faith, opening ourselves up to potential harm in relationships with others, trusting that the true Grand Master, the King of Kings, knows what he is doing with the pieces he has called to serve him.
Are you willing to push that pawn two squares forward? Are you willing to step deeper into faith with Jesus Christ? What will that require of you?
Giving to God
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give to God what is God’s.” What did this mean in Jesus’s day, and what relevance does it have for us in today’s world? Listen in to this week’s sermon from Pastor David on Matthew 22:15-22.
Preparing for the Banquet
Jesus told the parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22:1-14, which ends with a somber punchline: “Many are invited, few are chosen.” What does this parable mean? How does it relate to spiritual life today? And how does it connect to our new, emerging vision? Listen in to Pastor David’s message:
Seeing the Goal
We began a new sermon series this week: what is our vision as a congregation? What drives us into God’s preferred future? And what does this have to do with how we communicate as a church family? Listen in to Pastor David’s sermon on Philippians 3:4b-14:
This is the vision statement which Pastor David references in the sermon:
