"Hopeful Praying"

Isaiah 64:1-7

The season of Advent has begun, and what a perfect way to usher in this season than by celebrating hope. Yesterday in worship, we talked about hopeful praying. Hopeful praying means that if you pray for rain, bring an umbrella when you go outside. Hopeful praying means that we boldly offer up to God our prayers and dreams. I have known people that have even argued with God in prayer. In his book A Jew Today, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Elie Wiesel tells the story of one remaining member of a Jewish family, who prays to God, “Master of the Universe, I know what You are doing. You want despair to overwhelm me. You want me to cease believing in You, to cease praying to You, to cease invoking Your name to glorify and sanctify it. Well, I tell You: No, no – a thousand times no! You shall not succeed! In spite of me and in spite of You, I shall shout the Kaddish, which is a song of faith, for You and against You. This song You shall not still, God of Israel.” When all else failed him, when he had nothing else to hold onto, this man clung to the one thing that he could do, he practiced the spiritual discipline of prayer. He yelled at God, he pleaded with God, but he refused to be taken in by the despair that surrounded him. Only prayer to God - even angry prayer - that was ultimately grounded in hope provided the path to reconciliation with God. Prayer directs our passion toward God. That is why it is so important that we learn more about the Advent Conspiracy, because by doing so we are directing our prayers during the season of Advent where they truly belong - toward the manger that holds our newborn Savior. What are you praying for this Advent?

Perspective

These two stories are next to one another on the Yahoo main page today. I don't have a whole lot to add. I think they speak for themselves. Crowds gather for different reasons. I wonder what God is thinking about both of these crowds.

Shoppers

Egyptian protestors

Season of Reason!?!

My belly is full. The tryptophan is kicking in, and the sun has set on another epic Thanksgiving celebration. I am grateful to have such a wonderful family with whom I can celebrate. Tomorrow is a day of absolute madness in our society. It is Black Friday, the day that shoppers lose their minds (and often their perspective) hunting for the perfect Christmas bargain. A perfect illustration of how insane commercialism at Christmas has become, I offer exhibit A. The clever people at Mazda have started running their "season of reason sales event" commercials. They make fun of overspending at Christmas by encouraging people to buy a Mazda. Because that is a really inexpensive option! Tomorrow, everyone will be talking about what kind of holiday season we will have based on how much money Americans spend. What is so perplexing about this is that so many Christians completely "buy" into this insanity (double entendre intended). In fact, many of us say with pride, "I will only shop at stores that say 'Merry Christmas'," or "I will only spend my money at stores that play Christmas carols." And we think that by doing that, we have somehow taken a stand for Jesus. But, what if this year, we tried something different? What if this year, instead of celebrating the birth of our savior by going into debt, what if we actually focused on celebrating Jesus' birth? How revolutionary would that be. Take a moment to check out the Advent Conspiracy. This is the most redemptive response to the commercialization of Christmas that I have seen. Our church, and my family, are participating this year for the third time. This has literally saved Christmas for me. Maybe it can for you. In the meantime, today begins my annual Christmas commercial watch. I will share with you from time to time - hopefully in a humorous way - commercials that I think are particularly contrary to the good news of great joy of Jesus' birth. Hopefully, it will be both insightful and fun. Have a blessed season of Advent. Prepare your hearts for the coming of the Lord.

"Do You See What I See?"

Revelation 21:1-5

Several years ago at Light of the Canyon, a young boy was charged with bringing the mystery bag for time with children to church. This was the precursor to Minnie's Bag that we have now. He brought two stuffed animals – one for when he is sad or angry, and the other for comfort. Miss Minnie asked him what would happen if he lost the stuffed animals. “I would probably cry forever” was his response. The congregation was so touched by his love and devotion, many people said aloud, “we would buy you a new one.” Some of you might have missed his response to that because he said it quietly just to Minnie and the children. “It wouldn’t be the same,” he said. It wouldn’t be the same. Do you want to know something. That is how God feels about us. Human beings are a lost and sinful bunch, but God in His infinite love, instead of casting us to the whims of oblivion, remains faithful. In fact, he is so faithful, that ultimately, he is going to bring heaven to us. "And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." That is an image that should give us hope. Because that is what God has in mind for His people. With that promise in mind, it is important to remember that God has raised up this community. And God has been faithful to LOTC for over 27 years. It is now time for us to place our wild and crazy, sometimes audacious, sometimes fleeting and sometimes faithful, hope in God's hands.

"Making Plans"

Scripture: Luke 14:25-33

Yesterday, we talked about the importance of planning ahead, or "counting the cost" of discipleship. This is something Jesus commanded us to do because he was all too aware that many people that came to see him were simply responding emotionally to their experience with Jesus. He knew that once that initial rush of emotion wore off, the people would lose faith again. I mentioned the unique place in the spiritual landscape of our community that LOTC holds. We truly are a "welcoming community of faith where spiritual seekers become loving, serving followers of Jesus Christ." One of the most unique aspects of this statement is that it runs counter to the culture in which we live. Almost every message that we receive on a daily basis is geared to actually manipulate our emotional response. Politicians, advertisers, even churches, create a message that appeals to us not on a level that motivates us to do good, but instead on an emotional level that makes us feel good. I am not against feeling good. I much prefer it to the alternative. But, if we are going to follow Jesus, we must realize that it will not always be blue skies and sunshine. That is why Jesus makes statements like, "Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." At LOTC, we live this out by welcoming people wherever they are on their spiritual journey. We do not force them to conform to a spiritual box that "feels good." We offer Jesus Christ. Sometimes that means that we feel good. But sometimes that means we feel challenged. But, whatever it feels like, it is a path that requires some thought and planning. That is why we are beginning this time of discernment. As we move forward to discover what LOTC 2.0 will look like, I ask that you remain in prayer for all of our congregation. If you would like to participate in the conversation, I would love to hear your response to the question that we discussed together. "What does a loving, serving disciple actually look like?" Please be as detailed as possible

"Memory"

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-2

Yesterday, we celebrated All Saint's Sunday. This celebration in the church has a long history and it has evolved over the centuries. In the United Methodist tradition, All Saint's Sunday is the day that we remember and celebrate the lives and the witness of all of the people that have passed on before us. We celebrate how these people have influenced our lives, how they have revealed Christ to us. There are two important things to know about this. First, remembering is important. In fact, it is essential to our Christian life. When Jesus shared the Last Supper with the disciples, he told them, and us, to "do this in remembrance of me." We remember so that we can know our story. We can know who we are and whose we are. But, memory is only meaningful if it motivates us to action. Pining for the "good old days" is not memory, it id nostalgia. Christian memory brings to mind God's actions through Jesus Christ so that we are motivated to work for God's kingdom, for God's new creation. The second this to know is that, when we remember, we acknowledge that God is a God of history. God was present before the world began and God will be present will there is a new heaven and a new earth. We, in the grand scheme of eternity, are but specks of time. We are not meaningless specks of time. But, we are not the pinnacle of all that God has done or is doing in the world. What this means is that, while we see how things effect our lives and the lives of our loved ones, God sees how these effect all things. History is moving in God's direction, even if we do not see it. That is important because it gives a reason to hope, and to celebrate.