Sunday July 8

This Sunday, our theme is "Remember Your Baptism". This is the second of two messages about the sacraments of our church. Two articles I would recommend are By Water and the Spirit and "Baptism and Remembrance of Baptism in the United Methodist Church" . This Sunday's worship bulletin is here.

Mike Yaconelli

Credit Marko also for this clip of Mike Yaconelli highlights. Mike is my youth ministry hero. He was killed a couple of years ago in a traffic accident.

Women in Art

My wife told me about this video the same day I saw a link to it on Marko's blog. Check it out.

Sunday, July 1

We will begin a study for the next two weeks on the sacraments. July 1 will be "Experiencing Communion" in which we will examine the Biblical roots of our modern day practice, and we will center the whole service around the experience of the eucharist. Scriptures will be Mark 14.22-25, Matthew 26.26-29, Luke 22.17-20, Acts 2.42, 46-47, and 1 Corinthians 10.15-17, and 11.17-26. Sacrament refers to a means of grace. Some denominations do not use the word, holding that grace is only bestowed by God, and there is nothing we can do to invoke it. Others want to be sure to communicate that both communion and baptism are purely symbolic acts with no inherent power or meaning in themselves. United Methodists believe that God does act in communion and in baptism. Grace is indeed imparted to those who participate in the sacraments. This is not magic. This is not human manipulation of the divine. This is God responding to his people when they honor God by observing the sacraments. You can read "This Holy Mystery" which is the result of a United Methodist study on communion, published in 2004. On July 8, we will consider "Remember Your Baptism". There is a United Methodist study on baptism also, "By Water and the Spirit".

Sunday June 24

This Sunday, we will again be considering the Lectionary Scriptures. The Gospel reading is Luke 8.26-39, which is the story of the demon-possessed man Jesus encounters in the land of the Gerasenes. This story is also told in Mark 5.1-20. This is a story of change, of radical life transformation. As we have said before, God is a God of change. This story describes the kind of change that can come into a life that encounters Jesus. The other Lectionary Scriptures for this Sunday are 1 Kings 19.1-15, Psalm 42, and Galatians 3.23-29.
The worship bulletin for June 24 is here.

Worship for June 17, Father's Day

Next Sunday we will consider two Scriptures: Romans 8.14-17, and Galatians 4.4-7. Both of these Scriptures talk about the Spirit moving us to cry out to God "Abba, Father!" "Abba" is an intimate term for father, like "Daddy". Wesley spoke much about conversion and assurance of faith by differentiating between the faith of a servant and the faith of a child. What does this mean? How does this work? Do YOU have the faith of a child of God? Read the Scriptures and think about them and let me know what you think. Leave a comment.

Worship for This Sunday, June 10

Our theme for Sunday is "Raising the Dead". This is based on the lectionary Scripture readings for this week. Read about the Revised Common Lectionary here. The Scriptures for this week are 1 Kings 17.8-24, Psalm 146, Galatians 1.11-24, and Luke 7.11-17. Click on each Scripture to read it. You can view this week's worship bulletin here. And further information on the "diamond prayer" is here. My point is this: "Raising the Dead" speaks of change--radical change from one state to another--and this is what God wants to do in us and in this world. How can we get involved?

Wildcat Softball National Champions!!

Wednesday night, the University of Arizona Wildcats defeated the University of Tennessee Lady Vols in the Women's College World Series to claim their 8th national softball title. It was a [sort of] bittersweet [sort of] victory for me since I am from Tennessee. But I am a Wildcat fan now. Period. It is interesting that Monica Abbott, Tennessee pitching ace, was named as the pitcher on the all-tournament team. I guess Taryne Mowatt (Arizona pitcher) will have to settle for being named Most Outstanding Player and winning a national championship.

Mister Rogers

I came across a link to this article today, and it is something you must read.
15 Reasons Why Mr. Rogers Was the Best Neighbor Ever
This article describes the real life Christianity that was the life of Fred Rogers.

The Desperation of God

This article by Sharon Hersh is a must-read. It sheds a lot of light on my views on the Trinity and the God that we worship.

Sunday June 3

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday in the liturgical calendar for the Christian church. As I considered the lectionary Scriptures for this week, what I think is an important insight came to me. Get a head start on worship by checking out the notes and looking up the Scriptures in the worship bulletin.
The critical question to think about is WHY. Why does God represent himself to as a Trinity?

I made it!

I am sitting in the business center of the Hilton in New York typing this. This is not cheap, so it will be short. It is weird being somewhere besides Catalina on Sunday morning. I'll take some photos and post more later. Mindy is rehearsing this AM and I think we are going to Central Park and a couple of museums this afternoon.

Heading to the Big Apple

Saturday, I am traveling to NYC with my wife Mindy. We were able to get tickets for David Letterman on Monday night, so that will be awesome. Mindy is part of the Sanctuary Choir from Catalina UMC, and they are performing at Carnegie Hall. So we will be traveling with a group that I am not in charge of, for a change. I wonder if it will be easier traveling with a bunch of adults rather than the youth I normally accompany? My guess is that it will be more of a headache traveling with the adults.

Sunday May 13

This Sunday is Mother's Day. We will honor and celebrate our mothers in worship. For some, this is a bittersweet time. I know it is for me. My mother died a few years ago. I wish I could talk to her again. There is a liturgical piece in The Pattern of Our Days (from Iona, a monastic community in Ireland) that says it well:

"Underneath are the everlasting arms"--
loved words and loving--
reminds us of a God
who is always there,
like a mother with a young child,
knowing our needs,
catching us when we fall,
comforting, bearing, cradling, dancing, and caressing.

"Underneath are the everlasting arms"--
words of encouragement
in moments of desolation
and loneliness;
words passed down from mother to daughter,
not in cold print but warm with faith.

"Underneath are the everlasting arms"--
now you are dying--
is it hard to let go?
For so long you have been there
to catch, to carry, and to care
Listen, love, I want you to know
that I can cope:
first your faith nurtured me,
and your strength,
but now I have found my own.
Let go.
Into God's hands I commend your spirit;
Underneath are the everlasting arms.

Momma, into God's hands I commend your spirit. Underneath are the everlasting arms. Amen.

Our study for this Sunday is Moving Forward in Sanctification. The subject of sanctification is important to us Methodists. Well, it was important to Wesley, and it should be important to us today, but it often is not. It might be good to read the background material and the Scriptures ahead of time. The worship bulletin is here.

May the life of God be in you today and may the peace of God be with you today. Amen.

Good CD

I am currently listening to this CD: Top 25 Vineyard UK Praise and Worship Songs. It has a great variety of music and I have always liked Vineyard music and it's live worship feel. I saw it at Gospel Supplies where I was able to listen to some samples, but I bought it used on Amazon.com for a MUCH lower price.
I have been burned so many times by CD reviews that I always listen to samples first. You can usually listen on Amazon. I credit Rob Resetar with this idea.

Senior Night

Every year we have a big celebration in the Catalina youth group for our seniors. Last night may have been the best ever. To see the video about the seniors, go here.

Another Piece of Theology: Universal Core of the Gospel

I read this post on the Emergent Village blog. It raises questions, rather than giving answers. Read it and think about it.

"Pale Blue Dot" is a video made by David Fu of a reading by Carl Sagan. It is about the place of our earth in the universe, and how we should live. I didn't agree with all of it, but it is extremely thought-provoking, sometimes beautiful, and supremely artistic. As an aside, how many of the films featured in the video can you name?

Atonement

I read an interesting article online today. It is a pretty heavy theological piece, but I found it remarkably readable. It is by NT Wright, and this article makes me want to read more by Wright. The article is actually a response to a radio address and a book, both of which Wright disagreed with and both of which concerned Christ's atonement for human sin. Check out the article here, and a response by the book's authors here.

This Sunday

I guess I've been slowing down lately here on the blog. I really enjoy it, but I've been pretty busy lately. This study for this Sunday in the Refuge is Moving Forward with Each Other. We will look at a lot of Scriptures. The best way to get a preview of Sunday's service is to look at the worship bulletin. You could even get a head start on the Bible study.