First Sunday in January (Genesis 1 – 2 and Acts 17)

What did you get for Christmas? You hear that question constantly for about ten days following the holidays. The adults go back to work, and ask each other that question. They’ll joke about their presents and boast about their presents, and savor the afterglow of the presents they gave their spouse or children that gave them so much joy. The children go back to school, and ask each other than question. They’ll compare them, brag about them, display them, and play with them. “What did you get for Christmas?” The breathless answer: “I got …!”

There is a sense in which the Christmas we just celebrated is in fact a second experience of gift-giving. The first gift that was ever given was the gift of creation … of life … of relationship. God gave it to us. The act of creation was a gift … all wrapped in wondrous ribbons and bestowed on Adam and Eve to protect and cherish. It was a gift of a brand new beginning. No I wonder … what did they do with it?

Tom Bandy

Team Meditation: Discerning the Unknown (Acts 17)

Every week you prepare something new and you pray.  And you hope.  And you put your preparations into practice.  But you really have no idea about the outcome.  Will someone who wandered in off of the street find the worship service so compelling that they surrender their soul to the Lord?  Will one of the long-standing church members suddenly “get it” and become a whole-hearted supporter of the congregation’s vision and mission?  Or will step on somebody’s toes and create such a rift in the congregation that you’d rather face the angry mob of Thessalonican Jews in the marketplace?  You just never know.

Paul didn’t know from one town to the next what kind of effect his preaching and teaching would have.  In one town, there’s a riot.  In another, seekers test his words against the scriptures and many come to believe.  In yet another, he speaks to hundreds, but only a very few listen and respond.  You just never know.

There is one thing we do know, however.  We know that Jesus didn’t call us to success.  Instead, he calls us to be faithful, to be committed, and to never, ever quit.  He calls us to go with him from village to village, from house to house, and from the valley of the shadow of death to the hilltop of Golgotha planting, cultivating, and harvesting – even when we know it might cost us our security, our livelihood, or even our lives.

The new year is upon us and there’s a plow with your name on it in the field.  If you put your hand on it, you never know where it’s going to take you.  It’s a risky business, this ministry stuff.  Are you sure you want to go on?

Bill T-B

Worship Theme: New Beginnings (Genesis 1 and 2)

When does the New Year really begin?  For the Western world, it’s January 1^st.  For the Jewish world it’s Rosh Hashanah (in the fall).  But I think the day after the winter solstice is the most appropriate date to mark the first day of the new year.  The shortest “day” of the year is December 21^st (in the Northern Hemisphere), but beginning December 22^nd, the time of daylight begins to lengthen minute-by-minute.  It’s as if God said, “Let there be light” and the light came to be.

But the Christmas trees with all their twinkling lights are coming down and the carcasses of the dead evergreens lie discarded on the sides of the road waiting for the city, the county, or the Boy Scouts to come and pick them up.  And though the days are growing longer, the temperatures will continue to drop for at least a couple more months as winter settles in around us.  We’ll celebrate the new year, alright, but it will be in the middle of the night as the clock strikes midnight rather than in the dawn of a new day.

God said, “Let there be light” and there was light.  And there were planets and plants, fish and cattle, man and woman.  The gifts of life.  And God saw that it was good – all of creation was filled with light.  The first gifts weren’t about the birth of a child born to die, but of children born to live.  As we usher in the new year it’s important to remember that that was the plan.  Life in the light.

And, actually, nothing’s changed.  It’s still the plan.  Children born to live in the light.  The days are longer...really.  It’s still cold and it will get colder.  But we were created to live in the light.  It’s the plan.  It’s the hope.  It’s the promise.

Bill T-B

Worship Design: New Beginnings (Genesis 1 and 2)

“Closing time.  Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end” (Semisonic, “Closing Time,” Feeling Strangely Fine, (Audio CD) Nashville: MCA, 1998.). 

This is the week to play with the themes of new and old, light and dark.  “In the beginning...”  Begin by using a clip from the movie Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982).  Use the scene when the Genesis device is deployed on the “lifeless” planet and it transforms into a lush, living planet.  A Hollywood “In the beginning” scene.  Then launch into a discussion about starting over.  What would it be like to “beam down” onto the movie’s newly created habitat?  What kind of a society would you build if you were the first human on the plant?  After playing with this theme for a bit, the question being begged is obvious: What are you doing to create that society here on the planet we already inhabit?  If you’d care to explore the fall, consider using a later scene in Khan where the new paradise begins to fall apart and it’s clear that the planet is destroying itself (with the help of the Genesis device going awry).  The broken planet is where we find ourselves today – we can’t undo what’s been done, but we can be children who choose to live in the light who look forward with hope rather than huddling in the darkness in useless misery.

To send the message home, consider getting some sort of giveaway, such as the earth keychain (www.orientaltrading.com has them for $14.95 per gross) and remind the participants that though “He has the whole world in his hands,” that we’ve been given the task of bringing light to a fallen world (cf. Matthew 5:14).

Bill T-B

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2^nd Sunday in January (Colossians 1:15-2:19 and Luke 2:21-38)

Although we know how the Jesus story will end, all anyone knew at Jesus’ birth was that it marked a new beginning. Most people, of course, were completely ignorant that a chain of events had begun that would change the world. Of those who did know, most of them were indifferent or skeptical. Those few people who knew about it either renewed hope or reacted in fear. This baby would cause of the rise and fall of world powers, and the judgment or vindication of every human being.

So often in history the most significant outcomes have their roots in the most insignificant beginnings. Just look at your own life. What later became the most significant turning point in your life (a look, a word, an image, a scent of perfume, a chance encounter, a book picked up in idle curiosity) sets in motion a chain of events which changed your life. You may not even remember that first, seemingly innocuous beginning. And I wonder, as you hear and read the scripture today, or as you meet and talk with a true Christian today, what that seemingly minor occurrence might lead to in your future?

Tom Bandy

Team Meditation: The Point of it All (Luke 2:21-38)

Have you ever wondered, “What’s the point?”  The bumper sticker that says The one who dies with the most toys wins is trumped by The one who dies with the most toys is still dead.  The question “What’s the point?” is the burning question throughout Ecclesiastes – and the author doesn’t even come to an optimistic conclusion.

Back in the sixties, the Hollies released the song Just One Look.  The song is a crooner who’s fallen for love at first sight.  The tag line rings, “Just one look, that’s all it took, yeah; Just one look”  (with thanks to Mazda for embossing the song into a generation’s psyche forever).  And yet, these are the exact sentiments of old Simeon when he saw the eight-day-old Jesus. 

The writer of Hebrews suggests that once you’ve had a Jesus’ experience there’s no going back (Heb. 6:4-6).  Jesus is the point.  The point of life.  The point of death.  The point of eternity.

The point of it all is to see Jesus.  To get that one glimpse, to have that one experience.  In the words of Samuel Moor Shoemaker, “Once taste God, and nothing but God will do.” 

Bill T-B

Worship Theme: Your Experience with Jesus (Colossians 1:15-2:19)

I had an interesting conversation with an atheist some time ago.  The core of the conversation went sort of like this:

“I don’t believe in a god.”

“Oh?” I replied, “Tell me about the god you don’t believe in.”

The rest of the conversation revolved around a wrathful god who seemed hell-bent in his wish to squish us beneath his thumb and in wreaking havoc on the world.  I listened attentively and when my new friend finished I shook my head and said, “Yeah, I don’t believe in that god either.”

I had a conversation with an angry dechurched acquaintance somewhat more recently.  They were lambasting Christianity for all sorts of faults.  They had been privy to the politics, to the ugliness of power mongers, to bullies, to self-righteousness, and to judgmentalism.  Again, I listened attentively and then asked, “Does that represent the teachings of the Jesus you know?”

It is a very rare event when someone walks into a North American church service without having some sort of reference point to God, Jesus, or the church.  Most people walking through the doors have a preconceived idea about what church is, who God is, and even a rough idea about who Jesus is.  Some of their preconceptions are misguided – like those of my atheist friend.  Others are more experience-based, like those of my dechurched friend.  But no matter who they are, they walk into the presence of the church with their preconceptions – and they walk through the door with a hopeful anticipation based on those preconceptions...they’re looking for an experience with the holy.

In this passage, Paul touches on two different experiences of Jesus.  In 1:21-23, Paul touches on the experience of the reconciling Jesus.  Some people walk through the doors of the church knowing the depths of their sin and degradation.  They’re lower than pond scum and they know it.  They are looking for, hoping for, praying for the reconciling Jesus.

A second experience Paul touches on is found in 2:6-19.  There Paul introduces the liberating Jesus.  Some people walk through the doors of the church in bondage – not the bondage of sin, as covered by the reconciling Jesus, but the bondage of church.  Sometimes this bondage is the chain of past experiences in the church (politics, ugliness, judgmentalism, etc.).  Sometimes this bondage is the noose of obligation (obliged and guilted into or by church attendance, tithing, personal devotions, etc.).  And sometimes this bondage is the cage of tradition (expectant dress code, particular version of the Bible, etc.).  These people are looking for, hoping for, praying for a Jesus who will set them free.

There are many other Jesus experiences – each one of our experiences in unique.  And yet, Jesus is the fullness of God and those who embrace his calling discover the fullness of Christ, to be freed from the darkness, and to experience the mystery of kingdom life.

Bill T-B

Worship Design: Your Experience with Jesus (Colossians 1:15-2:19)

There’s a marketing axiom that says, “Nothing sells like success.”  Success, from a Christian faith-based point-of-view, is a life transformed by the power of Jesus Christ.  Many unchurched North Americans have gone to church looking for a touch from the holy, only to experience disappointment.  Their disappointment may have come from unrealistic expectations (from their preconceptions).  Their disappointment may have come because what they came looking for isn’t found in the church – it’s found in a relationship.  It may have come because the church they visited was spiritually dead.  Or their disappointment may have come because, though they came looking for the light, they couldn’t see it because of their spiritual blindness (2 Corinthians 4:4).

This week’s service is an opportunity to illuminate the multiplicity of Jesus-experiences – and perhaps there’s an additional opportunity to help differentiate Christianity from church.  You might want to consider getting very real with how the church and/or Christians are sometimes viewed (and sometimes experienced) by those outside of the faith.  To do this, use one of two clips from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).  For some high-energy, use the scene when the Black Pearl overtakes and captures the English Navy ship.  In the clip, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) sees the pirates become “ghosts” in the moonlight.  If this scene it too energetic, use the scene when the pirate Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) later explains the curse to Elizabeth.  The point to make is that many see the church (or Christianity, if they assume the church and the faith are synonymous) as wolves in sheep’s clothing, or perhaps more realistically (and germane to the video) many see the church as old dried up bones in pirate’s clothing – not a very flattering picture, true, but the church is often viewed in a less-than-flattering light.

Following this, take the time to explore the different ways people experience Jesus.  Solicit (in advance) stories and testimonies from the congregation to illustrate the point.  The goal of this part these stories should be to create a desire for an authentic relationship with Jesus.  Wind up the service with the worship song Breathe (Marie Barnett, Mercy/Vineyard, 1995) after sharing the story of the old desert abba and the novitiate:

There was once a wise old desert abba whose holiness and dedication to the Lord was widely known.  One morning a novitiate presented himself before the abba and said, “Sir, I want to experience Jesus as you do.”  The abba studied the young novitiate’s face, then, with a gentle nod, he stood and began to walk.  The novitiate followed closely behind the abba until they came to river.  The abba strode into the water, but the novitiate stopped on the bank; however, as the abba continued into the river, his follower gingerly took a step into the water.  Soon the water was up to his knees, then his waist, and just as he thought the abba was going to disappear beneath the surface, the old man stopped and turned around to wait.  The novitiate drew closer to the abba and the water reached the top of his shoulders.  Just then the wise old desert abba set himself upon the novitiate and pushed him under the water.  Surprised and unprepared, the novitiate lost his footing and splashed beneath the surface.  The abba had a firm grip on the youngster’s tunic and in just a few moments the novitiate began to fight and claw at the old man to get free, but to no avail.  This went on for what seemed like many minutes, but was probably much less.  Even so, it wasn’t until the novitiate began to lose consciousness and drown that the abba relented and lifted the follower up from the depths.  The novitiate half walked and half swam to the shore with the abba close behind, and then the novitiate began to scream, “What were doing, trying to kill me?  I didn’t ask for a bath nor for a baptism.  I don’t understand!!!”  The abba waited patiently until the novitiate calmed down.  Then he said, “Until you want Jesus as badly as you wanted oxygen, you will not find him.”  And with that, the abba returned to his cell.

Bill T-B

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3^rd Sunday in January (John 8:12-20 and 9; Luke 10:1-24)

What does it all mean? What is the real significance of this baby in the manger, the story of Bethlehem, this Jesus that seems to provoke such hostility from some and such adoration from others?

There is a complicated answer and a simple answer to this question. The complicated answer will be explained through the rest of the year. It is bound up with ancient history and future expectation, with our deepest yearnings and our greatest fears. It will impact rich and poor, oppressors and oppressed, the hopeful and hopeless. Hang in there. Keep coming back. All will be explained.

But there is a simple answer. “Jesus is the light of the world.” Let your imagination run riot with that metaphor. The Bible gives the illustration of a blind man who regains his sight, but clearly this is more than just a simple story. It is an analogy of what Jesus can do, literally and figuratively, for every person. In what sense are you “blind”? Jesus will give you “sight.” In what sense do you “walk in darkness”? Jesus will give you “light.”

The natural instinct of most people when plunged into absolute darkness is to panic. I suspect that is how many people in the world react in the days after Christmas. Terror and terrorism are renewed; fear grows exponentially; and we panic. Jesus says, calm down! Let me just light this candle! And in the warm glow of the light, the first thing you will see is Jesus’ face.

Tom Bandy

Team Meditation: Risking all for the future (Luke 10:1-24)

Have you ever taken a look at Jesus’ evangelism training program?  It’s like no other training program in the church today.  Gutsy.  Bold.  And apparently incredibly effective.  Here’s an outline of the program for your church:

I.  Tell everyone they are to begin praying for workers in the harvest field.  The fields are already ripe, there are already souls just waiting to be gathered into the kingdom of God – the only thing lacking is workers.  So pray – literally beseech – the Lord to raise up workers.

II.  Then tell everyone that they are God’s personal answer to that prayer.  They are the ones God is sending into the harvest fields.

III.  Be brutally honest with them – that’ll motivate them.  Tell them they’re leaving their safe and cozy church to go into the most dangerous urban setting they can possibly imagine – like sheep among wolves.  

IV.  Give them their traveling instructions: leave their Mastercards, their suitcases, and even a change of shoes at home. 

V.  Give them their accomodation’s vouchers.  Oops, there are none.  They’ll have to make due by seeking favors when they get there.  This ensures they are zealous for evangelism – if no one gets converted, they get to sleep in the streets.

VI.  And finally, give them their missionary training in a single sentence: “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.'” 

That’s it.  That’s Jesus’ training program.  Don’t go looking for more, there isn’t any more.  No one went to seminary, no one raised funds for the work, no one had hands placed on them for a special commissioning.  This was the Great Commission enacted – get out there and do it.

It’s a funny thing, but that program is actually being practiced today in places like India, China, and Africa.  Teenagers, seniors, and working-stiffs are taking time off, catching buses or walking to places where there are no Christians, and taking Jesus’ mandate seriously.  Who knows, perhaps if we took Jesus seriously – if we ourselves were willing to risk it all – we might see the kind of results the 72 saw.

By the way, if you decide to emulate Jesus’ training program in your church, let us know.  We have some contacts and perhaps we’ll be able to help you find a new job.

Bill T-B

Worship Theme: Hope for the Future (John 8:12-20 and 9)

Anybody can say that they’re the light of the world.  Anybody can say they’re the messiah.  Anybody can say that they’re God.  But just because somebody says it, it doesn’t make it so.  In fact, mental institutions around the globe are filled with unfortunates who make these very claims and have been put away because their claims are baseless.

It’s been speculated that if Jesus were to appear on the earth today and made the same claims as he did in the New Testament, that he’d be committed, drugged, counseled, and either he’d be rehabilitated or he’d become a permanent resident of a padded room.  But isn’t that in essence what the religious and political leaders tried to do in the New Testament times?  Consider Jesus’ statement, “I am the light of the world.”  The Pharisees were quick to refute his claim through some legal mumbo-jumbo.  But their arguments didn’t hold water.  Why?  Was it because of Jesus’ clever and well-thought-out answer?  The fact is, many in today’s mental wards have intelligent-sounding answers.  No, Jesus avoided institutionalization because of the results that supported his claims.  The people who walked in darkness had seen a great light.  The physically blind could suddenly see.  the spiritually blind could suddenly understand.  Sinners were released from sin. 

With Jesus there is hope.  Not because of who he claimed to be, but because of the testimony of those who were once blind, imprisoned, hungry, thirsty, poor, harassed, oppressed, repressed, and lost.

Both then and now.

Bill T-B

Worship Design (John 8:12-20 and 9)

They say that evangelism tools have changed significantly over the past couple of decades.  Apologetics and proofs that worked with the Moderns are no longer effective with Post-Moderns.  And though that may be true, some of the most effective evangelism tools have been unchanged since the days when Jesus walked the earth.  Let’s face it, it’s not what you can prove, it’s what you can share.  Prove that Jesus is the messiah of the Old Testament and perhaps some might be convinced.  Share an experience of the holy and lives are transformed.  It’s all about that light stuff...when the light of the world goes “on” in someone’s heart, nothing is the same ever again.

However, it’s difficult to introduce light to the blind – especially the spiritual blind.  In words borrowed from The Who, some who would see the light have been “blinded by the light.”  They’re no better off than they were before because they remain blind.  Take Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) in The Santa Clause (1994).  Although he could see the North Pole, the elves, and all the wonder of Christmas Town around him, he couldn’t believe it. 

Start the service with the scene from The Santa Clause when Judy the elf (Paige Tamada) explains to Scott that seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing.  Use the clip to talk about the difficulty of proving anything about the faith – that even though there is plenty of evidence around, it’s often easier to shrug it all off than to open our eyes to see it.  Indeed, in some ways we can be a lot like the ostrich who puts its head in the sand.  Just because we won’t see it, doesn’t make it any less true. 

If you used the suggestions from last week’s Seeker Cycle and had a time of stories/testimonies, then you may want to run a video of these testimonies in this service.  Otherwise, recruit a testimony of the kind, “This was my life before light, this is what happened when I met Jesus, and this is my life now.”  

Bill T-B

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4^th Sunday in January

(Jeremiah 18:1-11 and Luke 9:57-62)

Jeremiah 18:6 ⁶ “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? says the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”

Everyone knows that change is inevitable. The great anxiety is whether it is purposeful. Is there a point to change? Is there a goal? Is there a destiny? And if there is, how do you and I connect with it? How can we “go with the flow,” avoid swimming against the current, and allow ourselves to be swept along to the distant shore that is where we were “meant to be” all along?

The Bible assures us that there is purpose, a point, and a destiny. The prophets and apostles help us see it, identify with it, and go with it. Their message is good news or bad news, depending on how you look at it. The good news is that you are in God’s hands. The bad news is that you are in God’s hands. No matter how confused you might be, God is not confused, knows what he is doing, and can rescue you and reshape you to fit his purposes no matter how much you have messed up. Unfortunately, even if you are now content, happy, and hoping to just cruise along in life, God will snatch you out of your contentment, and reshape you to fit his purposes no matter how successful you think you are or have been.

Like it or not, this year ... and every year ... you are in God’s hands. There are no “accidents.” You are part of a larger destiny.

Tom Bandy

Team Meditation: Being a Disciple (Luke 9:57-62)

Would you believe these words are a pep-talk? Jesus is in recruiting mode here and is delivering one of the most effective motivational speeches of his life.

How does it affect you? What do you think about when you hear, “Let the dead bury their own dead” and “Look back and you’re unfit for service”? In recent months, the US Army has had no little difficulty recruiting new soldiers. They keep offering perks to get young men and women to sign up. Perhaps they’re using the wrong tactics.

What kind of tactics do you use when you’re recruiting for kingdom work? Do you smooth over the rough spots, perhaps not mentioning the difficulty of getting others to help out? What would happen if you recruited using Jesus’ method?

Jesus’ method resulted in seventy or so who apparently leapt at the chance to leave all the comforts of home to become itinerate healers and evangelists, beggars really. And when they returned to Jesus, they had stories of how God had been working through their lives.

So, what kind of tactics do you use when you’re recruiting for kingdom work? Or perhaps the real question is this: What kind of disciples are you trying to recruit?

Bill T-B

Worship Theme: God Shapes Our Lives (Jeremiah 18:1-11)

Imagine someone who’s always lived the “perfect” life: They always got everything they want – no matter what; no one ever disagreed with them; nothing they touched ever broke; nothing’s ever been difficult; they never got sick; they never got hurt – not even their feelings; everything has always been perfect.

Now, take a moment to describe that person if you met them today. Would this be the kind of person you’d want to hang out with? Why not?

We’ve seen that kind of “perfect” person portrayed in the movies and on television and I can’t remember ever liking a one of them. They’re spoiled and selfish and unsavory characters who, frankly, lack character.

Scott Peck observed that “Life is difficult” in The Road Less Traveled.  One might conclude that any idiot could see that obvious fact just by looking around; however, when it comes to Christianity there seems to be a disconnect about this very issue.  Many people think, wrongly, that Christians are somehow spared from tragedy in their lives.  The oft’ misquoted, “God makes all things work for good” somehow implies that once you’re a Christian, life is good – or as nearly perfect as one could get.

It seems, sometimes, that the church is the village idiot who can’t see Scott Peck’s obvious observation.  Perhaps it’s because we’ve not seen the obvious in the scriptures. God seems to be on a perpetual building project in the lives of the early Christians. Take a look at all the faithful disciples and apostles who get their stories told in the New Testament. Shipwrecks, stonings, suffering, arrest, persecution, illness, run through by the sword, hunger, thirst, sacrifice, and loss. None of the “good guys” in the New Testament ever really fare well.

So, what’s the point of being a faithful Christian if all we’re promised is more difficulty? Why would anyone want to a Christ-follower knowing that in the hands of God they’re going to end up on the potter’s wheel? Perhaps because all the difficulty that comes our way is how God takes us from imperfect and deformed lumps of clay and fashions us into containers fit for the King.

Bill T-B

Worship Design (Jeremiah 18:1-11)

Start off this week’s lesson with a showing of the original Twilight Zone’s episode “A Nice Place to Visit” (on The Twilight Zone: The Definitive Edition Season 1).  If you don’t want to show the whole episode, you should be able to choose selected chapters and get the plot across.

At the start of the episode, the main protagonist Rocky Valentine, played by Larry Blyden, is shot and killed by a police officer. He later recovers to find himself seemingly unharmed from the altercation. He is now in the company of a pleasant individual named “Pip”, who is empowered to grant Rocky whatever he desires. So Rocky immediately assumes he has died and gone to Heaven. Later, growing weary of always having his whims satisfied and winning at whatever he attempts, he finally begs Pip to send him to the “other place” (referring to Hell.) Pip tells him that "this is the other place!" Valentine tries vainly to leave while Pip laughs uproarously. (Wikipedia, “A Nice Place to Visit”)

Use the point that getting everything we want isn’t exactly a blessing.  This should set you up well for discussing the theme, especially in terms of Romans 5:3-4; James 1:2-4; 2 Peter 1:5-8.

Bill T-B

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5^th Sunday in January

God Can Totally Change Us

Acts 9:1-31 and Luke 12:1-12

Transformation is a fearful thing. You can use other words to describe it, like “awesome” or “exciting” or “wondrous,” but you can’t avoid the fact that one result of personal transformation is that is scares the hell out of you! There is meaning to those words. Ancient people believed that transformation was a kind of exorcism. People who were “possessed” by evil habits were liberated to become the good people God intended them to be, but not without some trauma. That inner demon that has been dominating your life doesn’t go quietly. That dependency doesn’t get removed without a lot of trepidation. It’s not easy to disengage from the clutches of evil, and be embraced by the bonds of good. There is always an adjustment period when it is particularly important to be surrounded by new friends ... companions who love God, know Christ, and understand what you are going through. Breaking free from sin really is like experiencing withdrawal from a terrible drug. And when it is all over, it is no surprise that you say “Once I was dead, and now I am alive!” It’s just that incredible.

Tom Bandy 

Team Meditation: Trusting Spontaneity (Luke 12:1-12)

"When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." (Luke 12:11-12 NIV) 

There are two kinds of pastors: those who write their prayers and those who are pray extemporaneously (don’t you love dichotomies!). I’ve known preachers who have refused to write even their sermons in advance because they are afraid of squelching the Holy Spirit. I’ve often heard others respond to these folks, “But can’t the Holy Spirit work on Thursday as well?”

There are two kinds of ministers: the “make-it-happen” ministers and the “listen prayerfully and let God blow them wherever the Spirit wills” ministers.

Most Christian leaders are firmly “Make-it-Happen” ministers, leaders who get out there and do whatever-it-takes to make it happen. We hear about the latest and greatest ideas and make plans on how our church can adopt and adapt. We have a clear mission and vision, so we grab our jousts, mount our trusty steeds, and charge the nearest windmill. We get busy doing ministry in God’s name and then pray, “See what I’m doing for you, God? Now bless it!” How devastating it will be when God whispers, “Well, I’ve seen what you can do and I’m not impressed. Are you ready to see what I can do?”

Bill T-B

Worship Theme: God Can Totally Change Us (Acts 9:1-31)

When we were children, our parents and our teachers were our disciplinarians. If we ran out into the street without looking, a parent paddled our behinds (or whatever worked for your parents). If we smarted off in class, we got to write “I will pay attention” one hundred times on the chalkboard (or whatever worked for your teachers). However, when we became adults, we were our own disciplinarian. Sure, there are natural consequences that we live with—refuse to pay the electric bill and do without electricity—but many “adults” stop growing up at about eighteen. There’s an adage that states we won’t change until it’s more painful to remain the same than it is to change.

Change is difficult, painful, and costly. It’s the reason why it’s so difficult to tell most North American Christians from North American non-Christians. The church has largely watered down the Gospel until many Christians believe that being a being a good Christian is analogous with being a good citizen. It’s a lot easier to not have to change very much to be a “good” Christian in the culture than it is to be a follower of Jesus on the mission field.

Paul was blinded and knocked off his horse when he encountered Jesus on the Damascus Road (actually, the Bible is strangely silent about Paul’s mode of transportation). Most of us have been led to believe his transformation was one of vocation, that he simply switched from being a zealous Pharisee who persecuted Christians to becoming a zealous Christian evangelist and church starter. But Paul’s transformation to Christianity changed his whole life. From a wealthy, well-paid and well thought of religious leader, he gave up his position, his salary, his pension, his home, his well-being, and all of his wealth to become an itinerate vagabond for Christ. Just how radical was the transformation? Read 2 Corinthians 11:22-32 for Paul’s pedigree in his own words.

The North American church has been rather accommodating of our culture—we’ve adapted well to it.  But Jesus came to change lives, to transform lives, not to adapt them. And for those who are transformed, there’s a costly, costly price to pay.

Bill T-B

Worship Design: God Can Totally Change Us (Acts 9:1-31)

When it comes to Christianity, we’re afraid of two things.

First, we’re afraid that God will change us, that we’ll be required to be different—radically different—than we are. We’re afraid of what we’ll have to give up. We’re afraid of what we may be called to do.

Second, we’re afraid that God won’t change us, that we’ll be just like we were—stuck, hopeless, purposeless. We’re afraid that there’s no real meaning in life. We’re afraid God won’t call on us for anything.

The former is the objection most loudly raised by those who are seeking, but are afraid to take a leap of faith. The latter is an abiding fear that is seldom spoken, lest it jinx our hopes.

Expose the inner fear with a clip from The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003). Use the scene where the people of Rohan are holed up in the caves and Eowyn  (Miranda Otto), daughter of the Rohan king, practicing her swordplay. Arogorn (Viggo Mortensen) sees her, engages her, and the following conversation ensues:

Aragorn: You have some skill with a blade.
Eowyn: Women of this country learned long ago that those without swords can still die upon them. I fear neither death nor pain.
Aragorn: What do you fear, milady?
Eowyn: A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them and all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire.
Aragorn: You're the daughter of kings. A shield maiden of Rohan. I do not think that will be your fate.

Use the scene to unfold the paradox of the fear of transformation. This isn’t the service to soft-sell the Gospel, but to lay forth the costs (as seen in Paul’s life), but also the incredible meaning and purpose God gives us in this place and in this time.

Bill T-B