Believe

Believe!

This morning, as we prepare for communion, I want to talk about unbelievable things becoming believable. 

Today is Superbowl Sunday. Did you know the Bengals won four games last year? Last year, they were the worst in the AFC North, and analysts picked them to finish last in the AFC North this year. This year, 27 out of 32 teams were more likely to make it to the Superbowl than them. 

Unbelievable!

Speaking of unbelievable, I want you to imagine being a high school basketball player. Imagine it being the fourth period, and you are losing by two. The opposing team is shooting a foul shot, and you have one second left. Would you give up? 

Take a look at this video. I bet this kid would tell you it is not over until it’s over. Did you hear the other fans? Na na na na na na hey hey. Well, Jake Ramsey’s shot made them say “goodbye” to their dream of winning the game right then and there. AMAZING Full Court BUZZER BEATER! BEST of ALL TIME???? MUST SEE!!!!

Unbelievable!

Speaking of unbelievable, we serve a savior who hung on a cross, had a sword pierce his side, and nails pounded through his hands and feet. Talk about an amazing buzzer-beater? Christ came back to life in three days! No one ever would imagine he would come back to life. His resurrection changed the lives of billions and was so unbelievable that millions have sacrificed their lives because of it. 

Unbelievable!

Speaking of unbelievable, have you ever felt like you couldn’t catch a break? Have you ever felt like a failure? Do the odds seem stacked against you?  Have you ever tried to win at anything in life but keep messing up? 

As we prepare our hearts and minds for communion this morning, I want to encourage you never to believe and never give up. I want to take one more step and tell you Christ can do unbelievable things in you and through you.  You may not see the light at the end of the tunnel. Never give up. Keep the faith. Keep trying. Belief is not just a state of mind. It is a doing. Do your part to get better. To live at peace. To make amends. To forgive and forget. Put in the work, but then hang on to Christ. Remain in Him. Remain. He will produce great fruit in your life. 

Let’s pray: Father, you are unbelievable. When we think of your power, we are simply dumbfounded. You created the sun, which can fit over one million earths! You are that big and mighty, and yet you gave us your son who can take all of our sins. Thank you for doing unbelievable things on earth. Thank you for Jesus. Forgive us for falling short. We confess our sins and pray for more of you in our lives, in the life of our church, and in our community. Would you do amazing things through us here, Lord? We love you. In Jesus name, Amen

Power of the Providential Pause

As we prepare for communion this morning, I would like to talk about the Power of the Providential Pause. I want to start by asking a few questions and then share something that has helped me deal with the feels.  In the last 48 hours, how many of you have felt any of the following: Read emotions of anger, sadness, and then confusion? 

Anger	Sad	Confusion	Happy	Strong	Energized
Annoyed Raging Livid Fed Up Irritated Mad Critical Agitated Resentful Disgusted Outraged Furious Bitter	Upset Sorrowful Crushed Dejected Heavy Depressed Disgusted Hateful Mournful Weepy Desperate Frustrated	Doubtful Hesitant Uncertain Shy Unsure Pessimistic Indecisive Perplexed Embarrassed Lost Tense	Glad Content Joyful Grateful Pleased Optimistic Amused Delighted Charmed Loving Marvelous	Powerful Confident Empowered Unique Sure Certain Dynamic Bold Determined Hardy Tenacious Secure Ambitious	Healthy Motivated Refreshed Strengthened Inspired Determined Creative Renewed Vibrant Focused Invigorated

If you went grocery shopping on New Year’s Eve, I guarantee you experienced half of those emotions, and if you are a Brown’s fan, I assure you have felt them all!  When it comes to emotions, I want to ask a question: What is the wise thing to do when those emotions are high? How do you say no to the emotions that compete for your control?  Your feelings are not who you are. You are a child of God. Communion reminds us Christ lives in us.  It is normal to want those emotions to go away.  Instead, welcome those emotions and look at them through the frame of Jesus and the cross. 

Let me explain. Here is where the providential pause comes in. When your emotions are high, I want to encourage you to hit pause. I want to guide you through prayer now. This is the prayer I use to help when My emotions are high and other times for that matter.  Please bow your heads or sit tall and look downward or at the cross.  Take a few deep breaths and say this, “Our Father, Who Art in Heaven.”

By doing so, you are saying, God, you are my father. You love me. That means you are patient with me and my emotions, you are kind when I don’t feel kind, and you are not rude when I feel like I am. You keep no record of wrongs. You forgive me when I fall short. You do not delight in evil, but you rejoice in the truth. Help me know your truth. You always protect, trust, hope, and persevere. You will not fail me.  Who art in heaven. Thank you for loving me unlike any earthly father could.

Help me be patient with others. In fact, I have one person I am thinking about now. Help me be kind, help me not be envious. Help me not be boastful, help me not be rude or self-seeking. Help me keep no record of wrongs. Help me not to delight in evil, but rejoice in your truth and to always protect those around me. Help me always trust, hope, and persevere for those I encounter.

Praise God for the positive emotions He provides (Happy, Strong, and Energized).

Link to Today's Sunday School Class

 Here is the link to notes for our Sunday School class today

Right Thinking Over Time With God's Help= Changed Life

I decided to not present the communion meditation I posted yesterday. I am using this instead:

Happy Thanksgiving. Things are about to get crazy! Parties, gifts, food, Christmas cards, concerts, Christmas lights, snow, snowball fights, ice- please be careful! The hustle and bustle! Exciting but stressful. This time can be wonderful, but it can also be super distracting. I would like you all to set aside all of the holiday feels right now and invite you to join me in a time of Christian meditation. Take a nice deep breath and sigh as you breathe out because God wants to give you peace right now. Right now, we focus on communion. Communion is about focusing on what matters. Jesus provides a great example of the power of proper focus. I would like to read from Hebrews 12:1-3, 

Hebrews 12:1-3

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

As Jesus endured the cross, we know he sweat blood and was in misery. But we are also told he scorned or “thought nothing of” the shame. We are told He felt a deep sense of joy knowing He would save the world. He could have called 10,000 angels and slaughtered all the evil people around him. However, His focus or His thinking was correct. His focus was not on himself but on what God would do through the cross for all humankind forever.

As we examine our hearts, we acknowledge our guilt and feel the shame of our sins. We are sorry. Godly sorrow leads us to eagerness for Him, alarm, longing, and concern that we need Him to make things right.

Communion is a time to repent. Do you know what repent means? Repent means right thinking. Communion is a time to think correctly about who we are- sinners who need a savior and who Jesus is- our perfect sacrificial lamb. We are all guilty. Our guilt leads us to the cross and a sense of relief and victory. As we focus on His love, our guilt leads us to accept His protection, His hope, His forgiveness, peace, grace, power, patience, kindness, gentleness, and through all of this, He makes us overcomers. 

You see, with right thinking about who we are in Him and what He can do through us, over time, with God’s help, He will lead us to a changed life. Here is an equation that I like to share. Right thinking/time with God’s help=changed life. Please join me in prayer:

Father, thank you for being faithful and just and for cleansing us from all unrighteousness. We know that w you, all things are possible. Thank you for carrying our shame. We confess we are guilty. But our shame isn’t what defines us. Jesus defines us. And even in the moments when our shame weighs on us heavily, we can look to you, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, knowing that He took our guilt and shame away forever. We pray for your guidance as we press on toward growing in our relationship with you. 

A Nice Big Helping of Guilt and Shame!

Happy Thanksgiving. At a time to reflect on all of the things we have to be thankful for, what better topic to discuss around the holidays than guilt and shame. 

Was the stuffing or Turkey that you cooked and brought to the meal gathering too dry? Did you forget to make the green bean mushroom soup casserole or leave it on the counter at home? Did you show up late to the family gathering or speak too harshly at your kids if they got a little carried away? Perhaps you said too much when discussing the latest political news and views or maybe you should have kept your mouth shut when your mother-in-law commented on your father-in-law’s toupe.  If so, maybe you also helped yourself to a nice big helping of guilt and shame for your ride home.

As your mind ruminated on these ideas perhaps you thought that the holidays are a microcosm of what really happens in life. That’s right, not only do you feel like a Thanksgiving loser, but now you feel like a big loser overall!

Well, good news! No one is perfect and no one is ever going to get everything right. In fact, we may make the same mistakes over and over again.  Like Browns fans, we always hope it will be better next year, but, the difference is that with Christ we will be victorious.

When it comes time for communion, we are faced with this reality of life. We are asked to examine ourselves. Examine our hearts. If you are sitting here right now struggling with focus and/or you feel like a big Thanksgiving loser, Jesus is encouraging us to not give up. 

The purpose of communion is to draw us to Him. To examine our hearts and remember and give thanks for Christ and His sacrifice for our sins. The purpose of this moment is to help us focus. If your mind keeps racing or you continue to make the same mistakes, don’t throw in the towel. Don’t allow feelings of guilt and shame to keep you from working on directing your heart and mind during this moment. 

Hebrews 12:1-3

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Father, thank you for being faithful and just and for cleansing us from all unrighteousness. We know that w you, all things are possible. thank you for carrying our shame. We confess we are guilty. But our shame isn’t what defines us. Jesus defines us. And even in the moments when our shame weighs on us heavily, we can look to you, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, knowing that He took our guilt and shame away forever. We pray for your guidance as we press on toward growing in our relationship with you. 

Communion: Sobering Celebration

Sobering: We focus on the undeserved death of Christ, His burial, and 

Celebration: His resurrection. 

Sobering: We remember we are unworthy, that we fail, but instead of wallowing in our guilt and shame 

Celebration: We celebrate our forgiveness, our unwarranted pardon, God's Grace, our new life in Christ, and our ability to relate w God as our Father in heaven. 

Would you all please take a deep breath and find a comfortable posture. I would like to pray and read some scripture to help direct our thoughts this morning.

“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”  ‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:17-18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”   ‭‭

Ephesians‬ ‭4:2-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.”   ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:22-23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:13-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:12-13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”    ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:35-39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Wrestling Stance for Proper Prayer Posture?

As we prepare for communion, I would like to read 1 Corinthians 11:23-28.

When we examine ourselves, we think about our heart’s focus and our motives at this moment.  What do you do if you examine yourself and realize that you are not focused or your motives are wrong? 

I remember having a wrestling match scheduled immediately after church one Sunday morning. I was around nine years old.  I remember being so excited for my wrestling match, that since everyone was supposed to have their eyes closed during the last prayer, I got into my wrestling stance. I remember Dad catching me and correcting me and how embarrassed I was.  Wasn’t he supposed to have his eyes closed? That was a sign Christ was not my primary focus during that prayer. 

So how do we get focused and get our hearts right before taking communion? Well, it is a lifelong process. It is something we must practice. But to be a little more practical, I will share something we did at home. We prepared for communion beginning Sunday morning when we got out of bed. We had no TV and no secular radio. As we got older, that also meant no video games before church.  

In addition, this time of communion helps us focus on Christ, His death, burial, and His resurrection. It is a sobering celebration! 

If you are struggling to get focused this morning, remember you don’t have to be perfect. Don’t beat yourself up. Remember, He died so that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just. He will forgive us of our sins and all our unrighteousness.  He came so that we could have life and have it more abundantly!

With that said, as we pray, I am going to guide you through a prayer-based focus exercise to help:

Our father- You love us. You consider us your own, and you are patient and kind to us. Who art in heaven- You are not to be compared to or bound by rules of our earthly fathers. Hallowed be thy name- you are like no other god. You are set apart. Thy kingdom come- may your purposes be accomplished here on earth, thy will be done- it’s not about our will, but your will. On earth, as it is in heaven- May your will be accomplished here and in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Give us what we need right now and help us not worry about tomorrow, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Forgive us for our sins and help us forgive others. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Father, give us the strength to put love before earthly needs and protect us from evil.

Amen