Posts Tagged ‘growth’
Lectionary Scripture for November 27th, 2011 – First Sunday of Advent
November 21, 2011Lectionary Readings for November 20, 2011 – Christ the King Sunday – Sunday before Thanksgiving
November 14, 2011Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings
November 12, 2011 Iwo Jima Memorial
I wrote this post yesterday and did not post it, so it is a day late for Veteran’s Day.
Lets all remember to give thanks to our Veterans and thanks to our God for their sacrifice. While we all know that war is a terrible thing and something that none of us want, we all know that it is a part of life. As long as we as human beings put self before others we will always have disagreements that lead to seperation and yes even war. While many factors come into play to get nations to the point of war, each one of us as Christ’s children are responsible for resisting the need for war. When a nation feels justified in the need for war then it’s population is responsible for supporting that nation in its efforts. Our Veterans answer that call to protect our freedom and our way of life. They deserve more than they get. The least we can do is thank them for the sacrifice they have made.
In our Matthew 25:14-30 Lectionary Scripture for this coming Sunday we hear Jesus tell us the parable of the talents. Money entrusted to three men. Two of those men take the money/talent and grow it into more. The third man hordes the talent he was given, afraid to take a risk. All three were rewarded for their efforts. Two were given more and one had everything taken from him. As Christians we are called to be a people who are willing to sacrifice some of our time, some of our money, some of the abilities that God has given us. When we ignore God’s call to take a risk, you know like step out on faith, we are denying that He is our God or at least denying Him in a part of our lives. While love is the driving force behind the ministry Jesus Christ has given us we also must remember the warning about being cast out into the darkness.
Soldiers in the armed services are asked to make sacrifices of time, money and abilities. Sometimes even their lives. If we believe in our God and His Son we too should be willingly to give of our selves even more.
Randy
Lectionary Scripture Nov. 13, 2011
November 6, 2011Lectionary Scripture for Nov. 6, 2011
November 6, 2011Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings
November 4, 2011
In Matthew 25:1-13 we hear Jesus tell us the parable of the Ten Virgins (bridesmaids) and the Bridal Party. Jesus again is speaking to the hard hearted, set in their ways, religious authorities. People who were afraid of the message that Jesus was bringing to them as the Messiah. Jesus uses this parable because it set a scene that all would recognize. A bridal party in Israel was something that everyone wanted to be a part of and looked forward to. Essentially what Jesus is telling the Pharisees and Scribes is that they have come to His party unprepared. There is no oil in their lamps (Holy Spirit) for the light that will show them the way into Heaven. Others cannot get that oil (Holy Spirit) for you. We each and everyone must find the love for God in our own hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to illumine our paths. When we succumb to the Holy Spirit’s leading ways we then will be able to see through the darkness of this world and go about our lives walking a path alight in God’s love and being a light to others. We are to be thankful that our God has given us an unlimited supply of oil for our lamps so that we will be ready for that eternity He has promised us. Our prayer, our study, our meditation and our involvement in the Church will give us more than enough oil through out our lives to give light to our paths and show others the light for their paths.
It was tradition in Jesus’s day to not know when the bridegroom would be coming. It could be at any time day or night. One never knew when the bridegroom would send someone out into the streets to announce his coming. We are to always be ready to hear the call or miss it and be left out in the darkness.
How is the oil level in your lamp? Our faithfulness in our prayers, study, meditation and Church life are signs of how well we are prepared or even that our lamp is lit.
God’s Peace and Blessings to all,
Randy
Pastor’s Ponderings, Wanderings, Wonderings
October 24, 2011
I borrowed this picture from Geowalk on my Ipad. The picture is of a tornado taken from what they called tornado alley. It made me think about the Thessalonian scriptures and the turmoil that must have been in the churches in Thessalonica. Paul’s words are meant to calm the storm. Just wondering what people see when they come into your church on Sunday. Do they get the sense that storm clouds are brewing.
Please read scripture from 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8. It is from last weeks readings. This scripture reminded me of an article I read from my Leadership Bible. The article talks about Integrity and what it means to have integrity. I have copied the article below and I hope it tells each of you that it is vitally important for us to be like Paul. We must talk the talk and walk the walk. Too many people have used the excuse that there are nothing but hypocrites in Churches today. While we who are in church recognize that we are imperfect beings, we also know that we need to be working towards perfection.
When we talk about integrity today, we generally use other, closely related terms such as ethics and morality. But a clear understanding of the concept of integrity requires clear thinking about all three words. Each has a distinct meaning. When properly used, they bring clarity to a crucial but often misunderstood leadership essential:
Ethics refers to a defined standard of right and wrong; good and evil. It’s what we say we believe and do.
Morality is a lived standard of right and wrong, good and evil. It’s what we actually do.
Integrity means “sound, complete, integrated.” To the extent that a person’s ethic and morality are integrated, that person has integrity. To the extent that a person’s ethics and morality are not integrated, that person lacks integrity.
Lets look at this another way. If John tells you he will lie, cheat and steal from you, he has a low ethic. If he does business that way, he also has a low morality. John is unethical and immoral, but he has integrity-twisted as it may be-because the moral- ity is consistent with the ethic. If John claims to cheat and steal but doesn’t cheat and steal, he is moral in practice but lacks integrity, because his morality doesn’t match the ethic. Think about that a bit.
You can have a high or low ethic. You can be moral or immoral. Your choice. But if you want to have integrity, you must choose your ethic and live to match it.
The Bible teaches a high and holy ethic. A person who claims to be a Christian and to live by Biblical standards makes an ethical statement. He or she has committed to a certain morality. For that person to have integrity, then, he or she must live by the Biblical ethic. Jesus makes it unequivocally clear that the worst choice is the hypocritical one.
Lots to think about here. Have a blessed day and be at peace with who you are knowing that your efforts to grow spiritually will be rewarded based on how much effort you put into that growth. Meditation + study + prayer = Spiritual Growth.
Randy
Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX 