What Are You Okay With?

Hello Emmanuel,

Will Hatfield shared an article with me that I wanted to use for this week’s MMP:  The 9 Sins The Church Is Okay With.

http://www.faithit.com/9-sins-the-church-is-okay-with/

I’m won’t review each one here, but I would like to comment on a few of them and invite you to consider your own perspective on these issues:

FEAR is a complicated issue in Scripture.  True, Jesus says ‘do not fear’ more than any other phrase.  Our current sermon series is on being brave.  However, I believe the author might over simplify it.  In the Hebrew language (as you Bible Study students might remember), ‘fear’ is the exact same word as ‘awe’.  And while this may not cause confusion in the texts that were originally written in greek, the Old Testament (which was originally in Hebrew) is known to carry the phrase ‘fear the Lord you God’ many more times than once.

So while fear can be a sin that we can gloss over way too much, it’s important to delineate between the kind of fear that keeps us from being the right kind of disciple versus the kind of fear (i.e. awe) that maintains our respect of the One who is really in charge.

I won’t speak much here on APATHY.  I’m on record many times moaning and groaning about the temptation to just not care enough.

I would very much like to substitute FLATTERY and COMFORT with ‘popularity’ and ‘contentment’.  I’m not sure these are fair substitutions, but his description of flattery seems to speak more about receiving approval from others instead of concerning yourself with pleasing God.  Also, I have no problem with being comfortable as long as I don’t allow it to flow to contentment.  When I become content, then I don’t want to leave my comfortable state to do what God wants me to do. 

The other sin I’ll comment on is CONSUMERISM.  We want, want, want and we’ll go to great lengths to buy it.  I just bought a 5^th television….. a 5^TH TELEVISION!!!  Ridiculous!!!  And I’m embarrassed to say that it embarrasses me.  Add to it the closet full of clothes (1/3 of which I almost never wear… and I got rid of 2 trash bags full this year alone); the garage full of toys that are never touched; the attic that has things that I may never look at again; .. on and on….  Consumerism can be… ummm… consuming….

I invite you to read the article and think on it.  You don’t need to agree with me, of course, but that isn’t the point.  That point is that we stay on our toes and don’t let those attitudes that can block us from God’s will to grow into uncontrollable monsters. 

This concludes my philosophical MMP for the month. 

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Your Spirit Yearns.....

Hello Emmanuel,

A new season is upon us.  Your spirit will have a yearning to do something.  What will it be?

Every time at this year I feel gears shift in my spirit.  My calendar tells me about the shifting schedules of what time is free and what isn’t, with kids starting school and vacations ending.  My mind starts thinking about shifting ministry programs.  New opportunities open up and, with it, new ideas.

What is your spirit yearning to do?

First, your spirit can be fed.  Here are a few of the many options:

*A new sermon series will start after Labor Day on the healthy habits of a healthy family.  I haven’t thought of a name yet.  Hopefully I can think of a cool one. 

*Bible Study starts Thursday, September 17^th at 7:00.  If you’ve never gave it a try, I promise it will be relevant to your walk with Christ.  It has also been known to be entertaining, though not always intentionally so (which makes it feel even more entertaining). 

*A new Jr. High Sunday School class will be getting under way.  We had a few step forward about teaching.  Way cool! 

*Choir will start again.  Glenda is always trying to find new voices.  Sometimes the spirit just wants to sing.

What is your spirit yearning to do?

Second, your spirit can feed others:

*We are collecting breakfast bars for Anna Vastine.  If you didn’t hear about it yesterday, some kids just fall through the cracks and don’t eat at home or at school in the morning.  Anna fills those cracks with the help of teachers… and now with the help of Emmanuel.  Bring them next Sunday (without peanut butter).

*IPM and the Traveling Food Pantry continues through September and October

*The Hospitality Team is in need of ushers and greeters for Sunday mornings.  Sometimes the spirit just wants to welcome others.

*A Cruise-In is scheduled for September 12^th.  Rumor has it that it is going to be bigger than last year.  It will be a great opportunity to invite others to church. 

What is your spirit yearning to do?  There are other opportunities than what I just listed, and not just at Emmanuel.  Wherever you are, your spirit will have a yearning to do something this coming season.  Listen closely.  God will speak.  And then go do it.  Blessings will abound.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Land Lines, Jelly and Herbert Hoover

Hello Emmanuel,

I googled ‘43’ this morning and found out more than I ever wanted to know.  I won’t bore you with the details, but there is a movie; a U.S. Code about Public Lands;  prime number information for all you math geeks; a Spanish liqueur made from secret recipe; a metro route to downtown Seattle; and some sort of Biblical number formula that leads to ‘exceeding great joy’. 

So I was going to write about how turning 43 years old is a boring day.  I was wrong.  I have so much in common with the world, clearly.  It started with inconveniencing my mother by deciding to enter the world 43 years ago.  I don’t remember the event, but I’m sure I inconvenienced her, which started a long journey of inconveniencing her.  Maybe that is why she called me on my land line this morning at 7:00 AM.  She didn’t even say a whole lot.  I think just making my phone ring was a ‘happy birthday’ enough.  It wasn’t enough.  The village decided to run the wood chipper across the street.  !@#$%^&

Once awake, I heard someone scrounging around in the kitchen.  No one is in the kitchen at 7:00 AM on a summer morning.  I went downstairs to find scrambled eggs, toast (with a thick layer of jelly) and a banana…. with 2 kids smiling weakly at me as if it say, ‘happybirthdayhurryupandeatsowecangobacktobed’.  They must love me.

I share a birthday with Herbert Hoover, my Son-In-Law and my wife’s cousin’s wife.  I’m not sure what that means, but I thought I’d throw it in here just because.

Truth is, it’s a reminder of another year of blessings; another year of some happy days; some grumpy days; and many days when I’m just content with a very unique life.  I’m going to spend the day doing what I like to do.  Among them is writing this MMP and helping the church go around in a circle (and maybe a Marion’s pizza).

Thanks for all the ‘Happy Birthdays’.  And when yours comes around, I hope you are just as content.  You certainly are just as unique.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Stabilize Your Universe

Hello Emmanuel,

Every calendar year has those transitional months that shifts our lives or redirect our paths.  It is August.  For our household, August is one of those months.  And it can be a stressful months as so much about our schedule changes.

Joey is in band camp and starts Cross Country practice.  Hope starts cheerleading (and cheerleading drama) this year (insert a ‘yea!’ here… sarcastically, of course).  School starts too, which means daily schedules all get busier.  Kids have to wake up earlier than 10:00 (tee hee) and lunches at home turn into packed lunches for school.  I will need to schedule meetings around athletic events and music concerts too.  Vacations end.  Homework begins.  And, for us, we will once again dive into the world of college visits.  This begins the lament of college bills.  They calendar cycle continues…

How do I cope, you ask? 

They key for the disciple is to keep an even keel with God through it all.  God is the most consistent part of our lives in every phase of our calendar year.  He was and is and will be.  Babies grow into teens which grow into adults.  Parents turn gray (or go bald).  We lose loved ones and gain new loved ones.  We make money.  We spend money.  We get things.  We get rid of things.  We have sad days.  We have happy days.  But as we experience the cycle of life, there is God…. The same God who was and is and will be.  He is a Blesser and a Comforter.  He is good.

 I encourage you to spend time with the one Consistent Being every day throughout your existence.  The foundation upon which you see life as mostly a gift and not mostly a stress is God who breathed life into you.  Even if it is a 2 minute time of prayer, create a daily reminder of whose you are.  Have a moment every day when you think about the One who doesn’t change, but stays consistent throughout all months, years and generations.  Lean on the One who brings stability to the Universe.

I find that when I do, transitional months like Augusts become a whole lot more fun.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

P.S.  Keep an eye out for another email, detailing the 2 events that are upon us (National Night Out and the Back-To-School Bash).  It will be sent via the Church Newsletter email list.  If you want to receive this, be sure that your profile on the website is selected to receive the newsletter.  If you don’t receive it today and need assistance, contact me or Shawn.