Phones and Internet Return

From the first days in our facility we've battled phone and internet problems. It seems we are down every couple of months for 3-5 days. Such was the case this past week. We dropped phone and internet on Sunday morning and they finally had them fixed on Thursday evening. One of our goals over the next month is to see if there are any alternatives to our present systems. The problem is not with our carrier, but with the actual wires, substations (last time we were out, a mouse had chewed through the lines. It paid with its life, we paid with no service) and other hardware external to us. So our search begins...

Sunday Preview

This Sunday our scripture is from Psalm 118.22-24; Ephesians 2.19-22; and 1 Timothy 3.14-15

We'll begin the service with an interesting combination of two videos: Talledega Nights and The Jesus Film. I encourage you to be on time to see and hear what's happening.

At the end of the video we'll hear words from the Nicene Creed that talk about who Jesus is.

With the words about Jesus in our minds, ears, and hearts it will be time for a service intro that will tell us a bit about what's going on and then an opportunity to greet each other.

The songs for the day begin with the Christmas Carol "Hark the Herald Angel's Sing", the next song celebrates the work of Christ on the cross and so our redeemer and the founder of our faith. Some of the song:
Turn your ear
To Heaven and hear
The noise inside
The sound of angels
The sound of angel¡¯s songs
And all this for a King
We could join and sing
"All to Christ the King!"

How constant
How divine
This song of ours will rise
Oh, how constant
How divine
This love of ours will rise
Will rise...

CHORUS:
O praise Him!
O praise Him!
He is Holy!
He is Holy, yeah!

Turn your gaze
To Heaven and raise
A joyous noise
Oh, the sound of salvation come
The sound of rescued ones
And all this for a king
Angles join to sing
"All for Christ the King!"

During our offering/prayer time we'll be hearing from the Sledrics who are here from Uganda. We'll also be mentioning that our Next Step class will be offered after the service. Next Step is an opportunity to find out how to get involved in ministry.

The Message "in this corner" will explore whether or not we need designated drivers in our lives.

The closing song "In Christ Alone" reminds that Christ is central to our faith and life.

See you Sunday.

Irony

Christmas morning I spoke about how we see Jesus as "sweet Jesus" rather than seeing him fully. Christmas afternoon in our white elephant gift exchange what did I receive from my brother? In his own words "sweet baby Jesus". It's a Christmas ornament that made its second year appearance at our family gathering.

Bread of Life

Jesus in John 6 declares that he is the bread of life. It's a great picture. When one thinks on the smell of fresh bread and how appealing that is or the taste of a great bread from Panera, it makes Jesus all the more appealing. In his declaration that he is the bread of life there is the promise of life (which in John's gospel means eternal life that begins now and will be fulfilled in all of its wonder when Jesus returns). In reflecting on what this "life" is all about it struck me that to truly understand it we have to understand the death that has come through the fall of Adam and Eve. If we don't understand how life was lost and what was lost we find ourselves putting all of our ideas into what life is rather than putting God's content into life. It seems to me that we do that constantly as we define life according to the values of our culture i.e. what looks like life to our culture begins to look like life to us and so we believe that is the life Jesus is talking about. There's an interesting book that runs a parallel course with this thinking. The title is simply "Happiness". It traces what different cultures and different times have thought would bring happiness. It's amazing how different our concept of happiness is than say that of Greek society 2000 years ago. The movement of what makes for happiness reminds us that there is also a movement of what we believe makes for a really good life. So to hold on to what Jesus means when he tells us that he is the bread of life it seems that we need to go back to what brought death, back to the fall of Adam and Eve. Without that touchstone we can find ourselves believing all kinds of things about what "life" is, rather than finding out what "life" truly is according to God. When we go back to Adam and Eve what we find is that what was lost (at minimum) is a connection with God, a connection with each other, a connection with wisdom, and a connection with God's creation. The Heidelberg Catechism says,
Lord's Day 3
Q & A 6
Q. Did God create people
so wicked and perverse?
A. No.
God created them good^1 and in his own image,^2
that is, in true righteousness and holiness,^3
so that they might
truly know God their creator,^4
love him with all their heart,
and live with him in eternal happiness
for his praise and glory.^5
^1 Gen. 1:31
^2 Gen. 1:26-27
^3 Eph. 4:24
^4 Col. 3:10
^5 Ps. 8
Q & A 7
Q. Then where does this corrupt human nature
come from?
A. From the fall and disobedience of our first parents,
Adam and Eve, in Paradise.^1
This fall has so poisoned our nature^2
that we are born sinners—
corrupt from conception on.^3
^1 Gen. 3
^2 Rom. 5:12, 18-19
^3 Ps. 51:5

Life in Christ is the restoration of what was lost in the fall. If we focus on that we find the life that Jesus offers as the bread of life. As we do so it strikes me as important to realize that what was lost in the fall and what brings life is not only a broken relationship with God but also all of these other things that were lost. If we miss the wholeness of the picture of life we miss life.

One last things that throws a bit of wrench into the whole deal, while "life" begins in a garden in Genesis it ends with life being restored in a city (Revelation 21-22). That movement reminds us that there is some kind of overall movement in what is true life. It seems that God wants us to do some serious thinking about how life can begin in a garden and end in a city and both of these things be true life.

Getting Ready for Sunday

First things first, our text for Sunday comes from Psalm 78.19-31 and John 6.1-40. We will be focusing almost exclusively on John 6, but the Psalm 78 passage serves as background and there are overall wonderful connections. As you get ready you might want to think about what the numbers 5000, 5, 2, and 12 symbolize in John's gospel. You can also think about why the people want to make Jesus king.

The theme for the morning is American Jesus: Revolutionary Jesus

As you walk in Sunday morning breath in, hopefully you will smell fresh baked bread (see John 6 for the reason why). Make sure you get a piece of bread as you walk in to the auditorium.

Enjoy as well the sounds of the season in the courtyard as Terry Carter's band plays.

Our service start with two carols of the season. Notice the richness of the words as they describe both Jesus, his work, and who he is as both human and divine. The last song of the set celebrates Jesus as our redeemer. The words of the song are:
You have redeemed my soul
From the pit of emptiness
You have redeemed my soul
From death
You have redeemed my soul
From the pit of emptiness
You have redeemed my soul
From death

I was a hungry child
A dried up river
I was a burned out forest
And no one could do anything for me
But You put food in my body
Water in my dry bed
And to my blackened branches,
You brought the springtime
Green of a new life
And nothing is impossible
For You

Pay close attention to these words as we will connect with them in the last part of the message as we talk about Jesus' revolution of life that overcomes death.

After the songs we will spend time in prayer. Adam and I will be picking up more of the service, including this prayer than we normally do because Pastor Tom is sick and Jodi is filling in for him teaching the 101 class.

The offering is next. Rather than the offering being a pause in the service it is actually a time when we participate in worship by giving to God in a very concrete way. The Psalmist asks, "what shall I render to the Lord for all his gifts to me?" His answer is to bring a sacrifice to God. So our worship, if it is full, brings a sacrificial offering to God.

We will again go to God in prayer for the needs of our world and ask him to open our hearts and minds to his word.

When the prayer is done get ready for a bit of the Beatles Their song "Revolution" begins the message:
You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right

The song revolution introduces our desire to have a revolutionary Jesus--but on our terms.

We will end our message with prayer and then join in more songs of the season.

See you Sunday!

Added thoughts

I preached today about Jesus' call to think, ponder and understand the kingdom so that we can bring about kingdom results. Here are a few added thoughts:
1. The idea that I am part of a field is important because it alerts us to the reality that the harvest does not just come from me. In fact, the harvest depends on all kinds of faithful people working together to bring about the results that God desires for his kingdom. (notice that the words that the NIV renders, “produces a crop” literally mean to “bear fruit” which is an idiom in the Greek for “to cause results to exist — ‘to produce results, to cause results.’”). This idea is wonderful to remember because even if our lives don’t seem to produce a great harvest (think of James who is killed early in the book of Acts by Herod, what harvest did he have or of Abraham who dies with only one child of promise), when we look at our lives combined with others in the field we see great things happen because of a community that is willing to “understand”.
2. The whole idea of “understanding” i.e. pondering, thinking deeply about the kingdom as essential for us to remain faithful to the kingdom and to bring results may seem unlikely to many. Many people just want to do and not to think very deeply about what they are doing. But what they fail to realize is the power of ideas to shape and mold us, our lives, and even the world around us. A negative example of this is the Khmer Rouge—this group came out of students talking and thinking in Paris.
3. For some people the thought of thinking may seem daunting, perhaps even unfair. After all, some people are not skilled at thinking (e.g. the mentally impaired) and to say that they have to think in order to bring a harvest for the kingdom just seems wrong. What we need to realize is that God calls us first of all to think in community. For those who God has not gifted in this area, they defer to the wisdom of others—much like I defer to the wisdom of a plumber. At the same time God does call on each of us to think to the extent that he has gifted us.

Sunday's Coming

We are in our second week of American Jesus. Last week we looked at why it's a big deal to believe that Jesus is God like the Father is God. This week we are focusing our attention on "Simple Jesus".

Here's what's happening this Sunday:

We open with a fun and funny drama "Yourway Church of the Customizable Jesus" --as you can tell from the title, it's about people's desire to get the Jesus they want.

As you join in singing the opening songs the first song "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" calls us to worship. The second song speaks of the wonder of God, the reason we worship him and the final song brings us to worship him. As you join in watch for this flow.

Our congregational prayer comes next along with the offering. There will be a video during the offering about Financial Peace University. Check your mailbox or the table by the mailboxes for more information.

After the offering we will again be praying. This prayer will focus on the needs of the world.

The message this week focuses on Psalm 78.1-4 and Matthew 13.34-35 (and the parable of the sower from Matthew 13). The message talks about how God seeks to communicate with us and how Jesus follows that same pattern of communication in bringing us a message that had been hidden from the beginning of creation. Tell your kids to keep their ears open for a little bit of Row, Row, Row your boat. As happens fairly regularly there is more message than time so the long version of the printed message is in the downloads section of EverGreen's website (www.egm.org). At the end of that message are a few added thoughts that I'll be posting on Monday.

The songs following the message are songs of dedication. As you sing pay attention to what you are actually promising and committing to. Singing is sung prayer according to John Calvin and so it carries the same weight as speaking a commitment to God.

One last thought--why not take a few moments/minutes on Sunday morning to get your heart ready for worship. You can read the texts for the day and pray for God to empower you to worship him in ways that please him. You can also show up a few minutes before worship so that you can settle in and focus on God.

See you Sunday!

Join the Conversation

For those of you who are EverGreen folks I want to invite and urge you to join two conversations. The first is with Pastor Tom at 4:45 on the next 2 Sundays. Tom is talking about the sacraments and how we understand them at egm. It's an opportunity to not only listen but also to ask questions. Since the sacraments are a means of God putting his grace into our lives it's important to know what they are all about.

The second conversation happens after the evening service. It's call "The Thirty". It's an opportunity to talk about the message, ask questions, get clarification on what was said etc. I lead this in the "sofa room". This a great time to take the message and make it more a part of our lives and to have the conversation help us to think more deeply and hopefully apply more fully what was said.

The great thing about both of these conversations is that by investing from 4:45 - 7:45 you have an opportunity to listen, think, question, dig deeply and so build your faith. As we'll discover this coming Sunday, understanding our faith through sustained thought and insight makes it possible for us to be fruitful.

So come and join the conversation.

Back the truck up

My New Testament reading is in the book of 1 Corinthians right now. This morning I came across a couple of verses that caused me to pause. Here they are,

1Cor. 7:18 Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision.
1Cor. 7:19 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.

Here's the pause--circumcision is a central command of God in the Old Testament, it is a sign of the covenant i.e. a really huge deal when it comes to being obedient to God (see Genesis 17). This comment by Paul tells us that there has been a radical and fundamental shift in what is and is not obedience in the light of the coming of Jesus (and the New Covenant) As such, an important conversation has to be held about what constitutes obedience. Such a conversation was held both in the church (see Acts 15) and in church history (Belgic Confession Article 25
The Fulfillment of the Law
We believe
that the ceremonies and symbols of the law have ended
with the coming of Christ,
and that all foreshadowings have come to an end,
so that the use of them ought to be abolished
among Christians.
Yet the truth and substance of these things
remain for us in Jesus Christ,
in whom they have been fulfilled.
Nevertheless,
we continue to use the witnesses
drawn from the law and prophets
to confirm us in the gospel
and to regulate our lives with full integrity
for the glory of God,
according to his will.)

Even with these historic understandings, the words of Paul prove stunning and call on us in the light of what the church of the past has taught to discover what obedience looks like in the New Covenant of Christ.

Christmas Tree Lights grr....

'nough said

Isaiah -- Uncomfortable

I'm reading the book of Isaiah in my OT reading time. I'm in Isaiah 5 and came to these words,

Is. 5:11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
that they may run after strong drink,
who tarry late into the evening
as wine inflames them!
Is. 5:12 They have lyre and harp,
tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,
but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD,
or see the work of his hands.

Reading those words made me wonder what things we have that make for a great feast or a great time--but we have no regard for the deeds of God. Or putting it another way, what really good stuff do we have that consumes our time so that we don't have time to see God, his greatness, and the reality that what we are really supposed to want is his name and renown.

Spurgeon

The great 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon wrote about our need to take seriously God's word with his own eloquent words,

"Men lend their ears to music, how much more then should they listen to the harmonies of the gospel; they sit enthralled in the presence of an orator, how much rather they should yield to eloquence of heaven."

Comments on Psalm 78

Pastor's appreciation

Linda and I thank all of you again for the cards and gifts that came our way during pastor's appreciation. We've taken the gifts and set them aside for special purchases and outings. I just wanted you to know a couple of things that we've used them for so far.

The first thing was a joyful purchase of a New Testament commentary set that I've wanted for a while. What made it even more joyful to my Dutch heart was it being 70% off... When it comes I'll mark each volume with egm and a reminder that it was a gift from you.

The other thing Linda and I did was enjoy a wonderful meal at Piper. We sat overlooking Lake Macatawa as the sun set and ate a great meal. The time was refreshing.

So thanks again. We are honored to serve with the people of EverGreen.