Parade to Peril

On Palm Sunday we celebrate the King who was to free us from our oppressors. Jesus entered Jerusalem during a large feast time called Passover. The faithful would gather to remember that God had spared their ancestors from destruction in Egypt. God set them free through the sacrifice of the perfect lamb that each family sacrificed and used the blood to seal the doors of their homes.

In Jesus time on earth, the Israelites were under Roman oppression and life was hard. They wanted a leader who would set them free from the government. But Jesus came to do so much more. The problem was that the people really didn’t understand it. So on Sunday they would hail Him as their leader. On Friday they’d crucify Him as a criminal. The Parade had turned to Peril. Let’s explore together the importance of remember the road Jesus traveled that week. Hear more at: http://bit.ly/blsTbS

Eternal Insights Week 5--Nic at Night

In the Gospel of John, there is a leader of the religious establishment that comes to talk to Jesus at night. His name is Nicodemus and he has some questions for the teacher. He wants to know about a few things that Jesus has been teaching. He questions Jesus at some deep levels. Jesus has some very direct and challenging answers for him.
Nic sometimes gets a bad rap for his visit. Why did he come at night? Was he scared or was it some other reason? Why did he question Jesus in the way he did? Does God allow us to ask such questions? Shouldn’t he be punished for such “doubt”? Nic was a “good, religious” guy. Isn’t that good enough to please God? Why was Jesus so big on paying attention to “the wind” and other such “strange” things?
Let’s come together and explore these questions and more together this Sunday morning. Oh and if you want to get a head start, read over John 3:1-17 and see what you find. Maybe you have some of the same questions Nic did.

Eternal Insights Week 4--Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread. We pray it in the Lord’s Prayer. On the surface, it makes perfect sense. Why wouldn’t we take daily bread? Physically, we seek daily nourishment. What about spiritually? Sometimes we try to get a week’s worth of spiritual nourishment in an hour on one day of the week. We wouldn’t dream of trying to do the same thing physically. This week, let’s examine what it would mean to take Jesus seriously: that He is the nourishment that truly matters.

Eternal Insights Week 3--The Cause of the Effect

The Lenten Season we’re taking time to reexamine our standing in the Covenant that God has put forth through history. Looking through passages in the Gospel of John, we’re taking a good look at what it means to be a follower of Christ.

In this week’s passage, Jesus and the disciples are walking along and they see a man who has been blind since birth. The disciples ask Jesus, “Who sinned to make this man this way? Did his sin cause this or was this his parents’ sin that caused it?” (That’s my paraphrase). The disciples want to know what or who caused this. They are looking for someone to blame.

A man, blind since birth, sits before the disciples begging for a little money. The disciples want to know if this man, blind since birth, sinned to cause his blindness. That question makes me scratch my head a little. But what Jesus does in response to the Disciples’ question blows me away.

How would we answer the question? What would we do if we saw the blind man sitting there? What was Jesus answer to the question? Take a look at John 9:1-7. This Sunday let’s look at the passage together and see who really was the blind man. What caused him to be this way? What was the effect of his blindness? May God open our eyes to new Eternal Insights.

Eternal Insights Week 2--The Problem of Pride

In what do you take pride? Is it some accomplishment that you’ve done? Maybe it is that your favorite sports team won the championship or is considered the best. Do you take pride in the way you are able to do something no one else can do? Maybe you take pride in the appearance of the house or the car or the kids.

Pride is not necessarily a bad thing. We should strive to achieve the things to which we are called. It is fun to pull for our favorite teams. Of course, we should be good stewards and take care of the gifts we’ve been given—be they material things or children to raise or some other gift.

However, when pride begins to take over, we get out of balance. Pride can replace a healthy understanding of who we are and who we are called to be. It can even lead us to forget the things that are important and rely too much on the objects of our pride. In week two of our series on “Eternal Insights” let’s examine Jesus’ idea of our pride and the slavery that can come when we get out of balance in our relationship with Him, ourselves and others. (See John 8:31-36.)

God's Gift of Love

Promises. How do you react when someone makes a promise to you? With anticipation? With suspicion? What about when someone breaks a promise? Have you ever had someone break a promise to you and hurt you?

God made a promise to His people in the Old Testament. They made a promise back to Him. They said that they would follow Him always and never stray.

Well, the people broke their promises. For thousands of years, the people turned away. Oh, sometimes they followed God. But they would often turn their backs on Him again and again. How did God react to the failure to keep a promise? Would you join me this week in a look at how God reacts to promises?

Lenten Questions and Promptings

Many of us have different expectations or understandings of the Season of Lent. Lent can be a very meaningful time of Spiritual Growth. Lent is a time of preparation for the initiation of people into the Christian life in baptism. It is also a time for the church to journey together toward Easter and the reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant. Lent is not about being miserable, sad, and funereal in anticipation of Good Friday. The Sundays of Lent are not part of the forty days of Lent and so remain "little Easters," as are all Sundays. Fasting and giving up something can be part of Lenten disciplines, but so can taking on some things. Have you considered some ways to connect worship and daily growth in spiritual, relational, emotional, and bodily fitness?

My Preparation for Easter
Lent is a time to prepare for Easter. It is a necessary prelude. The death and resurrection of Christ are true whether or not I prepare for Easter. However, without my heart and life being ready, I may not experience the depth and power of Christ's death and resurrection. So with my brothers and sisters, I commit myself to disciplines for conversion from sin and death to love and life in Jesus Christ. With the aid of the list below, I make the following commitments to discipline and growth for the next six weeks:
(Check the ones you desire or feel prompted to do; circle the ones you then decide to do.)

Inward and Personal Disciplines
___ Spend time in solitude each day.
___ Share in the Lenten Series on Sunday evenings.
___ Read a book for inner growth.
___ Read twice through the Gospel of Luke.
___ Begin to keep a journal of prayer concerns, questions, reading.
___ Faithfully read and reflect upon the church’s Lenten Devotional Guide.
___ Focus on thanksgiving, rather than on asking, in prayer.
___ Give myself a gift of three hours to do something I always say I don't have time to do.
___ Find a way to go to bed earlier or sleep in so I get enough rest.
___ Make a list of people with whom I need to be reconciled. Pray for them and let Jesus guide me in my thinking and feeling toward them.
___ Take control of my life by ______________.
___ Go to all of the Holy Week services as an act of love and waiting with Jesus.
___ Take one hour to inventory my priorities and plan how I will reorder them.
___ Give up a grudge or a rehearsal of a past event.
___ Forgive someone who has hurt me.
___ Turn off the TV, computer, etc. for ________ hours a week that I would otherwise spend with it on.
___ Other promptings:

Outward and Social Disciplines
___ Take on some loving task:
___ Plan to visit a "shut-in" neighbor or church member weekly.
___ Agree to serve in an area of the church that God has been prompting me to do so.
___ Write a letter of affirmation once a week to a person who has touched my life.
___ Listen and respond to Christ's call to a ministry of service:
___ Go to coffee or dinner with someone I want to know better.
___ Begin to recycle waste from my home and workplace.
___ Give blood and recall the cross.
___ Call the local food pantry or homeless project and ask how I can help.
___ Say "NO" to something that is a waste of money and time.
___ Pray to God to help me resist racial prejudice and to give me courage in opposing it.
___ Decide to become a member of the church and speak to a pastor and participate in the Membership Exploration.
___ Rebuke the spirit of criticism and my own tongue out of control.
___ Find a way to live out the baptismal promise to "resist evil, injustice, and oppression" in the power and liberty God gives us by:
___ Other outward and social promptings:
As a way of being accountable, I will share my plan with at least one other faithful Disciple of Jesus and share with that person my experience of Lent during Holy Week.
(signed) __________________________ (date) _____________

Balancing Christmas

Balancing Christmas
An early morning quiet covers the house as I sit alone on the couch with my Bible and coffee. A steady rain falls outside. The house is dark except for my reading light.

I place my Bible on the table by the lamp & look up to see the darkened Christmas tree. My heart is thankful to God for the blessings represented by each ornament on the tree. Images in plastic, glass, paper, & ribbon colorfully adorn the evergreen in the corner of the den. Each three-dimensional picture recalls the fond memories of friends, family members, students, & others dear to us from years gone by.

I notice that the ornaments are clustered together toward the bottom of the tree again. When we hang them, Beth tries hard to help the children spread them all over the tree. She reminds Joshua & Meg to balance the decorations evenly all over the tree. It is difficult because they get excited about putting up the ornaments. Their hands work quickly when it is time to decorate—moving faster than her admonishments. When the decorating is finished, the ornaments are bunched together on the lower third of the tree. The bottom branches bend under the weight of several decorations on each branch. The tight cluster of adornments seems to stop about eye-level for the children. I smile inside. I realize that the cluster of ornaments will move up over the years. It will steadily grow a little higher each Advent. As the children grow in age & stature, so too will the
“waterline” of our ornaments rise.

The tree is crowded with ornaments. I saw a tidbit that purported the average tree to have 75 ornaments. I think we’re overachievers. But there will be a day when the children will have their own homes with their own trees. They will take many of these ornaments with them to get their own Christmas decorations started. Like taking the cuttings off of a tree to allow a new tree to take root, we will encourage Joshua & Meg to set their own roots of Christmas traditions.

Our tree may look a little bare that year. Alone, Beth & I will space out the ornaments evenly all over the tree. She’ll remind me to make sure we have a balance of sizes & colors & shapes all around the tree. We’ll even make sure to cover the back—so you can see them out the window too. And as we pick up each ornament we’ll tell a little story about them: where we got it, when we got it, & fondly recall the giver. Maybe when Beth isn’t looking I’ll cluster up a bunch of ornaments toward the bottom of the tree. I’ll remember a morning in a dark, quiet house when everyone else was asleep & our Christmas tree was beautifully and wonderfully out of balance.

Images of the Savior--Part 4

What do you give the one who has everything? Have you ever walked the aisles of stores, staring blankly at the shelves trying to find “just the right gift?” Maybe you’ve stood at the counter of the department store while the sales person showed you item after item. After what seems like hours, you still can’t decide. Your winter coat feels heavy on your shoulders and you grow warmer and warmer with the anxiety of the deadline of Christmas coming and you still don’t have a gift.
I don’t think the Magi had the same anxiety. They brought the infant Jesus gold, frankincense and myrrh. They seem like odd gifts to us. But they brought just the perfect gifts. So what about us today? What gift would we bring Jesus?
In The Gathering this week, we finish our “Images of the Savior” series as we examine the Christmas Story from the view of the Magi. Bring yourself—and your friends and family—as we examine the gift of Christmas.

Week 2 Picture

Some of you missed the week 2 painting. I've put it up on this post for you.
Remember that all of the paintings will come together at the Christmas Eve service for yet another, large picture.

Images of the Savior--Week 3, December 13

What if God had an important message for you? What if it came in a way that you weren’t quite expecting? What if the message was completely improbable? What would you do?
In the Christmas story, the unlikely shepherds received a message in a divine way. It was a message that just didn’t seem possible. They responded with joy and set out to tell all what they had seen.
This week, in our “Images of the Savior” series, we look at the shepherds and what they saw that Christmas night. We look at their reaction and what we can learn from it. Felicia will paint this week and next week as well. May we all be open to what God has to show us.

Snowflake (Circular?) Logic

The local weather people are talking about snow tonight. In my part of the country, snow is a very emotionally charged word. People get gleefully excited about the possibility of snow or the idea of vacationing in snowy places. Such a simple thing—frozen precipitation—that my own feelings toward it give me pause.
Growing up, I moved around a great deal. I spent most of my early years in Kentucky where winters could be mild enough to go without jackets much of the time. Other years, our winters would bring ice storms that seemed to cripple us. Snow, however, was a rarity. Just rare enough to not really be a part of childhood memory.
A few of those early years, I lived in northeast Ohio. This is where my feelings about snow were solidified. Snow was an annual part of life. You planned on it and adjusted your routine according to how much of the white stuff stood between you and the end of the sidewalk, how much stood between your car and the end of the driveway, how much of the stuff stood between you and the canceling of school or the big plans you had for Saturday.
Granted, I took advantage of the situation as best as a young boy could. I would trudge over to Barber’s Hill for sledding or snowball fights or whatever else we could invent on a crisp winter day. But even in the midst of the fun, there seemed to be a nagging feeling of hypocrisy down inside of me. You see, I don’t like snow. I don’t like spending more time bundling up than “enjoying” the time outside. I don’t like it when icy slush gets between you and your clothes. I don’t like the cold air. I don’t like trudging through snow-covered sidewalks and parking lots. I don’t like pulling my car out of snow banks. I just generally don’t like all the stuff that comes along with snow. The feelings of discomfort with winter’s white blanket begin to make their way to the front of my consciousness as a kid. Until they all came to a head one winter morning.
I was standing outside my house waiting for the bus one cold, snowy Ohio morning. A blizzard was blowing outside, as I remember it. Together the kids from the neighborhood and I waited as the cold and snow permeated deep into my bones. The cold chilled my skin and the snow seemed to taunt my feelings of disdain toward it. There was nothing I could do about either. Everyone was gone to work and I couldn’t get back in the house. I grumbled against the wind and snow and cold.
After what seemed like another ice age, another bus driver saw us still standing on the street. It turned out that our bus had succumbed to the snow and cold and was stranded. I was astonished. Our bus froze in the cold and I was still going to school. I waited outside in weather unfit for humans or machines and nobody seemed to be fazed.
It was right then and there that I decided that I was done with snow. To the fullest extent possible, I was going to separate myself from the white stuff. It didn’t really care too much about me and I was not going to hide my disdain for it any longer.
Circumstances took me back to Kentucky that following winter. I was glad to be back in the land where snow is a rarity. However, there was the nagging sense that it was lurking around the corner all the while. Like a bully waiting to strike again, snow seemed to be waiting to get the upper hand again.
One day I heard a friend discussing a business trip he’d taken to the Gulf Coast one winter. He recounted the “snow event” during his trip. It seems that the sky spit snow one day and the whole coast seemed to stop to watch the sky. It was not enough to stick, yet the people seemed to be overjoyed. He too had grown up in a snow-plagued area and laughed the people’s awestruck expressions at the novelty falling from the sky.
I grew excited about this new and wonderful land. I wanted to live in a place where snow was such a novelty. If it was that big of a deal there, then it was the place for me. It seemed only logical that I would live in such paradise. When the opportunity came for my move to the Gulf Coast, I was thrilled to be moving to a land free from frozen precipitation.
That was nearly 20 years ago. I have, for the most part, successfully avoided the snow bully since then. Our encounters have been few and far between and short-lived at that.
Our six-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son often remind me that they haven’t seen (or don’t remember seeing) snow. They do so in the spirit of a plea to present them to snow. I’m hesitant to introduce my children to one of my childhood bullies.
This morning, the local weather people are calling for a chance of snow accumulation about an hour north of here overnight. We might see some frozen stuff even falling from the sky here. My wife and children are excited about the idea. The local Christmas parade is tonight and the church Christmas Carnival is tomorrow. To them, a seemingly perfect arrangement is in the mix. All over the community, I catch snippets of conversations about how excited everyone is about the chance for snow. People like to talk about the rare and novel. Something deep inside of me cringes. Snow. Here. That’s not supposed to happen. Then I remember: people get excited about the rare chance of snow. That’s one of the logical things about living here. So maybe watching them get so excited over so little is a good thing. Perhaps I can endure this punch of snow, to see the delight of my wife and children.
One day I’ll take my wife and kids to see “real” snow. The look on their faces will be wonderful as they romp and laugh in frozen fun. I’ll wave to them through the window —from inside the lodge, next to the fire, with a cup of hot coffee in my hand. . I’ll be the one inside in a t-shirt and shorts and dreaming of someplace tropical.
As I catch the rest of this week’s forecast I get that same warm feeling. A warm front is on the way and I’ll being wearing shorts and a t-shirt next weekend. This is Dixie's Sunny Shore after all. Seems only logical to embrace it—the common and the quirky.

Images of the Savior--Part 2

We had a great experience participating in worship last week alongside artist Felicia Olds. I appreciate Felicia sharing her God-given talents in worship during the Christmas season. I’ve included some pictures of the service.

This Sunday, our Senior Pastor, Rev. Mike McKnight, will bring the message during in The Gathering service. Felicia will again paint during the worship service. Mike will look at the Christmas Story from the viewpoint of the humble man Joseph. We encourage you to look at the story from this perspective. When we look at the story from all four different points of view, we hope that all of us can see the Christmas Story as a much larger picture.

In the Sanctuary Services this week, we’ll celebrate the Christmas Season with a special music service. I am excited about participating in this special service of Lessons and Carols. I look forward to seeing you in worship this week.

Images of the Savior--Week 1, November 29

In The Gathering we launch a new series this week. “Images of the Savior” seeks to look at a familiar message through some unique lenses. First of all, we’re trying something new in worship that we’ve never done before. Alongside those of us who lead worship in word and song, we have a servant who has agreed to lead worship alongside us in a different way. You’ll like it—trust me. Come see what I mean.
This is a series that will be particularly meaningful if you’ll come each week during this advent season. Each week will be a part of the bigger picture. I encourage you to come see what I mean.
In this introductory we look at what it means to make ourselves available to God to do His work in us. Sometimes that may even appear as though it will cost us dearly. Would we/will we readily agree to God’s plan that looks like it may cost dearly? Are we ready to say to God, I trust You to work out your plan in my life? Are we ready to say to God that we’ll go where He leads, knowing that He’ll take care of us? Let’s look together at this first image of the Savior.

Home Builders—Week 5--What's My Home Worth?

What do you have that is of great value to you? Maybe a car that you love? Many people say their home is the largest investment they’ll ever make. Would you say your family? Would you pick something tangible or intangible?

Jesus taught about things of great value. He challenges the hearers of His message to consider the things of their lives that are valuable. Then He challenges them to consider their cost. That cost is something that can weigh us down or lift us up. This week’s message focuses on the worth. What is my home worth to me? What is my home worth to God? Would you join me in an honest exploration of God’s answer?

Home Builders—Week 4--The Big Reveal

Forgive me for failing to post a week 3 blog. We were away with family and did not have internet access out there in the country that week. To be honest, it was a little refreshing. :) You can listen to the message on our website's Media Pulpit www.fairhopeumc.org or you can download our podcasts on iTunes. Look for Fairhope United Methodist Church.

Week 4--The Big Reveal
What is in your heart? What is important to you? What do you value? Are you willing to build others up or try to bring them down to look better in your own eyes?
We all reveal these things everyday. We reveal them to ourselves and to others. We do so in what we say. Jesus' teaching is clear that the overflow of our hearts comes out through our mouths. It is not only what we say, but how we say it that is important. Would you examine the overflow of the heart with me this week? This Sunday's message takes a look at our mouths what powerful tools they are--for good or for evil.

Home Builders—Week 2—Trading Spaces

Last week we laid the foundation of building our homes. We said that our homes are the places where we can be ourselves. Spiritually, the home is the very core of who we are and where we have our deepest thoughts and feelings. In order to build that home, we must build it on the Wisdom of God. In week 2, we investigate “Trading Spaces.”
The news is full of stories about children and teens who are out of control. We see TV shows in which children are causing so much misery for parents that “experts” must come in to solve the problems. While most of us will never find ourselves on these kinds of shows, it does give us pause to look at a few points.
The Parent/Child relationship is the most basic of all relationships. We are all in that relationship in one form or another. Sometimes we find ourselves in some “non-traditional” places in Parent/Child relationships. In this week’s message we’ll examine how we start “Trading Spaces” to make these relationships what God has called them to be.

Home Builders Week 1--Divine Design

If you were to start to build a home, where would you begin? What kind of things would you put in it? What would be the most important things to you?
This week, we begin a five-week series called “Home Builders.” We’re going to examine what God’s Word says about our homes and His desire for them. Our homes are important to us. No matter our station in life: single, married, young or old, home is HOME. It is our place, the place where we belong, the place where we can be ourselves, the place where we’re comfortable. That’s exactly the place where God wants to talk to us. This week I want to challenge you to ask, “What would be God’s Divine Design in building my home?”

Taking Flight--The Flight of Obedience

How would our life be changed if we accepted God's promises for our lives and lived the transformed life? That is a life of Obedience.

Taking Flight Week 2--The Flight of Transformation

Jacob's story in the book of Genesis shows us what happens to a life transformed. Let's explore what it means to live a life transformed.