Read: John 2:1-11
In the book Prayer written by Simon Tugwell, the following is said:
“St. Augustine makes an identical point about miracles in his discussion of the miracle at Cana. ‘Our Lord’s miracle in turning water into wine comes as no surprise to those who know that it is God who did it. At the wedding that day he made wine in the six waterpots he had had filled with water; but he does the same thing every year in the vines. The servants put the water in the jugs, and he turned it into wine. In just the same way the Lord turns into wine the water that the clouds drop. Only that does not amaze us, because it happens every year…So the Lord kept back certain unusual things for himself to do, to wake us up with miracles to worship him.’”
As I read this passage I was struck by the comparison of something that occurs regularly vs. something that occurs only every now and then. We take for granted that, year in and year out, God regularly sends water from the skies to nourish the grapes on the vine. These grapes then become, under the hand of the wine maker, the wine which we then drink. This process has gone on for thousands of years. We accept it as the norm. Yet, Jesus took the same water—this time in jugs—and instantly turned it into wine. Presto!! A miracle has happened.
I wonder about our prayer life. Is it regular or occasional? By that, I mean, do we regularly come into God’s presence and establish our relationship with him, or do we only do it when it is convenient.
I suspect, that those people that regularly commune with God, know about the regular answers to prayer that occur on a daily basis. It is those that only occasionally come before God that wonder why he never answers prayer. They come seeking a miracle, and most often go away disappointed because God didn’t perform as they had expected. I wonder what would have happened had they been in constant prayer and communion with God? Might the seemingly impossible situation that they faced have been daily broken down into smaller segments—and perhaps—those smaller segments have been answered?
Perhaps, we need to understand that God does answer prayer. However, I suspect that he would prefer to answer smaller prayers on a daily basis rather than provide miraculous answers on an occasional basis. He desires the fellowship that comes from daily walking and talking with him. I don’t mean to say that God does not do miracles. I believe that he does. These miracles, though, are few and far between—especially compared to the smaller answers to prayer that He can give on a daily basis.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Sunday, September 18, 2005
The Remnants of our Time
In my quiet time this week, I came across a prayer from the late Henri Nouwen’s book, A Cry for Mercy. The prayer is too long to include in this writing, but it talks about Nouwen’s struggle with the gulf that he felt existed between the ideal of his walk with God and the reality of his walk with God. He mentions the books he has written, the classes he has taught, the books he has read about the spiritual life—he then says, “Still, as impressed as I am, I am more impressed by the enormous abyss between my insights and my life.”
Those words have resonated within me this week. As a new Christian, I regularly listened to Dr. J. Vernon McGhee on the radio. One of his signature phrases was, “Where the rubber meets the road.” He used this phrase to mostly describe the Christian life and what the Bible had to say concerning our application of the principles found within it. I believe that one of the struggle points in everyone’s Christian walk occurs “Where the rubber meets the road.” It’s one thing for us to read the Bible and other great books that discuss the spiritual life, but it is another thing for us to actively put into practice those things that the Bible teaches as well as those taught by other great men and women of the faith.
Sometimes, it is just plain hard to make time to read the Bible. Sometimes it is difficult to get a time for prayer and meditation squeezed into our 24 hour day. It becomes even harder, to cut out time to get involved with servant evangelism. The day only has so many hours and there are so many claims upon each of the precious minutes within any of those hours. We must sleep. We must eat. Most of us must work. We must take time for family. We must take time for ourselves. We must…. We Must… WE MUST…make time for God. Sometimes, God gets the time that is left over. We all know, he deserves the first fruits of our time—not the remnants.
Those words have resonated within me this week. As a new Christian, I regularly listened to Dr. J. Vernon McGhee on the radio. One of his signature phrases was, “Where the rubber meets the road.” He used this phrase to mostly describe the Christian life and what the Bible had to say concerning our application of the principles found within it. I believe that one of the struggle points in everyone’s Christian walk occurs “Where the rubber meets the road.” It’s one thing for us to read the Bible and other great books that discuss the spiritual life, but it is another thing for us to actively put into practice those things that the Bible teaches as well as those taught by other great men and women of the faith.
Sometimes, it is just plain hard to make time to read the Bible. Sometimes it is difficult to get a time for prayer and meditation squeezed into our 24 hour day. It becomes even harder, to cut out time to get involved with servant evangelism. The day only has so many hours and there are so many claims upon each of the precious minutes within any of those hours. We must sleep. We must eat. Most of us must work. We must take time for family. We must take time for ourselves. We must…. We Must… WE MUST…make time for God. Sometimes, God gets the time that is left over. We all know, he deserves the first fruits of our time—not the remnants.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Breakfast for the Teachers
On Friday September 9th, the church began its official campaign to shower acts of kindness and love upon the teachers and staff of the Dudley Primary School. I met with the principal and told her that we wanted to adopt her school and provide breakfast items for the teachers and staff on a regular basis. To put it mildly, she was amazed and deeply appreciative. We decided that Friday mornings would be the best time for such a gift.
Our first act of service was warmly received. Cindy Workman took ham biscuits, pastries, tea and soft drinks to the school. Some of the teachers asked her what she was doing and she explained the items were from the church. One teacher wanted to know which church. Cindy said, “The one on the corner below the school.”
When I picked up my children that day, Jacob’s teacher came up and thanked me for the items.
This is servant evangelism at work. Doing something for someone else as a sign of God’s love towards them and expecting nothing in return. We are letting the teachers and staff know that we appreciate their hard work and, more importantly, that God loves them—and so do we.
If you would like to get involved in a breakfast outreach every other Friday to the Dudley Primary School, then sign up and take part. You will be a blessing to others and, I think you will receive a blessing in return.
Our first act of service was warmly received. Cindy Workman took ham biscuits, pastries, tea and soft drinks to the school. Some of the teachers asked her what she was doing and she explained the items were from the church. One teacher wanted to know which church. Cindy said, “The one on the corner below the school.”
When I picked up my children that day, Jacob’s teacher came up and thanked me for the items.
This is servant evangelism at work. Doing something for someone else as a sign of God’s love towards them and expecting nothing in return. We are letting the teachers and staff know that we appreciate their hard work and, more importantly, that God loves them—and so do we.
If you would like to get involved in a breakfast outreach every other Friday to the Dudley Primary School, then sign up and take part. You will be a blessing to others and, I think you will receive a blessing in return.
Woud You Like a Free Bottle of Water?
As they used to say on the television show, The A-Team, “I Love it when a plan comes together!” I also love it when a plan comes together like it did yesterday at the Fall Jamboree. Our servant evangelism goal was to give away 900 bottles of water to the people that came to the event. 900 bottles of water filled the back of Joe Johnson’s truck two tiers of water deep. Looking at all that water it was easy to think, “That’s a lot of water to give away.” The good news is that we did it. By about 7:00 p.m. the last of the water bottles was gone and we were packing up the site and heading back to our homes.
The day was an exercise in going into the public arena and sharing something—a simple bottle of water—with a thirsty individual. Each person that took a bottle of water was also given a postcard sized piece of paper that had a weekly schedule of church events and church contact information on one side. On the reverse side, it had the following message:
“There’s a Place for You at Virginia Avenue. In one of the Gospels, Jesus offered a woman at a well a drink of living water to quench her spiritual thirst. We offer you this water today to quench a physical thirst and as a symbol of God’ love for you. We invite you to come and worship with us so that you might experience the ‘living water’ that Jesus offered to all that would follow him.”
We then included the following verse from John’s Gospel:
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4: 13,14 NIV
The final outcome of our efforts yesterday may not be readily know or easily calculated. However, we have touched the lives of several hundred people in an unexpected way. We offered them cold water, perhaps our gift was enough to make one or two of them want to come and look for the living water promised by Jesus. If they do, then all our efforts will have been worth it.
That’s what Servant Evangelism is all about. Offering God’s love in unexpected and, sometimes, unimagined ways, to the people of our community. If you are interested, then be sure to check out the other Servant Evangelism opportunities that we have available in the weeks ahead.
The day was an exercise in going into the public arena and sharing something—a simple bottle of water—with a thirsty individual. Each person that took a bottle of water was also given a postcard sized piece of paper that had a weekly schedule of church events and church contact information on one side. On the reverse side, it had the following message:
“There’s a Place for You at Virginia Avenue. In one of the Gospels, Jesus offered a woman at a well a drink of living water to quench her spiritual thirst. We offer you this water today to quench a physical thirst and as a symbol of God’ love for you. We invite you to come and worship with us so that you might experience the ‘living water’ that Jesus offered to all that would follow him.”
We then included the following verse from John’s Gospel:
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4: 13,14 NIV
The final outcome of our efforts yesterday may not be readily know or easily calculated. However, we have touched the lives of several hundred people in an unexpected way. We offered them cold water, perhaps our gift was enough to make one or two of them want to come and look for the living water promised by Jesus. If they do, then all our efforts will have been worth it.
That’s what Servant Evangelism is all about. Offering God’s love in unexpected and, sometimes, unimagined ways, to the people of our community. If you are interested, then be sure to check out the other Servant Evangelism opportunities that we have available in the weeks ahead.
Friday, September 02, 2005
The Spirit is Moving Among Us--Have You Felt His Presence?
I have been on a fact gathering tour since arriving at the church this past June. I have met with 24 church leaders, and sometimes their spouses, and asked them all the same six questions:
My heart is gladdened to see that in the vast majority of the interviews, the answers have been quite similar. To me, this is an indication that God’s Spirit is alive and well and moving in our midst. To hear from these leaders many of the same answers suggests that they are in tune to the Spirit’s presence among us. That means that we should be able to establish a firm foundation on which to build our ministry to the church, the community and the world.
I was also glad to see, that when I met with small groups of people, there was also a corresponding movement of the Holy Spirit.
In the small groups, my goal was not to ask questions, but to rank statements that described the church’s ministry. Each person in attendance had to rank 11 statements from the most important to the least important. In the groups that have met so far to date, there has been general agreement on the top 5 items of importance. Some groups may have ranked these items higher or lower. However, overall, the groups feel that the church is a place where we:
As your newly appointed pastor, I did not feel that it was my role to come in and tell you what to do in terms of ministry. Instead, I felt that I needed to understand what God was already doing in your midst. I am pleased with the results so far and am looking forward to meeting with as many of you as possible on Sunday October 9th at 3:00 p.m. to further discuss ways in which we might move forward in ministry and mission for the Kingdom.
Please join with me on that day and please be in prayer for me and the church as we get ready to see what God is doing in our midst!
What are your thoughts on this issue.
- Tell me about yourself and/or your family?
- How long have you been a member of this church? ___ What brought you to this church?
- What is the most meaningful ministry of this church?
- What are the high points that you have experienced in the life of this congregation?
- What are the pressing issues currently facing this congregation?
- If you could make one wish for the church, what would it be?
My heart is gladdened to see that in the vast majority of the interviews, the answers have been quite similar. To me, this is an indication that God’s Spirit is alive and well and moving in our midst. To hear from these leaders many of the same answers suggests that they are in tune to the Spirit’s presence among us. That means that we should be able to establish a firm foundation on which to build our ministry to the church, the community and the world.
I was also glad to see, that when I met with small groups of people, there was also a corresponding movement of the Holy Spirit.
In the small groups, my goal was not to ask questions, but to rank statements that described the church’s ministry. Each person in attendance had to rank 11 statements from the most important to the least important. In the groups that have met so far to date, there has been general agreement on the top 5 items of importance. Some groups may have ranked these items higher or lower. However, overall, the groups feel that the church is a place where we:
- Proclaim the Gospel in Preaching and Worship
- Provides Opportunities for Personal and Spiritual Growth
- Minister to Individuals and Families in times of Crisis
- Help the Poor and the Oppressed
- Be a Prophetic Witness for Gospel Concerns
As your newly appointed pastor, I did not feel that it was my role to come in and tell you what to do in terms of ministry. Instead, I felt that I needed to understand what God was already doing in your midst. I am pleased with the results so far and am looking forward to meeting with as many of you as possible on Sunday October 9th at 3:00 p.m. to further discuss ways in which we might move forward in ministry and mission for the Kingdom.
Please join with me on that day and please be in prayer for me and the church as we get ready to see what God is doing in our midst!
What are your thoughts on this issue.
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