It was a perfect California day. The wind blowing off the Pacific was light and crisp. The air around me was tainted with the scent of honeysuckle and jasmine. And the sun and clouds frolicked together in the bright blue sky.  As I walked across campus in my robe, the blue and orange tassel hanging from my mortarboard hat tickled my cheek. It too seemed to be in a playful and giddy mood.  There was great joy all around me. At least, that’s how I remember it.

This was my last day at California State University. I was about to march towards the promise of wealth and success. By the time they got around to announcing the School of Communications the sun had set, the wind kicked up, and a wicked chill filled the air. There was something in me growing colder too. Having spent the better half of the afternoon sitting in a hard metal chair, I began looking at all my classmates with a searing eye.  I kept wondering to myself, “Who will I stab in the back to get ahead in my career?”

Yes, this was not my most Christ-like moment. But it was 1991. We were still in a recession. It was a dog-eat-dog world. And they were wearing Milk Bone underwear. I am sure I was not alone in my thoughts.  Eventually I would move on to spend the next two decades tasting life as both the predator and the prey.   

As June is upon us, and kids are graduating from preschool, high school, and college, I look back on those moments of accomplishment. I am also reminded of the vow I used to make to myself after each degree I earned. “May I never step foot on a school campus ever again.”  But God eventually sent my life in a different direction.

Twenty years later. The morning’s marine layer was clearing away, revealing the beautiful blue sky. The warm Santa Ana winds were blowing in every direction. And there was a particular nervous excitement in the air. At least that is how I remember my first day back in school.

Along with men and women from around the world, I entered the First Congregational Church of Pasadena, located next door to the seminary.  We had gathered for a special orientation worship service. Once again, I found myself sitting among my peers and professors.  We sat there, together as one body, listening intently to the words that were being spoken to us. There was one word in particular that kept calling out to me: ‘deconstructed.’ Apparently everything I had brought with me would be put through a process of reconstruction.  Especially the way I would come to see the world and those around me.

Sitting there, singing hymns and praying together, I realized I no longer saw competitors, but instead brothers and sisters. Equals, all gathered for one purpose and one purpose only. To help the world come to know the love of God. No longer was I a predator or the prey. Instead I was broken and blessed like everyone else. God’s grace, forgiveness and mercy sees us as equals, because God cares for us all equally.  Therefore we are all called to love one another equally.

Paul writes, “Accept one another just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Rom. 15:7). Whatever stage of life we are graduating from or towards, let us never lose sight of such unity. 

This is a sermon given at the Amble Memorial Sanctuary in So. Sidney, MI where I was invited to preside over the 47th Annual Service in this historic Danish church.

Reading:   Ps. 27:1-5; John 11:17-44

First of all, I would like to thank you all for allowing me to be a part of this memorial celebration.  Memorial Day is a day to remember the lives of those who died in active military service.  But just recently in the graveyard outside this church, I officiated the burial of the remains of Sgt. Mae Johnson, a WAC in WW2 and a longstanding member of my congregation.  And so we must also remember those whose service continued long after the bombs ceased. I myself have never served in the armed forces, but I do believe we cannot make any sense out of our own life, without having some understanding of the end of life. Memorial Day helps us to do just this.

As young children, my cousin and I would wonder how our time would come to an end.  Through illness, accident, war, or a natural disaster?  Will it happen suddenly or gradually? Eventually, we grew up. He became part of the elite Special Forces, and I became a minister. We would both discover on our own terms that there are no answers for such questions, so why bother spending any more time worrying about them? 

I believe it is blessed ignorance that none of us know how our lives will end.   But what we do know is this: Right now, at this very moment, someone, somewhere, will take their last breath. It might happen because of the horrific wars we continue to wage on humanity. Or it might happen because of a poor diet, a bad decision, or maybe it’s time for the sun to set on a long and prosperous life.  Yet still, human beings find it fascinating to ask questions about death and dying.  Most of my non-religious friends wonder how a God of love, a God whom I worship, can allow bad things to happen…especially to good people.  

When something bad happens to someone good, faithful Christians hold to the hope that God has a plan. And maybe God does. We don’t know for sure, and that too is blessed ignorance. We don’t know why God allows bad things to happen to good people. But what we do know is that God could ask us the same question. Why do we allow it?

In the long history of this church building, we have witnessed two destructive World Wars and countless violent conflicts that have claimed millions of lives. We have watched the Armenian and Jewish Holocausts unfold, and allowed the genocides in the Soviet Union, China and Rwanda. There is still the ethnic cleansing around the globe. We too have also witnessed AIDS killing our children, global hunger destroying our neighbors, and the rise of terrorism spreading fear among all nations.   While we ask God why he allows such bad things to happen, we should be asking ourselves why we are not demanding justice and peace from our leaders.

These events are stark reminders that we cannot  remember the lives of people we love, without being reminded of the grim reality of our human sin, and our own brokenness. Each one of us, in our own way, has been scared simply because we have lived.  But what separates the faithful from the faithless is we hold to the hope filled words of Christ who said, "Don't let your heart be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in me” (Jn. 14:1).  We may not be sure if God has a plan, but we do have the assurance that the love of God , which dwells in Jesus’ heart, comes to us, and offers us consolation and comfort.

We see this in John’s gospel account of Jesus raising Lazarus to life. Here Martha and Mary are mourning their dear brother’s death. Anyone who has lost a loved one knows the pain these sisters are feeling. We know the anger that is raging inside them. We know what it’s like to feel scared and alone. And we know what it feels like to want to scream out to God, “Why?” 

It should be of no surprise that Martha questions Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.”  It is as if she needs to put blame on someone.  And still to this day, God seems to be the perfect scapegoat. How quickly we are to forget the wisdom I once read on a bumper sticker, which said, “Birth is the leading cause of death.”  Perhaps life is all God has planned for us. If that is the case, then how we preserve life should be our most important issue. Jesus is there for Martha. He gives her comfort in her time of grief, and the assurance that death is not the end. Her brother will live again Jesus declares.  And then when Jesus sees Mary crying, he is so moved that he cries to. The King James Version sums it up simply as "Jesus wept." 

Here we have the shortest sentence in the Bible, yet it packs the biggest punch. God isn’t just with us, but suffers with us. God feels our pain, and takes our pain as his own. The cross is a stark reminder of that sacrifice.

Jesus, the Blessed One, weeps.  Jesus weeps over the death of his friend. But he also weeps when he overlooks the city of Jerusalem, knowing it will soon to be destroyed.  Jesus weeps over all losses and devastations that fill the human heart with pain.  He grieves with those who grieve and sheds tears with those who cry. The violence, greed, lust, and so many other evils that have distorted the face of the earth and its people causes the Beloved Son of God to weep.   We too have to weep if we hope to experience God's consolation.

The world has seen no greater love than the love that Jesus gives us. St. Paul writes in Romans, “But God proved his love for us in that while we still ere sinners Christ died for us.”  God’s ever flowing and all-giving love frees us from the sin that found its way into His perfect creation.  In his life and at his death, Jesus exemplified God’s divine love; his compassion, empathy and sympathy that he shows towards others, God shows to us through him.  Through Jesus’ sacrificial love, we come to be one with God.  No war, famine, or natural disaster can take that away.

In our time of death, Henri Nouwen writes this, “Hope and faith will both come to an end when we die.  But love will remain.  Love is eternal.  Love comes from God and returns to God.  When we die, we will lose everything that life gave us except love.  The love with which we lived our lives is the life of God within us.  It is the divine, indestructible core of our being.  This love not only will remain but will also bear fruit from generation to generation.” 

Every American soldier who marches on to war, to protect and preserve our national interest, we remember them on this day for their sacrifice. But it is in the way we love and serve God that we will be remembered throughout eternity.  When we share our compassion, empathy and sympathy with others, we are building more than a relationship between the wounded and the healer. We are living out a covenant between equals.  As brothers and sisters, children of a living and loving God. 

As members of God's family, we must never forget the grace given to us by God is the grace that we give to others. As we move closer to being reunited with those who have gone before us, may we never forget the promised hope of salvation in which such membership into God’s family offers freely to anyone who desires it.  When we can leave this world with grateful hearts, grateful to God and our families and friends, then our deaths can become sources of life for others.

I can’t think of a better way to be remembered, in this life and in the one yet to come.

Readings:  Acts 2:1-8; 12-21

I remember one Sunday morning at our last church we were already running a few minutes behind schedule when one of our members stopped me to ask a “quick question.” He asked me if I could explain the Holy Spirit to him? Now I’ll give him credit that his question was quick. But the choir had already begun to process and the acolytes were following close behind them. What could I do?  

This was an important question for him. It was truly weighing on his heart.  So I replied to his quick question with an even quicker response.  I said, “Wind and breath.”  Yes, I summed up one of God’s greatest qualities with two things that come out of my son on a daily basis. Thankfully our God is gracious. 

It’s hard to answer questions about the Holy Spirit. It's one of those beloved mysteries. If we were to do a little word study, we'd see that both the Hebrew word ruâch and the Greek word pneuma translate the same: wind, breath and spirit.  And so its not a stretch to say the Holy Spirit is the breath of God, the wind that whips around us, and the air we breathe in. 

Wind is easy to explain. I can feel it as it tickles my face and tussles my hair. I can hear it rustle through the leaves, watch it kick up dust, and cause ripples in the water. Breath is also something I get. On cold days I can see it, nearly every morning I can smell it, and when I'm on the treadmill I can even hear it. Breath is a part of every human being. So much so, that we rarely even think about it until it is hard to breathe.

But Spirit is something unique. It has no scent, or shape or form. It’s invisible and hard to grasp. Like our own breath, we don’t think about it until we need it. When we are feeling down, lost and alone. Or when we are fidgety and need quiet. Or troubled by a thought or lacking creativity, we often pray for the spirit to come. But like our own breath, the Spirit is already there. 

The spirit is there even though we can’t feel it. On days when there isn’t any wind, and at times when we are truly out of breath, the spirit encircles us.  Because the Spirit is God, and God has never left us. Through the Spirit God breathed all creation to life. It was the first thing to BE and it has never ceased to be. 

 (blow up balloon)

*Barbara Brown Taylor offers us this illustration. Think about it as our earth’s atmosphere. This invisible layer of gases surrounds our planet. It keeps the air we breathe here on Earth from being sucked out into the cold and consuming vacuum of outer space. And inside this layer is all the air that ever was, is, and will ever be. The same air of the ancients keeps recirculating, passing from one generation to the next.

God’s first breath is still blowing through this world, filling our lungs with life. This is the same breath inhaled by dinosaurs, Pharaohs, and Greek philosophers. Mozart and Frank Sinatra both breathed the same air that the choir breathes while singing their anthems. Every time we breathe in we take a baby’s first breath or someone’s last. And when we breathe out, our breath rejoins the wind so it too can be shared with someone else.  

When Jesus exhaled his last breath on the cross, it rejoined with Abraham’s, Jacob’s and all of our ancestors. But God took that breath, that last sacrifice, and strengthened it into a mighty wind that shook throughout creation. Like a holy hurricane, it blew through the upper room on the Day of Pentecost; igniting sparks that burst into flames above the disciples’ heads. Taylor describes this event so beautifully, saying it was as if “God wanted to make sure that Jesus’ friends were the inheritors of Jesus’ breath.” 

Picture them...standing there in awe, all the disciples inhaling God’s breath, filling themselves to the gills with God’s Spirit. They begin to speak in tongues; in different languages. Like a room full of preschoolers vying for attention, they created such a racket that they attracted others who were just passing-by. By the end of the day the church had grown from one hundred and twenty to more than three thousand. To think what we could do in our community by sharing the   breath and Spirit of God!

Now some have described the Holy Spirit as the ‘shy’ one in the Trinity, not because it’s quiet, but because it never seeks direct attention. Rather the Spirit always points back to Jesus. I believe the Spirit is just too busy to be in the spotlight.

After all, the Spirit is the heartbeat of the Church. It blows through us and around us, above us and below us, calling all people to faith and comfort. It calls us into community and challenges the Church and her people to proclaim the Good News to the ends of the earth. The Spirit’s presence among us, acts as the church’s guide so that we may live and act as faithful servants of God and as witnesses of Jesus Christ.

In the unity of the Holy Spirit we are one body, the Body of Christ. Young men, old ladies, each from different cultures, races, and economic levels, all dreaming the same dream together; each of us living and worshiping side-by-side for one common purpose. 

On the Day of Pentecost, God’s Spirit filled the Earth in a new way: with peace and love and justice. When we breathe in, we breathe in God’s love, peace and justice. Therefore what we breath out should reflect the same. Just as God renewed the face of the ground with a single breath...in the same manor, God’s Spirit transforms and renews us.

In Romans Paul writes, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption, by which we cry, "Abba!" 

The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”  Pentecost is not just a one-time event. The Spirit, like our own breath, is an on-going gift. Therefore, the church, and her people are like the wind...constantly moving and changing. 

The Spirit of God is our life force. It is our peace and conscience. It is the part of God within us who prays in us, who offers us the gifts of love, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and joy. It is the Holy Spirit who offers us the very life that death cannot destroy. 

The Holy Spirit, fills us with hope and purpose.

 (blow up balloon)

It stretches us...and pushes us to uncomfortable places. 

This is why so many of us still resist and push back. We don't want to change. We would rather hold on to the things that keep us from truly embracing the uncertainties of a life of faith. There are things we hold on to that...can deflate us, pollute us, distract us, and of course wear us down.

They may not change who we are, but they stop us from being what we are to become. Christ called us to a life of faith; which means trusting in God even when you can't see or feel God in your life. 

It was Christ who emptied himself of his last breath, so we could be filled. As the Body of Christ, we too have to empty  ourselves...in order to breathe in the breath of true life. God invites us to exhale all our pain and fear and anxieties...and to fill ourselves up on the peace and assurances of the Holy Spirit.

(blow up balloon)

We must let go of our own breath…

and allow God’s Spirit to move us wherever we are called to go.

(Let go of balloon)



* Based on the sermon The Gospel of the Holy Spirit  by Barbara Brown Taylor. Home By Another Way. Cowley Publications.  (Kindle Locations 1457-1460). Kindle Edition.
* Bartlett, David and Barbara Brown Taylor, ed. Feasting on the Word: Year B, Vol. 3. Westminster John Knox Press. (Louisville, 2009). pp. 3-7.

"An elderly man of some affluence once asked a pastor how he could possibly learn to serve the least in society. The pastor answered, “You will be able to serve others when you see the crucified Christ in every person you meet, regardless of their social standing.” That is a tall order to fulfill, but not an impossibility for those who allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to work in them."

-Pentecost sermon by — The Rev. Timothy G. Warren at Trinity Episcopal Church, Redlands, Calif.

An interesting blog post from a young lady I do not know:

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/reject-apathy/3-ways-pursue-justice-every-day

Reading:     Psalm 1 ;  Acts 1:6-11

Just the other day someone asked me what it was like to work in advertising.  Let's just say I told her that whenever I used to fill out questionnaires that ask for my race, I put rat.

 As a copywriter it was my job to write the slogans and words.  What I learned was that sometimes these words didn’t always translate so well in other languages. You might remember the Dairy Association's successful campaign "Got Milk?"  When they expanded it to Mexico, the Spanish translation read "Are you lactating?"  

Sometimes it wasn't just the words but the image. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same famous packaging with the cute baby on it. They quickly learned that African companies put pictures on the labels to show what's inside, since many people can't read. It was a fun yet taxing career choice.

One of the many things that drove me nuts was trying to keep up with the latest buzzwords. You see Agencies are very competitive. They are always looking for creative ways to describe what makes them stand out from the pack. These words began somewhat straight-forward. But over the years the thesaurus got used a little too much.

For example, it was our task to ”concept” an idea so that our client’s product would be at the top of a consumer’s mind. And so ‘top of mind’ thinking became a buzzword. But then we began to think ‘outside of the box.’ Offering “360 degree integrated solutions.” We were cutting edge, innovators, and renegades. We created infomercials and advertainment, branded entertainment, and contextual content...all so we could claim to be the “game changer.”  These words, and hundreds like them, would soon become generic idioms, lost among our language with “plop-plop, fizz, fizz,” and “Where’s the Beef?”

Recently the word “Disruption” has been the big thing. I actually like this one.  There is something theological about it.  Like faith, it’s both a noun and a verb. To “Disrupt” or to be a  “disruptor” is to be a person or a brand that rocks the boat. The one who mixes things up and break the rules,...whose unique innovation throws the status quo into a tizzy.  Can you think of a biblical character who does that?

It should be of no surprise that one ad agency actually trademarked the word “disruption.”  Listen carefully how they redefined its meaning: “the art of asking better questions, challenging conventional wisdom, and overturning assumptions and prejudices that get in the way of imaging new possibilities and visionary ideas.”  

For most people advertising is little more than an unwelcomed interruption. They are perceived as being more invasive than thought provoking.  But as the Energizer Bunny reminds us, as long as we keep buying, the ads will keep going and going and going. 

While I am not one who likes to interrupt...I do like to disrupt. To borrow from this new definition I believe it helps us to ask better questions, keeps us thinking, and progressing. And if nothing else it keeps us on our toes. Disruption is second nature to me...and I suspect it is to you as well...because we are all made in God’s image. And God, of course, is the original disruptor. God was thinking outside the box long before it was a cliché. Mixing things up since the beginning.

Before his light burst through the vast darkness God had already thought about alternate times and dimensions, of new worlds and universes, each one seamlessly integrated with the other. In comparison to the planets in our solar system Earth is a perfect creation born out of true visionary thinking. The incarnation was a true game changer. It overturned all assumptions. Through Jesus Christ, God challenged the conventional wisdom; calling us to live in a radically new way: through service, forgiveness, and submission.

As the 40 days of the Easter Season comes to an end, we remember the resurrection...another perfectly executed disruption, that redefined both the way we think about life and the way we experience death. Even by today's standards, this concept is still visionary and thought provoking…we must die in order to live.

Is it safe to say, we all have at least one story of God disrupting our life? For me, it was a sudden and unexpected head on collision with cancer. For my wife, it was a slow and sorrowful walk toward the death of her beloved father. For you it might have been overcoming an addiction, or suffering through a failed relationship, dealing with a violation of your person or property. Maybe God is disrupting your life right now. Perhaps you are coping with Alzheimer’s or emphysema or heart disease. Maybe you are in the midst of losing your retirement savings or home, or you are having the life of someone you love taken from you.

Whether it is sudden or expected, I believe God disrupts our lives with a purpose...To give us the opportunity to engage in our true faith, and to lean on God for support. These disruptions allows us to grow through our struggle... and to find, through our weakest moments, the strength that lies within us. 

Through the trials and tribulations of life, we discover that...what we are truly capable of...is actually more than we ever believed possible. Disruption helps us to see the depth of our faith and the boundless love of our God. To quote one of the most visionary thinkers in advertising history,  “You can’t preach disruption unless you are willing to live by it.” Jesus, more than anyone else, understood this. And so he calls us to do the same. 

Today around the world, the Christian Church is celebrating the ascension of Jesus to the promised throne of glory. This is a different kind of disruption because it does not involve God coming to us, but instead God is leaving.  For the disciples,  who were left looking up to the heavens, this is not Good News. After all they had witnessed and learned they still held on to the popular notion that their Messiah would restore Israel by way of violent force. 

But God doesn’t take that route. Instead of raising an army, or smiting down the Roman Empire, God peacefully succumbs to their violent ways; sacrificing his only Son so the world will be saved.  Once again, God radically changes the game. Of course, no action of Jesus is without weight. His ascension has far more hope than is often realized. Before Jesus is lifted up, he leaves his disciples with the responsibility... to continue the work that he began. 

In advertising terms he tells these new disruptors to…"Just Do It.” “Reach Out and Touch Someone;” Go forth and “Teach the World to sing in perfect harmony.” Oh, and don’t worry, “You’re in Good Hands,” you have “A Piece of the Rock.” (Too many slogans?) At our baptism, we received the Spirit of God. And we too are called to disrupt the world around us.  

Jesus has made it our mission to confront injustice, care for the sick, feed the hungry, stand up for the poor, and forgive one another so that we may live peacefully as God intended. I’ll admit this seems like an impossible undertaking. But so goes the way of sacrificial love.  Of all the slogans ever created, nothing will ever come close to the living words of Jesus Christ who said, “With God, all things are possible.” 

Today, as we celebrate our Lord’s ascension into Heaven, we are left with the hope and assurance that God’s Divine story has not come to an end, instead it is just the beginning of something new. We do not know the time or the season when God will come again, to disrupt our lives, for his great glory. And so we must always be on our toes.

As witnesses to God’s grace given to us through the love and peace of Jesus Christ, we must never stop asking ourselves this important question: "What am I called to do to challenge conventional wisdom and overturn prejudices that get in the way of furthering God’s vision for us all?"

After all, We - Are – Christ-ians, bum-de-bum-bum-bah.  

"The tiny seed knew that in order to grow, it needed to be dropped in dirt, covered in darkness, and struggle to reach the light."
                       -excerpt from a desk calendar; Wed. May 6, 2015

So much of life is in this struggle to find light to grow. Yet far too often we overlook the necessity and beauty of darkness. Therefore, we do not truly comprehend its importance in finding balance in our life. 

If you have ever felt like you are "in a hole," then you know how difficult it can be to find the light to guide you out of it. I  imagine this is a struggle we all will face at least once in our life. If it has already happened to you, then you know it can seem like you are being buried alive, or that you are trapped with no way out. You will fight it. And perhaps do or say anything to abandon it, even if it means digging yourself deeper into the abyss. 

Is this a bad thing? Let's not forget it is from holes that oil is found, diamonds and other precious gems are mined, and mountains continue to spring forth. The deeper we dig, the more stuff we find.

Contrary to popular opinion, I believe we need to embrace these dark holes in our lives for what they really are. We need to take the time to be in it in order to see a world that is fully thriving. After all, a plant doesn't abandon the darkness and dirt after it is seeded, instead it spreads itself out both upward and downward. For a plant to thrive, it needs both the dark soil and the bright light. So to do human beings; especially if we are going to grow strong and bear good fruit. We too must struggle and grow both ways.  

This is a delicate balance of life in which we all seem to struggle with. Too often we forget that without a strong root system (buried deep underground) a tree would not be able to withstand the wind or soil erosion. Human beings are no different. Without the hidden strength found in darkness, we might not be so good at  handling pressures that seek to knock us down. 

We must realize that the roots of life constantly feed and nourish itself by digging more holes in the soil.  The darkness below is just as important as the light above. Once we understand what's inside the darkness, then we can begin to see the darkness for its truth and beauty. And this helps us also to see the light for what it truly is. 

Recently my daughter and I had a wonderful conversation. She was telling me about all the things she wished she could do, but couldn't for some reason or another. This was hard for me to hear. As a father I wanted to tell her that she could be anything she wanted to be. As a minister, I wanted her to know that there is always hope. While I whole-heartily believe these statements, there is also a side of me that doesn't want to fill her head with wishful thinking. Instead I want her to figure it out on her own.  

I thought about Philippians 4:13 which states, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”  

Soon our conversation shifted from making a negative statement "I can't do it" to making a positive questions "How can I do it?" Instead of thinking about the things that scare us or require more strength, intelligence, or faith than we have to give at that moment, we are to look at what we can do. If we look inside ourselves then we will find the answers and clues to working with our limitations.

Too often we retreat to the safe places in our lives, and too often it is in these places we store stuff we don't need. Stuff that limit our faith, strength, and know how. This useless clutter stored within us keeps us from seeing the bits and pieces that help us do the things we are good at. The longer we keep the negative stuff stored away within us, the easier it is to see only the negative (I can't do that) instead of seeing and thinking more positively (How can I get this done?).  Imagine how you would feel if a plumber or an auto mechanic told you "I can't fix it" and then walked away from the job.  I know I would scream,  "Don't tell me what you can't do, tell me what you can do."

Christ has called us to give up those things in life that keep us from bearing good fruit (John 15:1-11). These things include thinking negative thoughts. If we abide in him, and he abides in us, then God will begin to prune those area's in our lives that bear no fruit. And it is in this process of abiding and pruning our joy will be complete. Therefore let God come in and clean house, trim back the branches, sweep out the dirt, and throw away all the useless junk. With all of that stuff gone, we can begin to see the joy, the love, the inspiration, the safety and confidence we need to do all things. 

Prayer:
God cleanse me and free me to rely on your strength. Through you,  in the name of Jesus Christ, all things are possible. Amen.

"If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks? Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31).

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col. 3:17).
 

 

(excerpt from monthly church newsletter)

It’s sunny. It’s raining. It’s crisp. It’s warm. It’s calm. It’s windy. It’s May. Well, it’s been over six months and I am now just beginning to figure out what this is what Michigan weather is all about. What’s the old saying? “If you don’t like the weather wait five minutes.”  And just when we think it’s safe to go outside, the earth shakes.

Perhaps we Californians are a bit jaded, because we didn’t feel the earthquake. It wasn’t until I saw my children’s bedrooms that I realized such an utter mess could only have been caused by a natural disaster.  Which reminds me of an old saying we had in California. “To minimize loss and damage in an earthquake, don’t move to California.”

Jesus also had some wonderful sayings that we have been passing through the generations. In fact, most everything he said has found its way into our modern vernacular.  Some of my favorites in the Gospel of Matthew alone are Mt. 5:4; 6:34; 7:12; 24:4 just to name a few. I invite you to look them up and see how the Bible has influenced our language. 

I believe God sent Jesus to influence the way we speak as well as the way we act towards others. From how we treat our own family members to how we greet a stranger on the street, the way we love others as God loves us is and should always be universal. No matter where we are, the love a Christian shows others can transcend any language barrier society has put in place.

The Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend (May 24), the church will celebrate the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus’ followers and something amazing happened (answer: Acts 2:1-4). The wind blew and the earth probably shook, too.  From this point forward the church took a different direction. It began to break away from it’s Jewish past and speak a different language.

That language was, and still is, the language of God's love.  After all, in the church we have this old saying, “(John 13:34-35).”