“A Safe Place…”

November 8, 2015

Stetson Memorial UMC

23^rd Psalm NIV

1 John 5:1-5 NIV

Psalm 31:19-24

“A Safe Place…”

Prayer for the Spirit’s leading…

Read 1John 5:1-5 NIV

1 John 5:1-5New International Version (NIV)

Faith in the Incarnate Son of God

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Have you ever been in a place that you felt completely unsafe? No matter where you turn it just gives you that frightened feeling. It is almost as if the evil of the world has converged in one place and your standing in it. We all want that place of safety in our lives….a place where we feel cared for and nothing can harm you.

Last week was All Saints Day and we talked about the saints past, present and future…we talked about how we owe so much if what we have today to those who have gone before us. They are the ones who made a path for us to follow instead of making our own. It is nice to travel that safe road at times but at other times we just want to venture out on our own to see what we can find.

In the 23^rd Psalm that I read this morning, we hear about that place of safety. That place is right next to Jesus, the Good Shepherd. In keeping close to Jesus we may not miss all those scary, dangerous parts of life but we know that He will walk through it with us.

Last week I also talked about how we are the imperfect, perfect vessels God’s love. We are those cracked pots for God so to speak. Even in our brokenness we are useable and precious to God who picks us up and creates something new, something beautiful.

It is within our brokenness that He is able to reform us into a thing of beauty. He reclaims us for a far better purpose than what we can imagine on our own. We all have brokenness within us, it all began in a garden before we were ever born. But there something amazing about our brokenness, it is within this brokenness that Jesus’ light shines through us. If we were perfectly made…there would be no cracks in which our light can shine through.

Think about beach glass for a moment each of you should have received a piece when you came in this morning. It starts out as a discarded bottle or other glass. It is broken and just left where it is as if it had no use or beauty left. Through time, the discarded piece of glass is rolled over many times and has had the waves beat upon it. It loses it’s rough edges that it once had. Until one day it becomes a thing of beauty that we call “beach glass”. It is no longer a discarded broken bottle, it has now become something that people search up and down the beach for. It is something that is valued and treasured…it may be in a different form but it is still valuable. It is actually considered a mineral gem at this point.

Our lives can seem much like the life of beach glass. We can feel we have the perfect life and then something comes along to shatter or change that. As we give ourselves to God , He is able to create something new. When we accept Jesus our whole lives change from dirty to white as snow. 1 John 5:1-5 told us that as we become children of God we are changed and we love the children of God. We may go through much pressure and strife but we come out changed on the other side.

Now we may feel alone as we go through our time of change but we are never alone. Listen to Psalm 31 verses 19-24 and hear the good news…

Psalm 31:19-24New International Version (NIV)

19 How abundant are the good things

    that you have stored up for those who fear you,

that you bestow in the sight of all,

    on those who take refuge in you.

20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them

    from all human intrigues;

you keep them safe in your dwelling

    from accusing tongues.

21 Praise be to the Lord,

    for he showed me the wonders of his love

    when I was in a city under siege.

22 In my alarm I said,

    “I am cut off from your sight!”

Yet you heard my cry for mercy

    when I called to you for help.

23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people!

    The Lord preserves those who are true to him,

    but the proud he pays back in full.

24 Be strong and take heart,

    all you who hope in the Lord.

(End as the spirit Leads)

Amen

Father Knows Best

June 21, 2015

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Father’s Day

Baptism of Nolan Howes

Matthew 6:9-13King James Version (KJV)

Father Knows Best…

Prayer for God’s word to be heard through me or in spite of me…

Good morning and happy Fathers Day. Today is a day that we honor fathers and those who are like fathers to us. It is a day of celebration for all that they have done and are in our lives. I would like all the fathers out there to stand…all of those who are like fathers…all of you men who are mentors or share your wisdom with the younger generation. Today we thank you for all that you are. You help the next generation find their way. You instill values and virtue in the young men, who will at some point would date our daughters, know right from wrong. Thank you, thank you for your love and hope.

Last week, I talked about “Fearless” and posed the question, “what would you do if you were not afraid?” and we decided that we didn’t need to be afraid because God was with us always…guiding us and providing for us as we go out in the world in His name…kind of like…OK exactly like…the fathers we honor today…our earthly fathers. How awesome is it that we have a heavenly Father to watch over us as well. As a matter of fact, He will never leave us. We may lose our earthly father for whatever the reason may be…we may have fathers that have not been there for us…we may have fathers that aren’t very helpful as we try to learn our way in this world but…but…you can rest assured that our Heavenly Father is always there… Our Father in heaven knows best…

You may be saying to yourself…How do I know that my Father in heaven knows best? I think we find our answer to that question is in the prayer we pray every Sunday after we raise up our concerns and celebrations…the one that Jesus taught His first disciples…”The Lord’s Prayer”. Let’s look at that prayer…stanza by stanza…it is found in Matthew 6 verses 9-13…I am reading the scripture from the King James Bible this morning…I love the poetry in the words…

1.   9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. As we begin this prayer we begin by praising Him for who He is. Now the word “Hallowed” means holy and revered, consecrated and sacred. It is and adjective saying how highly respected He is…sort of like the fathers we honor today but at a whole different level.

2.   10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. As we pray this part of the prayer, we are praying His kingdom come here on earth…that He will reign over all the earth…that it is His will…not humanities will…be done. That we will all be in agreement with Him as to who and what we were created to be…His beloved and cherished children wanting to do nothing but what He would have us do…He knows that what is best for us is to be with him…not wandering in the wasteland of humanity…

3.   11 Give us this day our daily bread. We are asking and knowing He will provide for us…not just as our earthly fathers…not just bread for food to eat. He provides bread for our souls, He provides light for our way, He provides strength for those times we are weak, He provides…fill in the blank… He knows what we need at any given time. He knows what is best for us.

4.   12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Our earthly fathers forgive us when we have done something wrong but it maybe be hard…if not impossible…for them to forget. When our heavenly Father forgives us it is blotted out…the slate is whipped clean and never thought of again. He knows that we need forgiveness and “forgetness” in our lives. Oh by the way…He also provided a way for our sins to be forgiven and to have a personal relationship with Him. This Father…our heavenly Father…loved His creation of humanity so much that He sent his own Son, Jesus, to die for us so that we could have that type of relationship with Him.

5.   13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: Now…our Father in heaven knows what is best for us…He is the Author that is writing the poetry of our lives… He will never lead us into bad situation…but when we “lead ourselves” into such situations He will lead us out. He knows the best path for our lives and wants us to have the best life we can on this side of heaven.

6.   For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. How can we not sing Alleluia and give Him the glory for all that He has done…is doing…or will ever do…in our lives.

Today is father’s day when we honor our father’s of this earth. It is a day that we honor our Father in heaven who is the Father of all fathers. What a more perfect day to have a baptism as we dedicate a new life…a day that we put another life into His loving and tender Fatherly hands, know that He knows best.

I would ask that Jessica, Kenyon and Nolan to come forward as we place another life into the loving hands of God our Father…

(Baptism of Nolan)

Our heavenly Father really does know best. All praise and glory to the Father of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ…

Amen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i58Am6yv4Po

I Say A Little Prayer For You

May 17, 2015

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon 4 in Sermon Series

“Five Marks of a Christian”

Adapted from: “Five Marks of a Methodist”

By Steve Harper

Matthew 6:5-13 NIV

Ephesians 6:10-20 NIV

I Say A Little Prayer For You!

Prayer for God’s word to be heard through me or in spite of me…

The moment I wake up

Before I put on my makeup

I say a little prayer for you

While combing my hair, now

And wonder what dress to wear, now

I say a little prayer for you

When I was growing up, my mom taught me many things…some good and some not so good. But the one thing she instilled in me was that I could and should pray to God when things were going bad in my life. I was taught that I could find comfort in those times and that God was always there to listen to what was troubling me and He would help me in those times of adversity. When all else fails…pray… When all else fails…pray…

But the problem with that is that I never really built a relationship with God. I would come to Him in prayer expecting Him to fix all my problems. It was almost like He was the “Candy Man’ and He would give me or help me in my times of trouble. It wasn’t until much later that I built a relationship with God and prayed in good times and in bad. Now people call me to pray for them because they know that I pray on and in all situations with prayers that can move mountains. It is because of my relationship with God…my trust in God…my belief that He hears my prayers…that I am able to pray without ceasing…until there is an answer from heaven.

With this type of theory in life, my mom grew to believe that God was too busy to help or that her problem wasn’t important enough for God to help her. Unfortunately she never really had that real relationship with God that we are called to have with Him. There are many people out there that still have that assumption in life and miss out on the richness of His grace.

We have begun our journey of looking at the five things…five ways…that we can see that we are “being changed by the story” of Easter. I have adapted this Sermon Series from a book written by Steve Harper that is titled “Five Marks of a Methodist: The Fruit of a Living Faith.” But this book is not just for “Methodist”, it is for all who follow Christ. It gives five distinct ways to tell…to visually see…that you are being “changed by the story”, not just reading it.

The five ways are as follows:

A “Christian” not just Methodist:

1.   Loves God

2.   Rejoices in God

3.   Gives Thanks

4.   Prays Constantly

5.   Loves Others

         

We have talked about the fact that “we love God” and that it is not just a fleeting love but a love that encompasses all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will be. It is what drives us in our relationship with Him. The more we are in love with Him the more we want to know Him. And the more we know Him the more we want of Him in our lives.

We have discovered that not only do we love God but we rejoice in Him. Not just simply rejoice in Him but rejoice in Him from the bottom of our feet to the tops of our heads. How can we not…look at all that He has given us in our lives…look at all that He has done in our lives and the lives of others. Now that’s reason to truly rejoice.

Giving thanks to God is another way to tell we are living the Easter life. Giving thanks is so important because as we do, we don’t forget that it is God who gives us all that we have. It is God who grows us. It is God who has given us our talents so that we can use them to further His kingdom here on earth.

The next sign is that we pray continually. In the good and bad times we pray to God and build a relationship of love and trust with Him. As we pray without ceasing, we see that God does answer pray and that He does care. I have seen so many answered prayers here at our church. There are many who are “prayer warriors” and all it takes is a call from someone who needs prayer and they go right into action. They don’t just say I’ll pray for you...they actually do it…

          How do we know how to pray? Is there some kind of formula that guides us in prayer? Is there a right or wrong way to pray? We can glean the answer for these questions from the Matthew scripture I read this morning. Jesus’ disciples wanted their teacher to teach them to pray. They saw Him on many occasions going away alone to pray. They wanted to know what He knew. So He gave them an example of how not to pray.

The people of the temple would go out and pray these long prayers that had no real meaning behind them. They just prayed lots of words that were kind of hollow so to speak. Then He gave them not only the perfect prayer to pray but told them the right state of heart to pray in. they didn’t need all kinds of fancy words to pray to God. They could just go to God and pray from their hearts. We too don’t need all kinds of fancy words or to pray for hours at a time. All we need to do is to pray from our hearts to God…that’s it…that’s the formula for prayer…

I run for the bus, dear

While riding I think of us, dear

I say a little prayer for you

At work, I just take time

And all through my coffee break-time

I say a little prayer for you

One of my favorite pieces of scripture tells us how important prayer is. It is one of the tools in our arsenal for our work in God’s vineyard. It is found in Ephesians 6, verses 10-20. Listen to what it says about prayer and its importance in our lives as Christ followers…

Read the Ephesians Scripture…

We are to pray without ceasing for one another. We are to pray continually for those who are in need.          As we suit up with God’s armor, we are not to forget that it is within our relationship with God…our continual conversation with God…that we are strongest. It is within our prayer life that we are able to fight off whatever the enemy has to offer us. WE actually help others grow in their trust and love of God as we pray for them and they see the answered prayer in their own life.

We are connected to Jesus as the branches of the vine in which He is the One who gives nourishment and without the vine we are nothing. We are no longer servants but friends of the One who gave His life for us. We have gone from servants to sons and daughters of the Most High God… Even our earthly friendships require communication and communion…being with one another…so it is also with our heavenly relationship. You see…as we love God we will rejoice in Him. As we rejoice in Him we will give thanks to Him for all He has done. Because of our thankfulness we want to communion and communicate with God through prayer. There seems to be a pattern forming here… As we pray we become more aware of God in our daily lives and we are able to “hear” His voice.

         

Beloved child of God…if you thought of prayer as a response to God for all He has done…is doing …or will ever do in your life, how would that change your prayer life? Would you find it easier to pray? Would you pray without ceasing? God is waiting to hear from His children, in good times and in bad. How will you respond? He is so approachable…as a matter of fact…that He even came and walked amongst humanity. Think about that for a moment…God’s door is open 24/7. He wants to hear about your day…He wants to hear about your joys and sorrows. He wants to be the first and last thing during your day. Through our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, He has paved the way for something more than just being acquaintances but to be the Love of your life.

Forever, forever, you'll stay in my heart

And I will love you

Forever, and ever, we never will part

Oh, how I'll love you

Together, together, that's how it must be

To live without you

Would only mean heartbreak for me

Amen!

God of Time and Space

God of time and space, thank you for this New Day Dawning...this New Year given... How awesome it is to know that time is in Your hands. Thank your for the year gone by. As I look back I can see You moving in my life...I can see that in those times I thought I was alone, You were there. How wonderful it is to know that You have all the times in my life setup for me and as I trust You with my life each day comes into being. May I feel You even more present...may I see You even more often...May I know You even more fully in this coming year. Lord, God, create me a new this year. May I serve You more fully as I step out in faith into this new horizon You have created for me. May I be ever closer to Your heart as I strive to live out the life You have set out before me. May I love more passionately...May I be more compassionate with others...May I shine more brightly...May I walk more humbly all to Your glory this coming year. May You use me as Your earthen vessel, waiting to be filled and then poured out for others. I look forward to what is ahead as You use me to bring about Your Kingdom come where Your will is done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Amen...!

“G.W.E.”

August 3, 2014

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon Series on “All My Day: A Summer of Prayer”

Inspired by Marcia McFee

Sermon 6 of series-

“Spiritual Struggles”

Genesis 32:22-28 Common English Bible

Psalm 139:1-14 NIV Bible

“The Long and Winding Road” The Beatles

Let us pray… (Pray for God’s illumination…)

I remember growing up I used to always hate Saturday afternoons. My brother and I would be watching T.V. together and all of the sudden wrestling would come on the T.V. I hated wrestling but my brother loved it…the old W.W.E….World Wrestling Entertainment. Well my brother would get entertainment out of it and all I would get is bored. I think he liked it so that he could learn some moves to try out on me later that day. What is so mesmerizing about wrestling any way? Two guys throwing each other around the ring. I just don’t get it.

Some times when I think about it…our faith walks can be kind of like a wrestling match with God. We wrestle with God over this or that…instead of W.W.E. I like to call it G.W.E….God Wrestling Entertainment… Boy I am sure He must get some entertainment out of me sometimes. He knows He will win but the way I struggle must make Him giggle sometimes. Why do we wrestle at times in our Faith Walk? God usually wins out but we still have to try to put Him in some type of Suplex or something trying to have our own way…

This summer, we are invited to pray “All My Days” and to make a habit of prayer wherever you are. Each Sunday in worship we have focused on one of the steps of the prayer beads but you are encouraged to pray these categories all summer long. I would ask that you take out your beads if you brought them with you this morning. My continued hope is that our Summer Sermon Series “All My Days: A Summer of Prayer” will help us learn a way of prayer that will bring us closer to the maker of all we see.

I don't know about you but I have had an awesome time so far as we have been going through the beads on the string.  Remember…the Gold Bead…which reminds us to begin with adoration and the second bead….the bumpy beady….that is to remind us to let go and let God. The “holey Bead” invites us to sit in silence, listen for what God has to say. Then the steeping stone bead, our journey of faith. What a hard bead it is. To think our Faith Journey can lead others to God as He illuminates our walk for others to see. The next bead is one that is very important in our journey of life. The black...the black and white...the grey bead...it represents our struggles in our faith. What do we struggle with each day...what are we struggling with spiritually?

So…why do we struggle so much? Through experience we know that God will win out in the end. There is no hiding from God as the Psalm I read this morning tells us. No matter where we try to go…no matter where we try to hide…God finds us… As Paul says…at times “we know what we should do but we do what we shouldn’t do.” I guess that is human nature. We want to be in charge and we know better than anyone else what we should do. But there are those times that while we are “doing our own thing…thinking our own ways” God breaks through and we begin to wrestle with Him about our thoughts and attitudes.

There is a story in the Bible that talks about a wrestling match. It is one that I think of when my hip starts bothering me at times. I think to myself…OK Lord, what am I wrestling with you on? It is the wrestling match between Jacob and God. It is found in Genesis 32 verses 22-28. Listen to the commentary on this match and see if you can put yourself in Jacob’s place from time to time…

Jacob wrestles with God

Jacob got up during the night, took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the Jabbok River’s shallow water. He took them and everything that belonged to him, and he helped them cross the river. But Jacob stayed apart by himself, and a man wrestled with him until dawn broke. When the man saw that he couldn’t defeat Jacob, he grabbed Jacob’s thigh and tore a muscle in Jacob’s thigh as he wrestled with him. The man said, “Let me go because the dawn is breaking.”But Jacob said, “I won’t let you go until you bless me.”

He said to Jacob, “What’s your name?” and he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name won’t be Jacob any longer, but Israel, because you struggled with God and with men and won.”

Jacob…now Israel…won but at what cost. He walked with pain and a limp for the rest of his life. It can be like that sometimes when we wrestle with God. God usually wins in the end and we walk away limping. God wants us to bring those things that we struggle with to Him in prayer so that He can help us with those things that can take us away from His loving care if we let them. He wants us to be real with Him with our struggles. Remember as the psalmist wrote…God knows everything about us so we shouldn’t try to be something we are not.

So…what are you struggling with today? Being judgmental or gossiping…maybe causing another to walk away from the church…being harsh on yourself and on others…un-forgiveness or envy…how about not spending alone time with God…no matter what it maybe, God wants us to come to him with our struggles so that together they can be conquered. As we come to God, through our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, in prayer we will find our burdens lifted and our struggles ended. So what are you struggling with? Take it to the Lord in prayer and feel the wrestling match end and come away stronger, wiser and closer to God. Or…we can go along in life limping as our spiritual life has been “put out of joint.” The choice is yours and mine to make. Which will you choose?

Let us pray…pray about those things we struggle within our spiritual life…

Amen