Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sixty-Four Souls On Board
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Evangelism Is Not A Four-Letter Word!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
God Takes Up Residence
Halford Luccock once wrote,
It is always a tragedy when God gets into the past tense. Yet, that can so
easily happen in the life of a person and a church. It is not that we deny
the existence of God…Too often we have no stirring consciousness of
God being here…(now)…..in us….among us….quickening and
empowering us.
God – in us….among us…..empowering us…..For 21 centuries this experience has been given a name: The Holy Spirit. As one creed says so well: “We believe in the Holy Spirit: God present with us, for guidance, for comfort, for strength…” Come, Holy Spirit. Come!
Friday, April 30, 2010
A Church On The Move
The church is not a building..
The church is not a steeple.
The church is not a resting place.
The church is a people
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Rebuild?
As with any mission there are detractors within and without. It's the outside detractors who pose Nehemiah with the greatest challenge. There are those who stand to profit from the plummeting real eatate values if the market remains in a state of disrepair. And so it is in the 6th chapter that Nehemiah is called by these detractors to leave his mission and come to meet with them on the plains of Ono. Nehemiah's famous response to their unholy plans is classic
:I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down to you?
The Raleigh District pledged to the people of D'Iberville that we would not come down until the great work we are partnering in is finished. There are temptations to do so, but we press on in this mission to rebuild. In the months and years ahead I hope many will join those who are steadily taking on this monumental task. Will you join us on the wall???
Still In ONE Peace,
Jon(themethodist)
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Theology of The Hammer
May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships so that we may live deep within our hearts. May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people so that we may work for economic justice for all people.May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, hunger, homelessness and rejection so that we may reach out our hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy, and may God bless enough with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in the world so that we can do what many claim cannot be done.
Still In ONE Peace,
Jon(theMethodist)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Following Jesus?
Nathan Nettleton, creator of LaughingBird worship website, offers the following thoughts from a sermon he preached in his native Australia in the late 90s. They seem very fitting as we move from Palm Sunday toward Easter. I hope you find them to be God-breathed and focusing as Holy Week begins for us all.
“…some wise philosopher once said, “Today’s rooster is tomorrow’s feather duster.” One day you’re riding the crest of the public opinion wave; the next day the wave is well and truly broken and you’re the wipeout. Public opinion can be remarkably fickle…….
it’s easy to cheer for Jesus, to wave palm branches and to sing praises in the gathered assembly. It’s not difficult to join in the singing here each Sunday morning and honour Jesus as Messiah and King of the Universe. But there’s a lot more to following Jesus than just cheering from the sidelines.
What do those praises mean when (we are) behind closed doors and away from the public eye? (We) can sing in here “I want you more than gold or silver,” but how do those words affect (us) when (we) get to work, and love and justice don’t turn a profit or put (us) in line for a promotion? Do (we) honor him with (our) actions or capitulate and crucify him? What do all the words of commitment mean when it comes to working out how (we) commit (our) time and (our) money? What do those words mean when (we) find yourself in a group of sophisticated and successful people who are discussing what a loser and a fraud Jesus Christ was and how his followers have only ever caused misery and bigotry in the world? Do (we) praise him with (our) lips or crucify him with (our) compliant silence? “
Still In ONE Peace,
Jon(the methodist)