Tuesday, January 28, 2014

January 26 Worship: "Giving with Purpose"

After our below freezing, slick start to January, the subsequent Sundays have all been sunny and unseasonably warm.  It certainly has created a warm feeling in worship, and that seemed especially obvious this week.

This week's sermon focused on the ways that giving can improve our lives -- partially because it reminds us that we already have more than we realize, and mostly because giving strengthens relationships and builds community.  Drawing upon two pieces of Proverbs 3 (here and here), I encouraged us to think about how making a commitment to share from our money, our time, our talents, and our attention can make our lives more meaningful.  Listening to the sermon again, I wish I could have added one thing -- I stressed how giving builds community, but I wish that I had offered a little bit more on how giving strengthens one-on-one relationships.  In fact, usually our deepest friendships have many examples of such giving and receiving.

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with others, you can find an audio recording here.

You can also listen to the benediction here.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Prayer for Mission in Namibia

This week we pray for Loletta Barrett, our missionary to Namibia, who serves as a pastor in Kalkfeld, Namibia, part of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa.

You can read more about the mission to Namibia here, including a reminder of the many ways that we can be the fishers of people Jesus described to his first disciples.

There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in many countries around the world.  Each week, Global Missions highlights the work in one of these countries and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

January 19 Worship: "Praying with Open Eyes"

We continued our worships for the new year with another sermon in the "Tools for Living the Promises" series, this one focused on prayer.  This was a good thing because there have been a large number of prayer concerns for people at Eastgate recently, several of which were shared during the service.

The sermon took as its inspiration the story of a woman who talked a would-be school shooter into surrendering without violence.  In interviews where she admitted her fear, she also said that she prayed the entire time she talked to the young man with the gun.  I wondered how we might learn to do this too, in "Praying with Open Eyes."  Drawing upon the example of Daniel, whose persistence in prayer was what got him thrown into the famous lions' den, I suggested that prayer must not be so cut off from the whole of our lives.  Perhaps we are too polite with God -- not always looking at ourselves with open eyes; perhaps we are afraid of distractions around us, so we keep our eyes closed.  Learning to change these things, though, can allow us to pray in the most desperate situations in our lives, including those that are completely unforeseen.

Daniel exemplified this type of prayer.  In fact (and I didn't go to this next logical example in the sermon), having already adapted to the threat of execution if he continued to pray (Daniel prayed as he always had), he then had to pray in the face of lions (and he did).  Hopefully, facing our own terrifying situations, we will be ready to do the same.

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with someone else, you can find an audio recording here.

You can also listen to the related communion meditation.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Prayer for Mission in Laos

This week we pray for Nicole Betteridge, our missionary to Laos, who teaches English with the Lao Evangelical Church.

You can read more about the mission to Laos here, including a reminder of the importance of education in a country where more than half the population is younger than 21 years old.

There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in many countries around the world.  Each week, Global Missions highlights the work in one of these countries and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Tomorrow, many congregations will join together and participate in a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  This annual observance, sponsored by the World Council of Churches and several Protestant, Orthodox, and Catholic communions, invites Christians around the world to explicitly pray for the divisions and separation in the wider church to be healed.  This week, at least in the northern hemisphere, occurs from January 18 through January 25.

This year's theme, "Has Christ Been Divided?" is drawn from the opening chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.  An ecumenical group of Christian leaders in Canada have prepared this year's resources for the 2014 week of prayer, complete with devotional materials for the week (which begin on page 20).

I hope that you will take this opportunity to join with Christians around the world in praying for unity in Christ's church.  We will have a couple of special moments in worship on Sunday as part of this week of prayer.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Responding Quickly to an Unanticipated Need

In Sunday's sermon, I encouraged us to prepare for the unexpected by asking "what if?" more often, in various situations.  Here is a real-life situation where such preparations allowed people to respond well to an almost unimaginable need in West Virginia.

Over the weekend, a chemical spill into the water supply made water unusable for 300,000 people in nine counties, including the capital city of Charleston.  This week, Week of Compassion sent out a report from the West Virginia Regional Minister, Thad Allen, about the coordinated response to this unforeseen problem.

I encourage you to read the report here.

I hope, as you read, that you notice a few things.  First, it is unlikely that anyone ever imagined that this specific event could occur, so there is no single plan of how to respond.  

Second, notice the coordinated response.  Congregations were told of the need by a Disciples congregation at the epicenter (communication, including knowing who to call), they collected supplies (like a mission or "hands on" offering) and got volunteers to transport the supplies (like a sign up sheet on the bulletin board), and they worked with a larger organization, the West Virginia Council of Churches, to better coordinate the effort (because this religious organization has experience responding to emergencies around the state).

Through their activities as church, these congregations had prepared (more than they knew) for a situation like this.  Like them, so are we.  Still, I encourage you to imagine -- if this happened nearby, how would you respond?  What should Eastgate do?

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

January 12 Worship - "Preparing with Role Play"

After a one week weather delay, we finally gathered for our first worship of 2014, celebrating Epiphany -- the coming of the magi to see the infant Jesus.  Despite some of the health concerns in the congregation, those gathered were happy and rather chatty, leading to a relaxed and joyful worship service.

After officially installing the officers beginning their terms in January, we turned our attention to a usually unnoticed lesson from the journey of the magi.  In "Preparing with Role Play," I highlighted that the account in Matthew details some obstacles to finding the baby Jesus that we usually overlook.  I believe that these three people must have spent some of the time during their journey figuring out how they were going to see it through -- how they would find the right baby, how they would ask for directions, how they could convince the baby's mother they were not crazy so they could present their gifts.

Ultimately, the magi needed not only perseverance, but adaptability, in the face of unforeseeable challenges.  I think they could only have such adaptability if they prepared themselves for different scenarios -- if they asked themselves, repeatedly, "what if..." different things happened.  The same is true for the goals we seek to achieve in our own lives -- we must not only set good and clear goals, but we must imagine several different ways we might achieve them.

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with others, you can find an audio recording here.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Prayer for Mission in Thailand

This week we pray for Benjamin Ewert, our missionary to Thailand, who serves as a teacher at the Udon Christian schools in Udon Thani.

You can read more about the mission to Thailand here, including work to help meet refugees from Myanmar who flee across the border into Thailand.

There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in many countries around the world.  Each week, Global Missions highlights the work in one of these countries and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Coming Up Sunday, January 12

We will again try to have our first worship service of 2014 this Sunday.  (Given that the forecast is calling for a high temperature in the 50s, I don't think we'll have a problem with blowing snow or wind chills below 0.)  We will officially install the new officers who will be serving in various capacities at Eastgate this year.

We also will begin a sermon series on practical ways to improve your Christian faith and your life.  Called "Tools for Living the Promises," it will cover six different things that can make a big difference, including ways to approach sharing, prayer, and giving to others.

This week, we will talk about practical ways to approach planning -- expecting the unexpected.  Focusing on the story of the three magi, we will consider their journey to Bethlehem, which had challenges and wrong turns that we usually overlook or forget.  In "Preparing with Role Play," we will consider how the magi might have prepared so they could persevere through challenges and complete their journey.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Reflection for a Winter Morning

Worship service has been cancelled this morning due to a combination of snow, wind, and cold weather.  So, for those of you hungering for a little something spiritual today, here's a bit of scripture, a song and a prayer.

Tomorrow is Epiphany, which traditionally commemorates the arrival of the three magi in Bethlehem to lay eyes on the infant Jesus.  So, on the Sunday closest to Epiphany, we focus on the three magi and the star which guided them to the newborn messiah.  (This was also the planned sermon for today, which I imagine I will preach next Sunday.)

Stars have the potential to be signs throughout the Bible, sometimes of good things and sometimes of bad things.  Today, we think of positive omens in the heavens, such as the beginning of Psalm 148, where the stars join with the heavenly chorus in praising God:

     Praise the Lord!
     Praise the Lord from the heavens;
        praise him in the heights!
     Praise him, all his angels;
        praise him, all his host!
     Praise him, sun and moon;
        praise him, all you shining stars!
     Praise him, you highest heavens,
        and you waters above the heavens!
     Let them praise the name of the Lord,
        for he commanded and they were created.
     He established them forever and ever;
        he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.  (Psalm 148:1-6, New Revised Standard Version)

As Job 38 makes clear, the stars witnessed much of creation (having been made before much of the things on earth) and rejoiced in the creation of this planet.  And we humans join with all of God's creation in praising God -- at least we should.  Even on this cold snowy day, when the world does not seem quite as alive or vibrant, we should join together in praising God.

Stars are also a metaphor in the scriptures, and Jesus himself is referred to as the morning star in Revelation 22.  This has many to believe that Jesus fulfilled the promise of Numbers 22 -- a star shall come out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise from Israel.  This understanding of Jesus was best expressed (at least for me) in music by Felix Mendelssohn, in his unfinished work, Christus.  He wrote a marvelous choral piece called "Behold a Star from Jacob Shining," and I happened to find a decent recording on YouTube:


And now, a prayer on this winter's day:
Gracious and loving God, who made the stars to be a sign for the magi seeking the Christ, we give you thanks for this world and our place in it.  We thank you also for those who have come before us, like the three magi, who have set an example to be open to your promises and your guidance in seeking those promises.  Allow us to be open to you and to your leading, whether by stars or scripture or other people of faith.  Inspire us again to seek for the Christ and guide us to the birthplace of Jesus, reminding us of the hope, peace, and love you wish for us.  And then lead us to follow Jesus in being people of that same hope, peace, and love in this world.  We pray this in Christ's name, Amen.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Prayer for Mission in Mexico

This week we pray for Lindsey Mercer, our missionary to Mexico, who serves with the Institute for Intercultural Studies and Research in Chiapas.

You can read more about the mission to Mexico here, including a word about the effort to build understanding between Catholics and Protestants in the area.

There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in many countries around the world.  Each week, Global Missions highlights the work in one of these countries and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Coming Up Sunday, January 5

On Sunday, we begin our 2014 worship at Eastgate, moving beyond the relaxing holidays and looking forward to a new year together.  One of the things we will do is officially install all of the new officers, elected to serve the congregation in various capacities in the coming year, or in the case of new deacons and elders, the next two years.

Perhaps with the new year you've made a few resolutions of things to change or improve in your life.  The first sermon series of the year is for you, offering some practical ways to improve your Christian faith and your life.  Called "Tools for Living the Promises," it will cover six different things that can make a difference, including ways to approach sharing, prayer, and dealing with others.

This Sunday, we will revisit the story of the three magi bringing gifts for the infant messiah.  Often, we overlook the challenges that these three people faced in order to actually lay eyes on the baby Jesus; in "Preparing with Role Play," we'll consider how they might have prepared to persevere and complete their journey.  Their ability to keep their eyes on their goal, while being flexible, was a key part of their success.  So, too, it is for us.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Christmas Eve Meditation - "Whispering Hope"

Finally got around to editing and uploading the meditations from the Christmas Eve service this afternoon -- holidays and vacation are wonderful things.  If you missed the beautiful worship service celebrating the birth of Jesus, here are a couple of pieces (though it's difficult to download Christmas Eve candlelight).

You can listen to the meditation here, drawn from the familiar story in Luke 2.  And you can listen to the related communion meditation here.