Missional Church

Now here is a remarkable thing. Yesterday I was asked to commission 72 people from this congregation who are all embarking on mission trips.  Those who gathered, from student to the more ‘experienced’ (age-wise), find themselves called by the Spirit of God to the ministry of love.  Even more remarkable is that they will be traveling to three different continents; some will go to eastern Tennessee, some to Malawi and some to China.

This is missional church: making the world a better place because as believers in God’s power and grace, we believe that’s what we are supposed to do. We talk (and preach) about loving our neighbors all the time but yesterday I had the opportunity to see those who were doing just that. They were getting ready to be ‘doers of the word not just hearers’.  Undoubtedly this journey will have lasting benefits for those served as well as for those serving but it also had an impact on this pastor!

There are some moments in ministry that make you step back and think, “Wow, what God can do!”  This was one of them.  So, thank you.  Thank you for following the Spirit of God.  Thank you for listening to the call.  Thank you for being an inspiration.  Thank you for blessing me with your willingness to love in the name of Christ. May your work be multiplied and God’s glory shown as you “go and do”.

May God’s Spirit attend every nail, every bucket of paint, every conversation, every meal and every encounter,

Don

Lectio Divina

Yesterday Peter Allen led us through an exercise focusing on the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 8:9-13.  This wonderful way of praying has been used for centuries and can be used with any scriptural reference.  Here is how Peter described Lectio Divina:                                                                                                                   

It is important for us as Christians to keep the Bible as a focus in our prayer life.  The Bible is more than just words on a page because of the Holy Spirit’s dwelling in us, as well as in the scriptures.  Thus, our relationship with God is an essential component to our reliance on the Bible as God’s Word to us.  Growing up, I had heard the term “praying the scriptures”, but I never knew what it meant until I learned the practice of Lectio Divina.  Meaning “divine reading”, it is a way for us to prayerfully read the Bible. Here’s one way of doing it:

First, find a short passage that seems to have some meat/substance to it.  Only a few verses at most.  It could be a powerful opportunity to choose a passage that you ‘think you know well’, to see if God spurs some different meaning from it.  Once you’ve got your short passage, allow yourself to get into a prayerful state.  Get comfortable.  Get relaxed.  Take a few deep breaths.  Open your time with a short prayer asking God to impart his wisdom to you.  Then follow the next few steps in order to engage the Lectio Divina.

-1.  read your passage through nice and slow, listening to the passage as a whole.  Pause for 1 minute after this first read-through.

-2.  read your passage through a second time, and notice what word or phrase sticks out to you.  Pause for 1 minute after this read-through.

-3.  read your passage through a third time.  Listen to the whole passage, but now listen to it through the lens of the word or phrase that stuck out to you.

-4.  spend a few minutes in prayer, asking what God might be trying to say to you at this moment through this passage.

You can do this in a group or individually.  As always if you encounter difficulties feel free to reach out.  

Don

Breath Prayer

As I promised, here is a brief outline of how to form and use Breath Prayers.  This information is based on Richard Foster’s writing in his great book called Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home as well as a good summary found on the internet.  A few of my own thoughts are thrown in here too.

A Breath Prayer needs to be short because it should be able to be prayed within the scope of one breath.  Six to twelve syllables are enough to form the prayer.  Once the prayer is formed try to pray it whenever you think about it: just a simple in and out.  You can pray it once, for minutes at a time or even longer.  If you run, walk, lift weights or exercise in some other way, breath prayer is an excellent way of transforming a work out into a time of connection with God.  It is also great for people who find themselves distracted during prayer.  The act of focusing on one thing usually helps contain all those outside thoughts.  If you are just beginning the work of prayer don’t over do it, just pray when God brings the prayer to mind.

There are several ways to form Breath Prayers.  Here are some suggestions:

1. Base your prayer on one someone else has composed.  Here are a few examples:

• O Lord, come to my assistance.
• God, make haste to help me.
• Lord Jesus, have mercy.
• Abide in my love.
• I belong to you, O Lord.
• Bless the Lord, my soul.
• Open my heart to your love.
• Lord, I give myself to you.
• Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.
• Jesus, my light and my love.
• May my being praise you, Lord.
• Our help is in the name of the Lord.
• Holy Spirit, pray in me.
• Lord, do with me what You will.

2. Use scripture to form your prayer. This is a wonderful way to encounter scripture.  Here are a few suggestions:

John 20:19 (Peace be with you)

Psalm 23:1 (The Lord is my Shepherd)

Psalm 73:26 (God is the strength of my heart)

Ephesians 3:20 (Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us). This verse is long but you might be able to adapt it.

John 16:20 (your grief will turn to joy)

3. Or you can also allow God to form the prayer in you.  Here is the process for that:

Spend a few moments in silence.  Relax.  Imagine Jesus standing before you, asking, “What do you want?  What do you seek from me?”  Respond with the first thing that comes to your mind.  Write this down.  Next, choose your favorite name for God (such as Father, Jesus, Lord, Abba, Holy One, etc.) and write it down.  Now write a short sentence prayer that combines your favorite name for God with your answer to Jesus’ question.  For example, “Lord Jesus, give me peace”; “Jesus, help me to love”; “Father, give me courage.”

After you have chosen or created a breath prayer, make a goal to remain in God’s abiding presence as you begin saying your prayer.  Ponder the meaning and beauty of the words you are saying.  Slowly say the first part of the prayer as you breathe in.  Then slowly say the last part of the prayer as you exhale.  There is no hurry or rush.

Expect to encounter God in your prayers.  If you have questions or struggles please feel free to reach out to me.  Email is always one choice:  donf@libertycorner.org

Let Us Pray

We are starting a new series on prayer in our Sunday worship services.  Actually it was kicked off last week by Steve Janssen, who did a fantastic job of presenting some of the questions and habits we think are necessary to prayer when in the end, the only true purpose of prayer is personal connection with God.

Prayer is the entrance hall to the throne of God.  As such, it is no surprise that prayer is featured prominently in the pages of the scriptures.  Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Hannah, David, Solomon, the prophets, the disciples and Jesus all prayed.  Of course, the specifics of their prays differed but underneath they all held one thing in common: the conviction that God hears us and cares about us when we pray.

Have you ever really thought about this idea that we can reach out and speak to the heart of God?  For much of my journey, I just assumed it to be true.  I never really grasped the precious nature of this God given gift.  Think for a moment what life would be like if prayer wasn’t possible?  Can you imagine how cold and fearful it would be to serving a God who did not listen and who had no compassion on those he had created?  Thankfully and amazingly the author of the universe desires to know the deepest longings of our hearts.

Prayer is a complicated subject but a simple activity.  Prayer raises questions that thousands of years of Christianity still haven’t answered but can be engaged in effectively by a child of very tender years.  Prayer invites us into a mystery but is also, as Richard Foster says, the heart’s true home.

Today is the National Day of prayer.  The Sanctuary will be open from 8:00 until 4:00 for you to come and offer a prayer for our nation and her leaders or for any other matter.

Ash Wednesday isn’t much of a celebration

On March 9 we celebrate Ash Wednesday.  Ash Wednesday really isn’t much of a celebration.  How can it be?  You don’t get the day off from work, there are no presents, and for goodness sake, there isn’t even a decent meal associated with it.  It’s kind of a day scraped thin, wrapped in a smudge of black ashes and oil, somewhat in the shape of a cross, and applied with the phrase, “Remember from dust you came to dust you shall return.”  The only other time you’ll hear me say that is at a graveside.  No, not much of a celebration at all.

Still, Ash Wednesday brings its own decidedly dark gift.  On that evening, as we worship God, we are reminded of our own death and mortality; from dust you came to dust you shall return. No, this is not cheerful Sunday morning stuff.  But death is a universal reality each one of us will face.  That moment will come and without Jesus and the saving grace of God, well, the outcome would be, quite literally, hell.

Ash Wednesday, an embodiment of death and the consequences of sin, is the correct starting point for Lent, the season in which we walk with Jesus toward the brutality of the cross by which God saves our lives.  No, Ash Wednesday isn’t really much of a celebration but it gives us the right frame of reference for the Good News of an empty tomb and a risen Savior.

I hope you’ll make plans to be with us on Wednesday, March 9 at 7:30 pm in the Sanctuary.

Blessings,
Don

A Quick Christmas Adam Post

Our dear friends Anne and Paul in Mount Pleasant, SC always referred to the day before Christmas Eve as Christmas Adam. My family adopted the term as well as Anne and Paul’s tradition of having their Christmas Eve celebration the day before Christmas Eve. For a pastor’s family it makes a lot of sense because we are usually running hard on Christmas Eve. So, Merry Christmas Adam to you and yours; I look forward to celebrating Christmas Eve tomorrow with you.

A couple of things you might be interested in knowing:

Peter Allen, who has worked media for us for a long time, has been hired as the interim Worship Arts Director. Peter will still be carrying his media responsibilities but will now also take on the coordination of Contemporary Worship. The Contemporary Worship Team will collaborate with Peter creatively and I am looking forward to continued powerful worship. The coordination of Traditional Worship will fall to me for the time being. Thankfully, we have a great Traditional Worship Team, Sharon Lawton, Shelley Gaier, Amy Dilts, Grace Kang and John Wilson with whom I will work.

Finally, last night a ‘flash mob’ of about 250 people (we’ve been arguing about the number in good Presbyterian fashion) showed up on the lawn of our dear friends the Bradshaws. We sang the ancient songs of the church marking this Holy season of Christmas. In the dark with hats, coats and scarves I couldn’t really see who was there and who wasn’t. But it was a glorious moment; all these wonderful people drawn together in love, out in the dark and cold singing the news of Jesus’ birth.

Have a great Christmas Adam…and if I don’t have a chance to say it to you personally, Merry Christmas and may God bless you with a Happy New Year.

Don

Giving Thanks

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 118:29

The verse quoted above is one of the most prevalent and ancient of all statements made about God in the Old Testament. It is like the refrain of a song repeating through the years and circumstances of the Israelites. From Chronicles to Jeremiah this refrain confirms the goodness of God and God’s unconquerable love for his people. Even in the days when things were hard for the nation of Israel the refrain continued, always looking forward to the day when all things would be restored to the way God had intended them to be from the very beginning.

We all have so much to be thankful for as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday. No, things may not be exactly as we would like them. The economy is still not where we might like it to be, our relationships may be tough or our health may be failing us. There is trouble in every life and it is easy to allow dissatisfaction with the state of the world, the culture or our own circumstances to take hold of our hearts. But as people of faith we know, just as ancient Israel did, that the ultimate outcome is already assured. Living in the hope of this truth does not erase our current struggle, but it lightens the load. It allows us to come to the end of every verse in our lives, whether the verses were sweet or bitter, and add the ancient refrain: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

At my house when we are seated at the table on Thanksgiving Day we almost always list a few things we are thankful for. Let me share a couple of things around the church I am thankful for:

I am thankful for Kathy Tozier’s dedication and talent in regard to the worship of God. You may remember we informed you a few weeks ago in Ministry Connections that Kathy has decided to leave Liberty Corner and pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. We hate losing her but know that God is using her in mighty ways. She will be with us until December 22 and we want to celebrate her excellent leadership and ministry. Mark your calendar for Sunday, December 19 for that celebration. More details on that will follow. As part of that celebration we would like to give you the opportunity to express your thankfulness for Kathy by making a donation to a love offering in her honor. You may put your donation in the offering plate or bring it to the office. Please be sure to note, “Kathy’s love offering” on your check.

I am thankful for the success the Men of Liberty Corner have had this fall. Dave Erlenborn, Ron Simpson, Gerry Nelson, Anton Jerkovich, Don Haynes, Kevin Ligouri, Jim Buccini, Steve Janssen and a host of other guys did a great job and pulled together a fantastic car show back in October (you can check out the pictures at www.sweetrides4troops.com ). As a result of that success, we packed up (with help from studentLIFE kids) over half-a-ton of stuff for Operation Shoe Box, an organization that sends support, snacks and much-needed personal care items to our troops deployed outside of the USA.

I am thankful for our Trustees who have been successful in getting a beautiful new walkway installed outside the Center Court Building. Good going Trustees! It is a huge improvement, was finished quickly and certainly sends the right message about how much we care about putting our best foot forward for visitors and members alike.

Finally, I am thankful for you. God has called us to serve him with gladness and my heart tells me that we are moving in that direction. Keep it up Liberty Corner! God is at work among us. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever!

I pray that your Thanksgiving holiday is filled with love, laughter and all the good things of life and I pray that your life will be filled with the refrain of God’s goodness and love every day.

Blessings,

Don