Whiteboard: Hope in a Time of Despair

On Sunday we'll continue our Lenten "...in a time of..." sermon series.

Drawing on John 11:14-45 (The Raising of Lazarus) and Psalm 130 (A Prayer of Deliverance) we'll be talking about "Hope in a Time of Despair."

During the sermon I'll be talking about, well, one of the most famous pieces of graffiti in the world.

It comes from Banksy (internationally renowned street artist and provocateur) and it is named "There is Always Hope."

Take a look at the image. What do you see? What is happening? What exactly is the little girl doing?

Because it turns out that people encounter this image in one of two very different ways. I'll be talking about that, and the about the very nature of hope in my sermon on Sunday.

I HOPE to see you there!

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John 11:14-15, 38-45 Jesus Raises Lazarus

Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ 

Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ 

Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ 

So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ 

The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

Psalm 130 Waiting for Divine Redemption

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.

Whiteboard: Abundance

Typically we think of Lent as a time of giving things up. We set aside those stumbling blocks in our lives and we strive to give up those old vices or bad habits. Lent then becomes a time of negation.

Which makes it kind of strange to talk about Lent as a time of Abundance.

But that is the flip side of the coin, isn't it?

That as we are turning away from those old vices and bad habits we are, in fact, moving toward spiritual health and wholeness. In a world that is so much defined by want and shortcoming it is remarkable that our faith reminds us, time and time again, that ours is a God of abundance. God's love is eternal and God's forgiveness reaches out to us and God's mercy washes over us. Ours is not a God who comes up short and leaves us wanting, but rather a God who ever walks with us, strengthening us, empowering us, leading us and guiding us every step of the way.

We see it best in one of the most popular and familiar passages of scripture. In fact, it is probably why Psalm 23 is one of our very favorites, because it reminds of everything that God is and promises the gifts of God's abundance.

So this Sunday we'll be continuing our Lenten Sermon series by drawing on Psalm 23 to talk about "Abundance in a Time of Want." I'll see you in worship!

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Psalm 23 The Divine Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Thanksgiving in an Unsatisfied Time

On the Third Sunday of Lent I want us to consider: What if Thanksgiving wasn't just a holiday meal featuring turkey and stuffing? What if Thanksgiving was a spiritual discipline -- a conscious, consistent act of carefully discerning the blessings of God and offering a word of gratitude? What would happen if we took an entire week, right in the middle of this Season of Lent to be thankful?

Because I'm willing to bet that if we did that, then something amazing would happen to us.

I'm willing to bet that if we started looking out for the things we can be thankful for, that we'd find them at every bend.

I'm willing to bet that suddenly, we'd have this amazing list of blessings to share...not because God is rewarding us with favors because of our thankfulness, but because our thankfulness opens our eyes to the blessings that have been there all along.

It is easy to get sucked into the vortex of dissatisfaction. To focus all of our energy on what we want, on what is wrong, on what hurts and what isolates us. We see that in this Sunday's scripture passage from Exodus 3:11-17, what I like to call "An Official Meeting of the Back to Egypt Committee." The Israelite people "thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’" It is easy to be unsatisfied.

It is so much more life-giving, though, to focus on thankfulness -- on what is blessing us, on what we have to give, on the generous spirit that fills us and lifts us and sets us free. We see that in our other sermon scripture for this Sunday, Psalm 95: "Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God!"

This Sunday we'll look to take a break from "The Official Meetings of the Back to Egypt Committee" and instead focus our energies and our spiritual disciplines on the way of Thanksgiving.

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Exodus 17:1-7 Water from the Rock

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

The people quarreled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ 

Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ 

But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ 

So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ 

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ 

Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’


Psalm 95 A Call to Worship and Obedience

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your ancestors tested me,
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they do not regard my ways.’
Therefore in my anger I swore,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’

Whiteboard: The Second Sunday in Lent

I met with our Moderator, Judy K., this week and in our wide ranging conversation we really drilled down on one particular question: What does it mean to be God's people in such a time as this?

When Judy articulated the question with just those words I jumped up and grabbed my worship plans for the Season of Lent...because, well, sometimes the Spirit moves among us.

I showed Judy that I'd been planning a "Faithfulness in this Time" sermon series.

We kicked things off last Sunday with a sermon on "Forgiveness in an Unforgiving Time" and I'll continue the series this week with "Assurance in a Time of Fear."

If you are anything like me, when you see that word "Assurance" then the familiar words of an old church hymn fill your mind.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine

O what a foretaste of glory divine

Heir of salvation, purchase of God

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

Perfect submission, all is at rest

I in my Savior am happy and blessed

Watching and waiting, looking above

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

"Blessed Assurance" is one of the most beloved and well known hymns that we have as a church. It reaffirms the promises of God's blessing, the gift of his love, and the power of Christ to claim us and change us.

In the midst of a world that tells us so many stories (that we are unworthy, that we are insignificant, that we are in constant danger, that all is lost) we dare to affirm that "this is my story" (a story of salvation, glory, and the gift of Christ Jesus). 

This Sunday I'll be telling the little known origin story of "Blessed Assurance" to help us hear those words with fresh ears and to know that these promises are ours...even in times such as these.

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Psalm 121 Assurance of God’s Protection

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and for evermore.

Whiteboard: The First Sunday in Lent

Our friends at the SALT Project (the good folks behind the Advent Family Devotional Calendar we used last year) have put together an excellent Lenten Devotional Booklet. It comes with weekly spiritual disciplines, scripture prompts, and a meditation guide.

I'll be introducing the Lenten Devotional Booklet during my sermon this Sunday and we'll be using it each week throughout the Season of Lent.

And here is the thing: The SALT Project's Lenten Devotional Booklet has a fabulous "introducing Lent" section. Here is what they have to say:

The name "Lent" comes from the an old English word for "lengthening,"
referring to the gradually longer days of springtime. From Ash Wednesday

to Easter Sunday, what was cold becomes warm. What was dormant 

awakens. Just as green shoots break through the winter earth, so the

church stirs into action to proclaim the Easter mystery: in dying, God

destroys death and in rising, God delivers and proclaims newness of life.

Throughout Lent I'll be leading a sermon series on the spiritual gifts that we can develop like "green shoots that break through the winter earth" as we too stir into action. I'll be kicking things off this Sunday by focusing on the gift of forgiveness and exactly what it means for us to be "A Forgiving People in an Unforgiving Time." 

I hope to see you this Sunday (when we'll be handing out the Lenten Devotional Booklets to everyone at worship) and all through this holy season in the life of the church.

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Psalm 32 The Joy of Forgiveness

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’,
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
You are a hiding-place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.

Many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Whiteboard: Holy Week

Holy Week is upon us, dear friends, and we have several worshipful opportunities before us.

Today is Maundy Thursday, which means this evening we will gather in our sanctuary at 7PM for a worship service that happens in two movements. The first half of the service is a celebration of the Lord’s Table – on Maundy Thursday we celebrate that Christ Jesus instituted communion as a holy meal of remembrance. Then the second half of the service will be a candlelit Tenebrae Service where she share the holy words of scripture that take us all the way to the cross. It is a powerful, beautiful service made all the more special this year by the fact that we will be sharing it with our brothers and sisters in faith from Coolwater and Foothills.

Tomorrow is Good Friday and we will meet at Foothills at 7PM on March 25 for a prayer service built around the last words of Jesus. That evening we have seven separate prayer stations, each built around a word or phrase uttered by Jesus in his final hours. It will be a different kind of worship service that will involve moving from station to station, meditating on the power of our holy scriptures, and inviting the forgiveness of the Lord to fill our hearts. For anyone looking to carpool, plan on meeting in the FCC Scottsdale parking lot at 5PM – this will allow you plenty of time to get across town to Foothills (3951 W Happy Valley Rd, Glendale, AZ 85310) where they will be hosting a pre-service Fellowship Hour.

On Easter Sunday we will begin with an Easter Breakfast at 8:30 in the Fellowship Hall sponsored by our DWM Groups. That will be followed by an Easter Egg Hunt on the church lawn at 9AM (along with our regular mix of Bible Study Classes). Our Worship Service will begin at 10:15AM in the Sanctuary with the baptisms of Josh Reed and Allen Koerber. The Worship Service will be filled with prayers and scripture, songs and anthems as we celebrate the blessing and gift of new life and resurrection!

I hope that you can join us for each and every one of our special services during Holy Week this year.

Yours in the Journey,
Rev. Brian

Whiteboard: Palm/Passion Sunday

This Sunday we begin the most important, significant week of the year for us as a people of faith.

This Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week -- that time when we follow Christ Jesus from his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, through his betrayal, the sham of his trial, and the brutality of the cross all the way to the joyful celebration of his resurrection and the gift of new life that we know in his name.

It is an important time and an important journey, and one that needs to be taken in totality.

It is why we have combined Palm Sunday and the Passion Narrative into one single worship service called Palm/Passion Sunday. You see, if you simply come to church on Sunday mornings then you would just go from one joyful celebration (Palm Sunday with its palm-waving, processional entrance and loud shouts of Hosanna!) straight to another joyful celebration (Easter Sunday with Christ's triumph over the grave). And you would miss the significance of everything that happens in between.

We can't have resurrection without death. We can't have Easter's celebration without first coming to the cross.

This Sunday our worship service will include that palm-waving processional entrance and those loud shouts of "Hosanna" at the beginning, but it will also include a dramatic reading of the Passion Narrative from the Gospel of Mark and furtive prayers that God might grant us the strength to follow Christ Jesus all the way to the cross.

It will be a holy, significant, meaningful time for our church, and I hope you will be with us this Sunday for the worship service.

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Mark 14:12 - 15:47 The Passion Narrative


The Passover with the Disciples
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, “The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’ So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.’ They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, ‘Surely, not I?’ He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowlwith me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’

The Institution of the Lord’s Supper
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’

Peter’s Denial Foretold
When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.And Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters; for it is written,

“I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.”

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.’ Peter said to him, ‘Even though all become deserters, I will not.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ But he said vehemently, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ And all of them said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’ He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour?Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. He came a third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’ So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him. Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.’All of them deserted him and fled.

A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

Jesus before the Council
They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, ‘We heard him say, “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.” ’ But even on this point their testimony did not agree. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?’ But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Jesus said, ‘I am; and
“you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power”, and “coming with the clouds of heaven.” ’

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?’ All of them condemned him as deserving death. Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, ‘Prophesy!’ The guards also took him over and beat him.

Peter Denies Jesus
While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you are talking about.’ And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.’ But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.’ But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.’ At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.

Jesus before Pilate
As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You say so.’ Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, ‘Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.’ But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Pilate Hands Jesus over to Be Crucified
Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom.Then he answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?’ They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify him!’ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus
Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort.And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus
They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

The Death of Jesus
When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

The Burial of Jesus
When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time.When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

Whiteboard: Connection

Our Lenten Sermon Series on what "We Need" continues this week with a focus on Connection.

And what better thing to illustrate Connection then the amazing work of Global Ministries.

Global Ministries is our denomination's Missionary branch, but it isn't just for our denomination. In a one-of-a-kind relationship, Global Ministries is actually the joint Missionary branch of the Disciples of Christ and our sister denomination the United Church Church. Global Ministries empowers the work of the church "from our doorsteps to the ends of the Earth." We have missionaries who are working in partnership with communities of faith and communities in need all over the world.

AND, they have a terrific website that really illustrates all of the incredible things that they do. Head to www.GlobalMinistries.org to learn more!

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John 12:1-8 -- Mary Anoints Jesus

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 

Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’

Whiteboard: We Need Love

The Calendar threw us a curve ball this year.

Not only is this Sunday the First Sunday of Lent (that 40-Day Journey of Preparation and Petition leading to Easter Sunday) but it is also Saint Valentine's Day.

So what is a church to do?

Do you focus the worship service on the deep introspection and wilderness wandering isolation of the Lenten Season?

Or, do you build the service around the themes of love, grace, and connection?

It is quite a dilemma.

Which is why at FCC Scottsdale we have decided to do both!

Instead of looking at Lenten as a stark and lonely time where we give something up as a sign of our fidelity to the Lord, I am inviting you to view Lent a little bit differently this year.

I've talked before about the more modern, positivist take on Lent were believers use it as a time to take on something new -- instead of giving up a vice you take up a virtue. This year we've built that idea right into our Worship Themes for the entire season of Lent.

So each Sunday in worship for the next six weeks we'll be talking about "The Things We Need" during our Lenten Journey. And what better place to start (particularly given the quirky curveball we got from the Calendar this year) than with Love.

Join us this Sunday, the first Sunday of Lent, the first Sunday of our new sermon series, as we celebrate the theme: All We Need is Love!

Oh, and we have a Potluck Luncheon immediately following the worship service sponsored by our Membership Team and our Facilities Team in honor of our New Members. So bring a dish to share, come celebrate our new members, and join us for a wonderful Saint Valentine's Day at First Christian Church Scottsdale!

Whiteboard: On Their Hearts

From a favorite old devotion book of mine:

"The heart would make a lousy bulletin board. It is, after all, a muscle, an organ in our bodies, not something to write on like paper. When Jeremiah tells us to write on our hearts, we know what he means – not the cardiac muscle itself but something else, though we can’t exactly locate it. But oh, to take this promise literally…what it could mean! That the word of God – God’s promises and commandments – be written literally on the walls of our hearts. And, as our hearts pump blood, the word is taken with that blood to every sinew, ever cell, every corpuscle, every nerve, every marrow. That our very bodies might be so infused with the word of God that to say “Know the Lord” would sound as silly as telling someone to breathe! Imagine that!"

This Sunday we continue our Advent Sermon Series on the Covenant Promises of God by turning our attention to the prophet Jeremiah -- to the promise of a new covenant that will be written on the very fabric of our being.

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Jeremiah 31:31-34 A New Covenant

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. 

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Whiteboard: So Loved

As we continue our Lenten Sermon Series on the Covenant Promises of God, this Sunday we come to the most familiar passage in all of the Bible: John 3:16 and the Promise of God's Love.

This Sunday we come to see that it is not just that God promises to be with us (last Sunday's sermon on The Ten Commandments) and count us among the family of the faithful (two weeks ago's sermon on Father Abraham) and extend his grace to us (three weeks ago's sermon on Noah and the promise of the rainbow). This Sunday we see that the promise of God is the promise of unconditional love.

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John 3:14-21 The Love of God

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’

Whiteboard: The Living Commandments

Our Lenten "Covenant Sermon Series" continues this week with the story of the 10 Commandments.

We don't tend to think of the 10 Commandments as a covenant (a sacred promise between God and humanity). We tend to think of the 10 Commandments as a set of rules we are honor bound to live by. But take a closer look at those first dozen words.

Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God.

The 10 Commandments are rooted in that divine promise.

God says, "I am the Lord" as in the almighty, as in the creator of heaven and Earth, as in the one who sets us free, as in the ultimate force of all the universe.

But God doesn't stop here. "I am the Lord your God."

That is a covenant.

That is a sacred promise.

That is God reminding us that not only is he the Lord the creator of heaven and earth, the ultimate force of all the universe but he is our God. God is the one who sets us free. God is the one who cares for us, who leads us and guides.

Those first dozen words in the 10 Commandments are autobiography from God, to us. The rest of the words then are how we are supposed to respond to that awesome, almighty promise. If God is with us, then we will have no other gods before him. We'll only use God's name for blessings, not for curses. We'll remember the Sabbath. We'll honor our parents, preserve life, and respect one another.

All of those things come as a response to the holy promise from the Lord -- that he is our God, which us his people. And as such, we're going to live like it. Each and every day.

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Exodus 20:1-17 The Ten Commandments

Then God spoke all these words:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.

Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Whiteboard: Lent

We are now in the Season of Lent. 

Lent is a time of deep introspection. It is a time of finding the courage to look into our very own hearts and see what we find there. It is a time of daring to notice the places where we are grateful for the good and beauty that exists inside each and every one of us, as well as to identify those places where we all fall short.

We would, of course, much rather skip over the season of Lent.

We would rather avoid Ash Wednesday entirely and jump from the Light Shining Glory of Epiphany straight to the cosmos altering victory of Easter. We would like to oversimplify things and simply say that some people are good and some people are bad, and all to readily settle ourselves into the first camp without even bothering to examine our motives, our actions, our inner critic that noisily and nastily seeks to tear everything to pieces.

Lent reminds us that life is not as black and white as our reductionistic, over-simplifications would make it. Things are not as clear cut as people being all good or all bad all the time...if ever. 

Lent reminds us that there are subtle shades in each and every one of us. Lent reminds us that there is good and bad in each and every one of us. Lent reminds us that we have a role to play in God’s salvation narrative for ourselves and for our world.

During the Sunday's of Lent this year we'll be focusing on the promises of God. As we look deeply into our selves and our motivations, seeking to grow in faith this Lenten Season, what better place to focus on worship services then on the promises of God. More specifically we'll be focusing on the great covenants of God as revealed in the Bible. We'll be talking about God's covenant with Abraham ("your descendants will outnumber the stars"), about the covenant promises of the Ten Commandments ("I am your God."), about the covenant promises of God's love ("For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son..."), about Jeremiah's prophecy of a new covenant, and then how that new covenant came to fruition through Jesus Christ. 

This Sunday, we'll get started with the most well known of the biblical covenants -- God's rainbow promise to Noah after he got off the ark ("Never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.")

Come join us this Sunday at FCC Scottsdale as we take on the important work of the Lenten season, ad focus on the covenant promises of God!

Oh, and don't forget that we have a special Lenten Study Series on "Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism" that is starting up today. We'll meet in the Alpha/Omega Room at 6PM this evening to get started, or you can join Sandi on Saturday mornings in the East Office starting on 2/28. 

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Genesis 9:8-17

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ‘As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.’

God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.’God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.’

Whiteboard: Something New

As we work our way through Lent and ever closer to Easter's celebration of resurrection power, scripture has some foreshadowing for us this week.

Not one, but two scriptural accounts of the miracle of new life and the wonder of resurrection. 

The first comes from the prophet Ezekiel when God takes him to the Valley of Dry Bones and challenges him to "Prophesy to these bones!" and when he does suddenly, miraculously, amazingly enough those old, ragged bones (long sense assumed useless and lifeless) spring back to life. So reconstructed and re-inspired by the breath of God new life is not only promised to an individual, but to an entire people -- "These bones are the whole house of Israel," says the Lord. 

Likewise, new life unexpectedly breaks forth in John 11 this week with the familiar story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I want you to take a closer look at that scripture passage (listed below) as well. See if any of those details remind you of anything -- a cave for a tomb, a place just outside of Jerusalem, strips of cloth wrapped around the body, women sitting and mourning, a stone that must be rolled away. Sounds familiar, right? Sounds an awful lot Jesus' resurrection, doesn't it? 

Scripture is giving us clues this week. Clues of what is to come in the build up to Easter. Clues that point us time and time again back to the eternal promises of God -- the promises of new life lived in God's name; the promises that the power of God's love is stronger than any other force in the universe, stronger even than death itself. 

So this Sunday, even in the midst of the Lenten Season we will gather to celebrate New Life!

I'll see you Sunday morning for worship.

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Ezekiel 37:1-14 The Valley of Dry Bones

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all round them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of theLord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.’

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.’

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John 11:17-25, 38-44 Jesus Resurrects Lazarus
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

Whiteboard: Blessed

Alright, be honest. You've always thought that expression -- "Blessed to be a blessing" -- was probably just made up by some imaginative preacher who liked the alliteration of it all, or even worse that it was thought up by an enterprising t-shirt designer to move products.

But no, "Blessed to be a blessing" is a deeply biblical motif that shows up throughout our Holy Scriptures and crops up in Genesis 12:1-7 (our text for this Sunday).

God is talking to Abram (he's not Abraham yet, that changes hasn't happened at this point in the story) and God says, "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing."

And there it is: Blessed to be a blessing.

God blesses us not so that we can hold on to those blessing and keep it all for ourselves but rather so that we can take that blessing and bring it to the world in order to bless others with it. Imagine what would have happened had Abram just kept that blessing to himself? Why, the story would just stop right there in its tracks wouldn't it? But rather, Abraham took that blessing and carried it forward following God and living into the fullness of God's promise so that we can number ourselves as part of that "great nation" that started with Father Abraham himself.

So it is more than just a catchy alliterative phrase or a jazzy t-shirt design -- for us as Christians it is an entire way of life. Through Christ Jesus our Lord we have been blessed in order that we might be a blessing. In that way we become not only recipients of God's grace, but instruments of it as well!

Come join us this Sunday at First Christian Church Scottsdale as we continue our Lenten "Take a Closer Look" Series by focusing on attention on the familiar story of Father Abraham and the surprising, revelatory, grace-filled words that it contains for us.

Note: If you missed the first two sermons from the series you can find my Ash Wednesday Homily here and my Sermon from the First Sunday of Lent here.

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Genesis 12:1-7 The Call of Abram

Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Ash Wednesday

Thank you to everyone who made our Ash Wednesday Service so memorable and significant last night.

Thank you to the Worship Team for stripping our sanctuary bare and making all things ready for the service.

Thank you the Chancel Choir for their powerful anthem, and to Julie and Sandi for providing special music, and to Tavit for accompanying it all.

Thank you to all of our members who attended the service and helped us to enter into the fullness of the Season of Lent here at the church.

For folks who missed the service (or simply want to hear the sermon again), you can find the sermon audio on the church's website by clicking here.

 And since I preached from a manuscript last night, it also allows me to do some things I can't normally do after a sermon, like this Wordle image...

Wordle is a web app for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. If you want to make a Worlde of your own, visit the website by clicking here.

Whiteboard: Lent

With Ash Wednesday we formally enter into a new season in the worship life of the church, the Season of Lent.

In a single sentence: Lent is a time when we journey away from the temptations that get the best of us and toward God's grace, love, and mercy.

Lent is a time of sacrifice and self-discovery. We purposefully use these forty days from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday to look deep in our own lives, find all those things that keep us from God and keep us from fully becoming exactly who God calls us to be, and recommit ourselves to the faith. And we do it every single year.

A colleague of mine likes to talk about Lent as spiritual spring cleaning. “Isn’t it ironic,” she used to joke, “that we start out our spring cleaning by making ourselves purposefully messy on the first day?”

Lent is an intentional time, woven into the fabric of our church year, that we might re-evaluate our lives, re-consider our commitments, and purposefully grow in the ways that God is calling us to. The journey of faith isn't a one-time decision, but rather a lifelong commitment and process. It is why you do your spring cleaning every year…because no matter how deliberate, how neat and tidy, how antiseptic and clean you are there is still new dust that collects and dark corners that need to see the light of day. That is what Lent is all about. Making room for God, clearing out all the clutter and cobwebs that have gotten in the way, and clearing out the sin that clings so closely.

This year during the Sundays in Lent we won't simply be looking closely at our own intentions, temptations, and growing edges, we'll be looking closely at some of the most familiar stories from our biblical tradition. We'll look closely and carefully at these holy accounts to see what fresh knowledge, insight, and call to action they might have for our lives. And what better place to start then right at the very beginning with a Genesis account of the Garden of Eden. 

Come join us this Sunday (and every Sunday during Lent!) as we dive deep in the stories of our faith. 

Yours in the Journey,

Rev. Brian

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Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that theLord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ 

The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.” ’ 

But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ 

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Not So Subtle Wordle

Okay, fine. Wordle's are never subtle. That is part of their fun. But in this case the sermon title itself is "Not So Subtle."

The life of faith is all about foreshadowing, really. We can't see around that blind curve into the fullness of what the future holds. But we strive and struggle to discern those images that will guide us and lead us, knowing full well that God will be with us each and every step of the way. These are the promises of faith that name us, claim us, and propel us forward. The future is yet unwritten, but through the eyes of faith we see the foreshadowed promises of blessing, life, and mission. And we step boldly into the unknown future.

You can read the entire sermon manuscript by clicking here to visit the church's website. And to see the whole Wordle rendering, just click on the image to the right.