Pics: The Fifth With First

On Sunday May 29, 2016 we celebrated "The Fifth With First" by working with two of our favorite partners in our community.

The folks who participated in the Worship Service in the Sanctuary heard an amazing sermon from LaVerne Thorpe and then headed over to the Fellowship Hall to pack "Back to School Kits" for Vista Del Camino.

The folks who were a part of our WORKship Service in the Community gathered for a brief prayer service at the ramada at Chaparral Park before heading over to the Ronald McDonald House to cook and clean and wash windows on behalf of the 35 families that are currently residing there while their loved ones are receiving treatment at one of the nearby hospitals.

It was an amazing day all around and here are a handful of pictures to show you what we were up to!

The Fifth With First

This Sunday is “The Fifth With First!”

On those months that have an extra Sunday, we put our faith into action at First Christian Church Scottsdale!

For folks participating in our Worship Service in the Sanctuary, our dear friend LaVerne Thorpe will be our guest preacher that morning. LaVerne will be sharing a sermon about her recent trip to Africa…and I don’t want to give too much away, but our Global Ministries partners will be featured prominently! Immediately following the service our Outreach Team has partnered with Vista Del Camino to set up a “Back-to-School Kit” Assembly Line. I know, I know, it is the first weekend of summer but Vista Del Camino has to start working on those Back-to-School Kits months in advance to make sure everything is ready for the hundreds of school-age Scottsdale kids who come to them for assistance when the new school year does start. So we are at the cutting edge of Vista Del Camino’s programs and your help on Sunday morning is going to make a huge difference for them as well as the kids they serve.

For folks participating in our WORKship Service out in the Community we will meet at the ramada at Chaparral Park at 9AM for a brief Prayer Service (with communion) before heading out to the Ronald McDonald House at 501 East Roanoke Ave in Phoenix. We’ll be preparing lunch (and sack lunches) for the folks staying at the Ronald McDonald House as well as cleaning up the kitchen and tidying up the facility. The Ronald McDonald House has been an amazing partner with us; in fact you can watch news clilps here and here from the first time we worked with them two years ago.

Whether you are on campus or off campus this Sunday, thank you for being a part of “The Fifth With First” and for putting your faith into action!

Yours in the Journey,
Rev. Brian

Three Things from Administrative Council

The Administrative Council had their regularly scheduled meeting on Sunday May 15 immediately following the worship service. Here are "The Three Things" you should know from that meeting:

1. Insurance Presentation
   Andrea Weingel, our Account Manager with Church Mutual Insurance Company, came to our meeting to walk the Administrative Council through our various insurance policies. It was a comprehensive presentation and I am glad to say that as a church we are well covered and taken care of in this important (but blessedly often unnoticed) area.
   
2. Master's Talent Concert Series
   Administrative Council officially recognized and endorsed our Master's Talent Concert Series as a ministry of the church that is helping us reach out to our local community in new and innovative ways.
   
3. Great Things are Happening in Education
   With each Admin Council Meeting we focus on one or two of our annual goals, and this time we featured our goal to "Support, Equip, and Grow the Education Ministry Team and Programs." We heard a wonderful report from the Education Ministry Team that detailed the many Sunday School Classes and mid-week small groups that we have in the church. They also outlined their hopes for the future and specifically requested help with volunteers for the S.A.I.L Program as well as helpers and teachers for the fall. We are so blessed to have Carol and Julie leading this revitalized effort and for everyone on the Education Ministry Team who is helping to make it happen!

Whiteboard: Wisdom

This Sunday we'll be talking about Wisdom...or as our Biblical tradition prefers to refer to it, Lady Wisdom.

That's right. In the Bible Wisdom is designated as feminine (the women of the church are nodding their heads knowingly). In fact, it is more than just feminine; Proverbs talks straight forwardly about wisdom as a personified woman ("Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice. On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out" Proverbs 8:1-3 with emphasis added by me).

Scholars have all sorts of theories and ideas about why this would be the case (read some here, here, and my personal favorite exposition on the text here) but in truth scripture never really answers the question "Why is Wisdom personified as a Lady?"

The more important question (and the one scripture does answer!) is "What should we learn from Lady Wisdom?" In answering this important question Rev. John Trigilio, Jr. and Rev. Kenneth Brighenti write:

In the Christian sense, wisdom isn't the same as truth or knowledge. Wisdom isn't just intellectual insight or book learning, either. Wisdom is the ability to make good judgments. A wise person doesn't have to be the most intelligent or the most accurate but does have to be someone who knows what to do with the knowledge he or she has, where to find more, and how to apply it.

Isn't that a great response! Oh, and my favorite part: It comes from their article in "Women in the Bible for Dummies." Yep, learning about wisdom from the "For Dummies" books!

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Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 The Gifts of Wisdom

Does not wisdom call,
and does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
‘To you, O people, I call,
and my cry is to all that live.

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of long ago.
Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth—
when he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the world’s first bits of soil.
When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
then I was beside him, like a master worker;
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race.

Whiteboard: Pentecost 2016

One Sunday a year everything looks different.

That is because one Sunday a year we celebrate how everything changed for the disciples of Christ and for the burgeoning movement that would become the church, when the Holy Spirit came down on Pentecost!

Every other liturgical color shows up at different points throughout the year. Purple shows up for Advent and then again for Lent. We put up White during Christmas and Easter. And Green, well, we have our Green vestments up for a full 26 weeks every year.

But red?

Red is special.

Red comes out for one Sunday in the worship life of the church...because red is the color of vitality and new life and it is reminiscent of the tongues of flame that came down from heaven when the Holy Spirit filled that upper room where the disciples of Jesus had gathered.

This Sunday, I hope that you'll wear red too. That way, we become living vestments for the church -- a part of the celebration, signifying the gift of the Spirit, and our openness to the ways that the Holy Spirit continues to inspire us, to challenge us, to move among us and through us.

So wear red this Sunday and come help us celebrate Pentecost as we worship together!

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Acts 2:1-21: The Coming of the Holy Spirit

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Whiteboard: The Ascension

This Sunday marks the end of our seven week Easter Season, and we will close our Resurrection Sermon Series with the traditional text assigned for the day: The Ascension of Christ!

Having made his resurrection appearances, blessings his disciples with the gift of new life, assuring the world that God's love is stronger than any force in the universe (even death) Jesus leaves the Earth...and leaves his earthly ministry to us.

My favorite part of the story is what the angels have to say to the Disciples. Ok, so scripture says, "men dressed in white" but it is pretty clear from their garb and from their message that these are angels relaying an important word from the Lord.

Jesus is lifted up in a cloud and taken away and the Disciples are (rightly!) staring up into the sky. They are amazed. They are perplexed. They are astounded. They were just talking to Jesus, in fact they had just asked him an important question: "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom?" And Jesus gave them his typical response to this line of questioning "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set." Then the Resurrected Christ just floats away.

So sure, they are staring at the sky trying to figure out what in the world just happened.

And the Angels say (my rough paraphrase): "What in the world are you guys doing staring up into the heavens. The heavens know that you need to get to work right here on Earth!"

It is an important reminder at a crucial time: Christ's body might be gone, but Christ's mission and ministry continues. And it continues through us! This is the final blessing of resurrection and new life -- that once we are touched by it, we are commissioned to continue the good work of the Gospel. Jesus' ministry continues in important, life-giving, transformative ways...through us!

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Acts 1:6-11 -- The Ascension of Jesus

So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’

He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ 

When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

Whiteboard: The Road to Damascus

As we continue our Easter Season Sermon Series on the Resurrection Stories, this week we inherit one that we frequently forget about: Paul's encounter with the Resurrected Christ on the Road to Damascus.

We tend to think of this story only as Paul's conversion story, but lets be honest: It is a resurrection story as well. The resurrected Christ (the very one that Paul is working against in persecuting the earliest believers) appears to Paul (then Saul) in a powerful vision that literally knocks him to the ground.

It is an incredible story, particularly because it is about more than Paul. Yes, it is about his conversion, but it also about the power of the resurrected Christ to change our lives AND it is about the reluctance of the followers of Christ to follow wherever Christ will lead us.

When Christ comes to Ananias, well, Ananias is incredibly quick to answer, "Here I am Lord" but none to quick to actually follow Christ's instructions to go and help Saul of Tarsus. You can practically hear him objecting, "Uh, Lord, I think you've made a mistake. That dude Saul is bad news and I'm not going anywhere near him."

Except, of course, that Ananias does eventually go. And when he does, he finds things just as the Resurrected Christ has told him. Saul has been thunderstruck, his life turned upside by his encounter, and he is literally blind to the world before him. Ananias finds Saul, calls out to him, witnesses the miracle that brings back Saul's sight, and sees that Saul is truly a changed man. Saul is baptized. Saul starts hanging out with the disciple (the very community he was seeking to destroy). Saul starts preaching and once he start, well, history is reshaped by his ministry.

It is an amazing story of resurrection and new life this week, and we'll celebrate it together at FCC Scottsdale this Sunday in worship!

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Acts 9:1-22: The Conversion of Saul
Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’The men who were travelling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul Preaches in Damascus

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ All who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?’ Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.

Pics: Catching Up

Here are some pictures from recent events in the life of the church!

Thursday Morning Bible Study Class

"We Love Our New Members" Luncheon

Our "New Members Tree"

Close-up of the New Members Tree

Middle Schoolers from the "Regional Youth Retreat" hosted
at FCC Scottsdale lead us music

High Schoolers from the Regional Youth Retreat close
out their event with a Hug Circle

Easter Egg Hunt!

More from the Easter Egg Hunt!

Even more from the Easter Egg Hunt!

Still more from the Easter Egg Hunt!

Whiteboard: Feed My Sheep

We pick up right where we left off last week. The disciples have gone fishing, they haven't had any luck whatsoever catching anything until Jesus calls to them, instructs them and they follow his guidance.

After the miraculous haul of fish (which is so much more than a fish story), Jesus turns his attention to Peter.

This is where we'll pick up the story on Sunday.

It is a familiar passage -- one that gives us this beautiful, poetic redemption of Peter. Where he had denied Christ one, two, three times on that night when Jesus was betrayed here the Resurrected Christ gives Peter one, two, three times to affirm him.

"Do you love me?" Jesus asks over and over and over again.

"Yes, Lord. You know that I love you." "Yes, Lord. You know that I love you." "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you." Peter responds.

And with each affirmation, Jesus gives a piece of instruction. "Feed my lambs...Tend my sheep...Feed my sheep..." before Jesus finally concludes with the instruction that sums up the call to discipleship better than any other image possibly could. Jesus says to Peter (says to us), "Follow me."

Talk is cheap. Peter knows this better than most. Peter's mouth has been writing checks that the rest of his body simply could not cash. He's said things that he regrets. He's done things that he regrets. Yet here is Jesus standing before him offering him a chance to not only make-up for the horrible things he said ("No, I do not know this man!") and the horrible things he did (abandoning Jesus at his deepest hour of need) but to turn his life around, reorient himself, and follow Jesus.

It is a powerful passage this coming Sunday, and a word that we need to hear and celebrate together!

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John 21:15-19: Jesus and Peter

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’

He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ 

Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ 

A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ 

He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ 

Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’

He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ 

Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ 

Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’

Whiteboard: More than a Fish Story

I love when I get to repurpose a Whiteboard drawing from one week to another!

As we continue our Easter journey, this Sunday we will celebrate another resurrection story from Scripture. Last week we talked about the Walk to Emmaus (with a Whiteboard image of a road sign pointing the way) and this week we'll talk about Jesus appearing to his Disciples when they are out on the water fishing (with a Whiteboard image that was ever so slightly tweaked to become a "Gone Fishin'" sign).

This is the part of the story that we typically skip past. You see, the next part of the story is the more familiar part: Jesus forgiving Peter three times (mirroring Peter denying Christ three times) by telling him "Feed my sheep." It is easy to read this week's passage as mere set-up for the more important story that comes next week. But I think we miss something when we do that. You see, scripture this week is telling us that Jesus has important things to say about how we live our lives. No really, that is what is at stake with our scripture this week, which is more than simple set-up for another story!

Come join us this Sunday and find out what mean.

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John 21:1-14 Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.