ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: As you may know, the “former book” is the Gospel of Luke, the first half of the Luke/Acts saga. It too begins with a reference to Theophilus, the intended audience of both books. Now many of you have heard me suggest that Theophilus was not a person, but a way the author spoke of the community of those seeking and those who were curious. Theophilus means lover of God. The name makes me think of our current culture where the number of people involved in organized religion is declining, but those who speak of having a spiritual yearnings, a desire to connect with the holy or talk of loving the teachings of Jesus has not really dropped. In both the Gospel and in the Book of Acts, Luke (the author) does not try to argue his way into people’s spiritual longings or put forth a Seven Point Plan of Required Beliefs that would guarantee a heavenly entrance. He simply told his audience about Jesus, and then (in the Book of Acts), he presented the faithfulness of those who claimed to love Jesus. I wonder if people are fleeing the church because we have forgotten what Luke wanted to teach us. At the end of the day, the Jesus story and people’s love-filled responses to the Jesus story might just be enough to change hearts, maybe even change the world. Prayer: I love your gift to the world, O Lord! I love Jesus and the way he lived his life. Challenge me to first assimilate his life into mine, and then allocate his love to all I meet. It is in his name that I pray. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/33AgmGI
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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING via WordPress https://ift.tt/3hfS4d6 ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: Paul was writing to the Christian community in Ephesus, a community full of tension, split apart by both real and fabricated problems. Yet Paul refused to allow such forces to divide a community built on the love of Christ. Though when we hear how there are no longer strangers and aliens, only citizens in God’s kingdom and family members in the household of God, we cannot allow ourselves to play the exception game that so many seek to play. There are too many people who read these words and then begin to explain the anomaly, the special case that does not fit into God’s welcome. They even make it sound really religious and morally upright as they kick a few to the curb. This cannot be a game we play! We cannot even dabble in exclusionary theology. The moment we leave even one behind is the moment we create a theology inconsistent and incompatible with the Jesus story. Prayer: I want to live with the same grace and kindness that you have always shown, O Merciful God. Let me love others as you have loved them, loving without any exclusionary clause or rule of exception. It won’t be easy, but you have loved me with this kind of love. From it, I will draw strength and inspiration. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3xXqHdM ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: The first half of this verse is pretty well known, but so often we don’t move into vs. 14. It is as if we enjoy the comfort, but don’t notice the product of a God who comforts us. It is more than just a warm fuzzy kind of comfort, but one with reverberations that effects our senses, raises our spirits and even impacts our physical selves. When I think about the comfort of a parent, the kind of comfort a healthy parent provides, it goes well beyond the moment. It changes who we are, how we see the world and how we live in the world. Comfort it not a momentary reprieve, but an unfettering of whatever it is that seeks to constrain us with fear. May we all know the comfort of the Lord. Prayer: Comfort, O comfort your people, Lord. Comfort us with your unmerited love and your unwavering kindness. Comfort us, and in doing so, refashion us so we might perceive, speak and live as you would have us live. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3twxrfc ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: Years ago, I heard Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa preach on this text, and most of the time he focussed on two words. Actually, that would be two words in the ancient Hebrew. We translate them as: “In the beginning, when God…” The Bishop kept on returning to the idea that in the beginning there was God, nothing more. All possibilities were contained within God, but it was just God. Early Christian theology referred to this as Creatio ex nihilo, Creation out of nothing. So often we look into the abyss of grief, suffering, injustice, hopelessness or exploitation and we assume there is nothing positive that could ever emerge. Our perception sees nothing on which a future can be built. We’ve all been there to some degree or another, but faith allows us to glimpse into the formless void and to claim Creatio ex nihilo. It may not necessarily be the exact creation we would expect or want, but God finds a way. Of course, we are often the first components of the new thing God is creating, with the expectation of us doing more than sitting around as some passive block in the first stage of this new thing. We will catch the divine vision and begin our work as co-creators with God. God seems to always be about the work of Creatio ex nihilo, of creating in those places where hopelessness has claimed victory. Once you see life begin emerging from one of those formless voids, you not only begin to believe but desire to participate in what God is doing. Prayer: Even when I cannot begin to imagine, Lord God, I believe you are already at work in every formless void, seeking to bring forth life and goodness and joy where no such things existed. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3twsjrr ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: So which comes first? Chicken or Egg or Omelette? So which comes first? Knowing God? Loving God? Loving neighbor? None of us were there when Jesus had this conversation with the scribe, but had the scribe asked which one is to come first, I can almost hear Jesus saying, “Yes!” From a strict orthodox view, God was and is the first actor. To say it another way, nothing is possible without the imaginative initiative of God. Or as we say around Cypress Creek Christian Church, “…because God first loved us.” But do I first get to know God and then love God and then love neighbor? Or can I begin to love my neighbor after experiencing love from someone else, and then in time, encounter God as the Source of that love… and then fall in love with God? Or maybe it is a little like a circle where you simply jump in wherever you first make the connection, and then you move around to knowing God or loving God or loving neighbor, and then as you love your neighbor, you come to know more about God who is love which only increases your knowledge and love of God which just might grow your capacity to love your neighbor. Wow! That was a run-on sentence. I have never been one to follow some strict step by step process for coming to the faith. This is because I have met many different people who are living amazing lives of faith, but their stories are very unique. And their journeys are very distinctive. Had someone forced them to follow the “right way” of doing things, they may never have made it to where they are now. Prayer: Continue to keep us on this marvelous journey of faith, O Lord our God. Continue to encourage us toward a life that resembles you, while growing in a relationship through which we will be inspired to love as Jesus loved. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3b93XOq ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: Peter Drucker was an author and business guru. He has dozens of really good quotes, but one of my favorites is: The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said. It is an important insight as we need to pay attention to nonverbal cues and clues. For most of us, we do not hear an audible voice in our conversations with God. We might use the language of a “voice,” but it is more about a feeling, a presence, a push, an image, an ache. If we spend all our time waiting for the audible voice, there is a good chance we will miss the really important things communicated that are not heard with the ears. When Paul wrote about “the word of Christ,” it was less about hearing the actual voice of Jesus, and more about the collective message of Jesus found in scripture, the history of the faith, the tug of the Spirit and the wisdom found in human experience. When we are paying attention to all of these, it is as if they form an audible voice speaking truth and purpose into our lives. Prayer: O Word of Christ, speak to our hearts in such a way that we are moved along the path of love and mercy, kindness and justice. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3ek0Wg9 ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: Please understand that I am only venting, and my use of scripture in this moment is a bit of a stretch. Donna and I are currently at that moment when our internet promotion is concluding, and the price will make a dramatic jump. The games begin, and though they sound so pleasant as if they are bending over backwards to keep the jump at only $25 more each month, I feel as if they are “something” trying to disguise themselves as angels of light. Now I would never refer to anyone as Satan, especially someone trying to make a living. The person on the other side of the line is limited in what can be done, but it feels like the biggest scam/game. And of course, there is almost always a last minute possibility, but they will have to go to the CEO of the corporation to get permission. Am I willing to hold for three minutes as they check on what can be done? Why are there some businesses that feel like such a game. I know the underlying purpose is money, and that does drive much of the game playing, but this is where people of faith need to make sure we are driven by something else. We are mission people, driven by a commitment to something greater than self. I know my use of scripture had a hint of hyperbole to help make my point. With that said, let us continue to work toward a purer motivation in all we do. Prayer: Holy God, may the church continue to be inspired and guided by the vision set forth in the life of Jesus, a vision of love manifest in acts of kindness, mercy and justice. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3xGyLzH ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING via WordPress https://ift.tt/3vBiREP ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: Early in the pandemic, I referenced these words in both a sermon and some devotionals. Today, I feel a I need to return to them with a renewed passion. I might be a bit overly concerned, but as a congregation that has experienced immense upheaval and grief in the last 4+ years, it is important for us to remain committed to our real task – to keep our eyes fixed upon our vision of Putting Love First In All Things. Maybe the need to return to these words came from the unexpected move from the Centrum to the Forum for this Sunday’s worship (and a few more to come) or just the constant pull between moving forward while needing to pause. As the Sr. Minister of Cypress Creek Christian Church, it is my job to be excited about the future of our church, but I do not need to use my best acting skills to express my excitement. There is a harvest of love and transformed lives in our future, in part, because of the unique mission and gifts that are Cypress Creek Christian Church. Yet in the midst of the little setbacks, like being fenced out of the Centrum, I need to return to Paul’s testimony, the reminder of why we don’t grow weary or get distracted in the frivolous stuff. Prayer: May your Spirit, Holy One, keep us ever so vigilant when it comes to the vision and mission you have put before this church. It is so easy to get lost in the unexpected that continues to make an appearance along our path, yet we look to you for perseverance as we move in the direction of faithfulness. Amen. WATCH TODAY’S WORSHP via WordPress https://ift.tt/3nEYTGs |
AuthorRev. Bruce Frogge Archives
April 2024
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