iHOPE

Pastor's Class: Faithing the Issues

Are you tired of hearing people talk (argue) about the serious issues of life as if there were only two alternatives (right v. left)?

Do you wish you could have a place to discuss and explore the issues in a way that wasn't so confrontational?

Would you like to see how we can apply our faith to the issues of the day- even if we don't all come up with the same answers?

Then this year's Pastor's Class may be for you!

Beginning the first week of October, I will be leading the class, "Faithing the Issues". It will look at how we apply the Bible and our Faith to the some of the toughest questions of our day (Abortion, Euthanasia, Evolution, Homosexuality, Heaven/Hell,- that should be a good start!). We will be using the book, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White:  Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics by Adam Hamilton as a 'source book' (that means we aren't doing a study of his book as much as using his material for our study).  You can pick up a copy at church for $15.

As in the past, the class will be held on Wednesday nights (6:45- 8:00) and Thursday mornings (10:15- 11:30), with the same content presented at each time. Participants are welcome to move between class times as their schedules allow. What will be different from past years is that while the first 5-6 classes will be "content" oriented (with me presenting some basic concepts and principles, a large part of this class will be built on class discussion.

This is a topic that is critically needed in the Church today and I have been wanting to get at this for a long time. Anyone who has been a part of my last classes knows that we will not suffer from 'group-think'!- we always have a wide spectrum of opinion and beliefs that are represented. I'm looking forward to this  class and invite you to participate. Let's "Faith" the Issues!

We'll start on Wednedsday/Thursday (October 5th/6th). We'll meet weekly with a break for Christmas/New Years and conclude about the middle of February (I'm going to do a different class for Lent).

Do We Really Need Another Sermon About 'Grace'?

Grace.

It might be the most overused word in the Church today. We've all heard about it.  Do we really need to hear about it again? 

Besides being over-used, I believe 'Grace' may also one of the most misunderstood word in the Church today.  The word has been used so much and so often, that it has lost its meaning.

Grace has become the elevator music of the Church.  You expect to hear it, even if you don't really listen to it.

And then...you do, and everything changes.

Grace still has the power to take our breath away. It still can inspire and overwhelm.

That is why we are starting a new series this Sunday on Grace. It is called 'Re-Discovering Grace' and it is an invitation to take a familiar, over-used word and dust it off and make it new again. More accurately, it is an inviation to let Grace dust us off and make us new again.

It is our Fall series, so we are synchronized with our LIFE Groups. Our companion book is "What Is So Amazing About Grace?" and there is even a Discussion Guide that goes with it.  All of it is available at church beginning this weekend.

"Do we really need another sermon about grace?"  If you have to ask, the answer is, "Yes!"

 

Bonhoeffer Revisited

  Many people talked about the power of Sunday's service. Brigitte's story was stunning. The music was rich and varied. The life of Bonhoeffer was as sobering as it was inspiring.

  Some have asked about the name of the movie from which I showed the clip. The title is simple:  "Bonhoeffer". I saw it first through Netflix (I think it can even be streamed instantly online), but I wouldn't be surprised if the library had a copy.

  The book I mentioned was, "The Cost of Discipleship". Be careful.  It should have a warning label on the cover that says, "WARNING: This book may cause great discomfort and could be hazardous to your complacency."  Don't say I didn't warn you.

I used several quotes from Bonhoeffer.  The one the front of the bulletin was from a letter to a friend, while in prison in 1944.  Here it is again:

I discovered later, and am still discovering right up to this moment,that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith.  By this-worldliness I mean living unreservedly in life’s duties, problems, successes, failures.  In so doing we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously not our own suffering but those of God in the world.  That, I think, is faith.

 

Love Wins- Have You Read It?

There are a growing number of us who have become acutely aware that Jesus’s story has been hijacked by a number of other stories, stories Jesus isn’t interested in telling, because they have nothing to do with what he came to do. The plot has been lost, and it’s time to reclaim it.

  That is how Rob Bell  introduces his book, Love Wins:  Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.

  Some people love it.  Some people hate. Rob has been accused of heresy for his views. Others have praised him for recovering the gospel. Most are somewhere in the middle. It definitely is a book worth reading!

  Love Wins is the second selection for the Pastor's Book Club this summer. We meet on Thursday, August 25th at 7:00 to discuss it.  We'll meet in the Castle Rock Room. Whether you have finished it or not, I hope you'll come and be part of the discussion.

 

 

Love Wins- A Great Read for the Next Pastor's Book Club

  We had a terrific group for our first Pastor's Book Club last week. We discussed the book, Heaven is for Real and there were a lot of great questions and insights.  Keeping on our 'heavenly' theme for the summer, our next book is,  Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Has Ever Lived, by Rob Bell.  It is bound to get you thinking!

  We have ordered some more copies to purchase at church- or you can pick up a copy at several of the bookstores in the area.  Either way, pick it up, read it, and come for a great discussion on Thursday, August 25th @ 7:00.

Sacrifice: The Price for Passing It On?

  I used a quote on Sunday from Mitch Albom's book, The Five People You Meet In Heaven. The subject of the book, Eddie, faces 5 people from his past who help him make sense of his life. The second one is his Army Captain who lost his life when they served in Viet Nam.

"Sacrifice," the Captain said. "You made one. I made one. We all make them. But you were angry over yours. You kept thinking about what you lost. You didn't get it. Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to. Little sacrifices. Big sacrifices. A mother works so her son can go to school. A daughter moves home to take care of her sick father. A man goes to war…"   Eddie shook his head. "But you…" He lowered his voice. "You lost your life."

The Captain smacked his tongue on his teeth. "That's the thing. Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else."

  So, what has been passed on to you? What do you want to pass on to others?

The Wonders of the Universe

  Want a great way to start your week?  Check out this video.   It is a resource from BioLogos, a group that seeks to 'explore, celebrate, and promote the harmony of science and the Christian faith.'  It is a great resource. If you are looking for a way to bring your faith and science together in a meaningful conversation, this is a place to do it.  It was started by Francis Collins whose book The Language of God is listed in the 'Books Worth Reading' section (on the left). 

  There is much to explore on this site, but the link today takes you to a newer feature. Every Sunday, they started posting a worship-oriented blog. This is a wonderful video set to music. The accompanying 'meditation' is pretty good, too.

  Enjoy!

 

Living With a Future

I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, 

plans for your welfare and not for harm,

to give you a future with hope.   (Jeremiah 29:11)

  Dan's book, Everyday Courage, has me thinking about the future this week. The first theme we are invited to read, think about, pray over and discuss in our Life Groups is 'courage for the future'.  If there is one affirmation that permeates scripture, it is that the People of God have a future.

  So, how do you live when you aren't afraid of the future?  You give your best energies to the future you believe is coming. That is easier said than done! Let me give a couple examples:

The Language of God

 
The book I mentioned this morning in worship is The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.  It is by Francis Collins, who headed the Human Genome Project.  You can get buying information in the Books Worth Reading section on the left.

  Collins uses the first part of his book to tell the story of how he came to faith. He began with no religious background and realized he was an agnostic. He became an atheist as he got older and entered med school.

 Two things began to shake his atheism. The first was the solid faith of those he cared for as a third year student. Even in the midst of intense suffering, some of his patients seemed to be in touch with a spiritual reality he couldn't see, but admired.

  He began to read C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, which convinced him that faith in God was anything but mindless.  More than that, it challenged Collins that HE was the one who had been intellectually dishonest.

  The second thing that shook Collins was the study in his own field of genetics. As more was discovered, the more he was amazed at the intricacy and complexity of the universe and he became more and more open to the belief in God.

  As he tells his story of his eventual conversion to Christianity, Collins also tells the story of the Human Genome Project as well as his reflections on evolution and the creative work of God. The larger question he answers is whether or not there can be satisfying harmony between the scientific and spiritual worldviews. The short answer is, 'Yes!'. For the longer answer, you'll have to read the book!

Packing Up Christmas

  On Christmas Eve and on Sunday I used a quote from Don Miller's new book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life.  Here is the quote:

   If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn't cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers.  You wouldn't tell your friend you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you'd seen. The truth is, you wouldn't remember the movie a week later, except to feel you'd feel robbed and want your money back.  Nobody cries at the end of a movie about  a guy who wants a Volvo.  

  But we spend years actually living those stories, and expect our lives to feel meaningful.  The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, it won't make a life meaningful, either.

  More information on the book can be found under "Books Worth Reading" in the column at the left. This one has been great food for thought.