"Whosoever's House" - Pastor Welty

When I was a little boy, my mother taught Bible classes for neighborhood kids.  One of the lessons she taught was entitled "Whosoever's House".  Whosoever was a young man who lived in a heart house that had been given to him by the King.  Whosoever heard that the King's Son was coming for a visit, so he wanted to get his house as clean as possible.  No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his house as clean as he wanted due to some unwanted guests:  Miss Grouchy, Mr. Bad Habits, Miss Tell Lies and Mr. Pretend.  He was feeling very discouraged by this.  Finally Whosoever received good news when Mr. and Mrs. Honesty stopped by.  They told him that the King's Son would help him clean out his heart's house if Whosoever opened the door and invited him in.  It was a great analogy to our spiritual lives and the need to honestly deal with areas of our lives that are not pleasing to God.

Recently a friend of mine gave me a little booklet entitled "My Heart Christ's Home" by Robert Boyd Munger.  He starts with Ephesians 3:16-17 which says:  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then he explores what it means to have Christ dwell in our hearts. 

 It reminded me of Whosoever's House as the author walks us through the various rooms of our home and asks us to consider how Jesus impacts the area of our lives that that room represents.  The rooms he explores are the study, the dining room, the living room the work room the recreation room the bedroom and the hall closet.  These rooms give us a pretty comprehensive look at our lives as Christ followers.

We're going to take a few weeks to consider that booklet and those ideas as we seek to grow in our relationship with Christ and each other.  We will begin this study on January 12, and the booklets will be available for your to have.  I hope we all benefit from this study.

Worship at the Nativity by Pastor Welty

When our missionary guest was with us in October, he said something that caused me to ponder our purpose and motivation.  He said that missions is not the primary purpose for the church, but worship is.   John Piper shared the same sentiments when he said:

 Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is.  Worship is ultimate, not  missions, because God is ultimate, not man.  When this age is over, and the  countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. 

His words are stirring and inspiring, and they help us really understand what is most important for us as Christ followers. If worship of God is primary and ultimate, and I believe it is, then it will be a vital part of our lives.  It will not just be relegated to Sunday morning but will permeate our entire lives.    

 During the Advent season, we'll be looking at some aspects of worship surrounding the birth of Christ.  On December 1 we'll be considering  worship as surrender to God from the lives of Mary and Joseph.  They both had to make huge adjustments in their personal plans to allow God to use them for his purpose, but they both surrendered to God's will and played a vital role in God's story.  (Luke 1:26-38  and  Matthew 1:18-25)

On December 8 we'll be looking at worship as joyful celebration of God's goodness.  Luke 1:46-55 records Mary's hymn of praise to God after finding out that she would give birth to God's Son. In these verses we don't hear Mary complaining about the inconvenience that she would endure but rejoicing that she was a part of God's plan.  Her words are an important reminder to us about how we view our role in God's story. 

After Jesus was born, the good news of His birth was shared with some shepherds.   They visited the new born Jesus, and after they left that place, they shared the news with everyone they met.  Their hearts were so full, they couldn't help spilling out onto others.  On December 15 we'll look at their story noting that worship is telling what God has done.  (Luke 2:8-20)

Matthew 2 tells us about the Magi visiting Jesus.  Their visit didn't happen on the night Jesus was born but sometime later.  That does mess with the traditional manger scenes that have the Magi and their camels on hand.  The Magi brought gifts to worship the new born king.  They were paying homage to a king - the King of kings.  On December 22 we'll be think about the idea of worship as giving.  (Matthew 2:1-12)

I hope that you will be able to join us as we ponder the importance of worship and how it permeates our entire lives.

"Covenant and Kingdom" a reflection by Pastor Welty

This Fall we have been looking at the ideas of covenant and kingdom in the Bible. These ideas come from a book by Mike Breen by the same name and provide a very helpful foundation to our understanding of who we are in Christ.   We looked at a number of Biblical characters to see how those two dynamics played out in their lives.    

Covenant means that God wants to have a relationship with us, which is why He sent Jesus to die to make that possible.  God created us to be in a relationship with Him, but our selfish choices or sin interfered with that.  Jesus died to redeem us and reconcile us to the Father.  We need not further evidence of God's love and tenacious desire for us than the cross of Jesus Christ.

Kingdom means that we have responsibilities as children of God to represent God in our world and influence our world for His  Kingdom.  We are to be salt and light in this world and bring God's Kingdom to bear in our lost and confused world. 

These same ideas are described by words like invitation and challenge.  God invites us to have a covenant relationship with Him and then challenges us to make a kingdom difference in our world.   Jesus got even more basic using words like "come" and "go".  He invited people to follow Him but then sent them into the world to bring Kingdom impact.

Balance between these two ideas is needed.

If we are only focused on our covenant relationship with God, we can begin to feel like a "cozy consumer".  We approach our faith with a "what's in it for me" mentality.  When we're only focused on covenant we may be tempted to  see God as a loving, doting grandfather who indulges His children at every turn.

The other extreme is being too focused on our Kingdom responsibilities.  When we do this we feel the stress and pressure to serve God.  We grit our teeth and try to serve God in our own strength.  Consequently we find no joy in it; rather it feels like an obligation.  We frenetically run from one task to the next and end up empty instead of full. All the while we hope that God notices our efforts and is pleased with us.

Balance is important between covenant and kingdom and covenant must precede kingdom, or we will try to please God in our own strength and will end up weary and perhaps even resentful.  It's important to sit with the idea that we are loved by God and cherished by Him, but it can't end there.

While it is important to know that we are loved by God,  it's also important to realize that He wants us to make a difference in our world for His Kingdom.  But he doesn't want us to try to make a difference without him, so He gives us His Holy Spirit to remind us that we are His children and to empower us to serve Him.

My hope is that  as you read God's word, you will see how these two ideas are often part of the Biblical narrative.  I also hope that you will take time to ponder these concepts in your own life.  May God help us to be people of the covenant and the kingdom.  If you would like to chat with me about this, please reach out to me.  I'd love to talk and pray with you about this.

"Parallel Second Chances" by Pastor Welty

When you "google" the phrase "God of second chances" it leads to a number of interesting discussions. Some interpret that as God's grace that continues to be poured out on us despite our bad choices.  In Romans 6:2 Paul asks the important question:  "We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"  So while God's grace is beyond measure, it is not carte blanche for us to do as we please.  We as Christ followers are to walk in obedience to God and live our lives according to His word.

 That being said...I'm still thinking about the God of second chances which has meant a lot to me personally and professionally. 

In November of 2017, our church was ripped apart by a controversy.  Sides were taken, lines were drawn, and those of us in the middle were left wondering what had happened to our church and the friendships we had developed over a number of years.  All of it was gone - seemingly overnight.  It was a perfect storm, as I was only about six weeks into recovering from major heart surgery when it happened. 

During the summer of 2017 we had received bids for the building we wanted to construct on Judd Road.  The bids were a little beyond us but we were "tantalizingly close" (as a former member described).  After November's blowup - we were light years away.

But God is the God of second chances, and about one year later, we learned of the possibility that the Colonial Tavern in Oxford could become our church building.  Now we're in it and dreaming about how to make it ours and retro-fit it for our ministry.  God is the God of second chances.

In July of 2009 I learned that my wife, Stephanie, had end stage renal failure.   Not a hopeful diagnosis.  I cared for her for the next six years, and in July of 2015 God finally answered my many prayers and healed her by bringing her home to be with Him.  That wasn't what I had in mind, but we serve a Sovereign God whose ways are higher than ours. 

I was married for nearly 35 years.  When Stephanie died it was the first time I ever lived alone.  It was weird.  I did my best to adjust to my new life - with the help of some very dear friends.  One of my daughters described me as a "professional married man".  That makes sense.

A Barry Manilow song (of all things) sums up where I was.

Safe from the past and doin' okay but not very well
No jolts, no surprises, no crisis arises
My life goes along as it should
It's all very nice, but not very good

But then the song continues:  And I'm ready to take a chance again.  Ready to put my love on the line with you.
On Good Friday of 2017 I was given the opportunity to take a chance again.  I was introduced to a lovely woman named Beth Anderson.  Later I found out that she was single, having been widowed 19 years earlier.  I was also told that if I was interested in going on a date, she might be interested too.  I hadn't been on a date since Jimmy Carter was president, so I was a little rusty.

 Our first date was April 23, 2017, and we both enjoyed it so much that we started seeing each other.   Eventually we both fell in love with each other, and then I strung her along until July 29, 2018 when I asked her to marry me.  She said yes, and I've been given a second chance.  I realize how blessed I am.  God blessed me with an amazing woman for nearly 35 years and now has blessed me with another amazing woman, who stayed by my side during recovery from heart surgery and my dealing with the church problems. Now I'm looking forward to our life together and what God has in store for us.   God is the God of second chances.

 Now those parallel second chances come together for me when on February 23 Beth and I will be married in The Community Chapel's "new" building.  My personal second chance will take place in the symbol of my professional second chance.  Praise God... He is the God of second chances.

What Are You Going to get Jesus for Christmas?

It seems like a silly question, but since Christmas is Jesus birthday, shouldn't we give that some thought.  I think we get the Christmas thing all wrong, which is why I've been heard to say, "I love Jesus; I'm just not wild about his birthday."   Jesus came to our world in abject poverty, so naturally we spend too much money getting each other gifts to celebrate that fact.  Something about that seems out of wack.

 For thoughts like that I've been accused of being like Ebenezer Scrooge, the Christmas curmudgeon from Charles Dickens' classic  "The Christmas Carol", but the truth is I do love Jesus; but I'm not fond of how we celebrate his birthday. The only one who should be receiving gifts at Christmas is Jesus because it's his birthday.  In our Kids' Klub program the children used to sing a song at Christmas.  "Happy Birthday Jesus"

Happy Birthday Jesus I'm so glad it's Christmas
All the tinsel and lights And the presents are nice
But the real gift is you!
Happy Birthday Jesus.  Jesus I love you

Happy Birthday Jesus I'm so glad it's Christmas
All the carols and bells Make the holiday swell
And it's all about you!
Happy Birthday Jesus. Jesus I love you

Christmas is Jesus' birthday, but how do we celebrate it, and more importantly, what are we going to give him for his birthday?  Micah 6:8 gives us some help answering that question.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  

And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

During this Advent season, we'll be "unpacking" those gifts that we want to give to Jesus.  They are not tangible gifts but gifts of the heart - which is exactly what he wants.