Growing the Faith of the People
Feeling a little overwhelmed this week of Christmas? We want to make it easy for you to pick a time to slow down, remember the reason for the season, and pick a time of worship for you and your family.
Christmas Eve, choose from three services:
Christmas Day, one service:
10am
Enjoy this week of Advent!
| Often when Jesus was asked questions concerning heaven, the Kingdom of God, and other theological issues, he answered them with stories about a wounded stranger, a persistent door knocker, and a hungry drop-in guest.Ā Maybe it was because Jesus knew that much of a personās God-talk is nothing more than spiritual deflection.Ā How often do we jump headfirst into the things of God only to avoid the personal presence of God in the hurt and hungry people that cross our paths?Ā Shocking, more than we care to admit for we see what we want to see. Ā Perhaps Jesus knows our preoccupation with the things of glory is really a diversion from having to deal personally with families and friends in whom God is present.Ā As I write this, Iām reflectively praying, āLord, how many times am I guilty of deflection?āĀ Sad as it is to admit, more times than not.Ā Instead of vilifying and categorizing others with labels only to write them off, maybe the better action, the more spiritual behavior, is to see how God is working in those same people that are labeled.Ā Ā Ā What strikes me is the central heart disposition that it takes to begin the journey of following Jesus is the same disposition needed for every step taken on that journey.Ā It is and will always be, āItās me, itās me standing in the need of prayer.āĀ When this is my spiritual mantra, my vision is clear, and I can see Godās presence all over the placeāeven in those that are vilified.Ā Ā It is not by chance that the proclamation of the Messiahās birth was given to the meek and lowly:Ā Shepherds, a peasant girl and her fiancĆ©, and Magi nomads.Ā Many would have looked past those types of people never to notice their presence, yet it was in them that God did his work.Ā  Ā This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Luke 1 *Tuesday – Luke 2 *Wednesday – Luke 3 *Thursday – Luke 4 *Friday – Luke 5 Prayer Requests: *Families traveling this holiday season. *Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. *Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. *Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. *Guidance for those seeking to find their way. *Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC. |
| āDonāt worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.ā – Philippians 4:6 |
| Lately, Iāve been pondering this: āWe depersonalize people by stereotyping them. We depersonalize God by generalizing Him.ā First – Other People With the flick of a word, one can stereotype a person and from there, it is simple to not love them. This is very easy to do. In the span of one day, I heard many examples. Perhaps the most known label of Jesusā day was Samaritan. Once labeled, it is easy to ask the same question as the expert of the law asked of Jesus, āWho is my neighbor?ā (Luke 10). Obedience to Godās command to love our neighbor is easier when we exclude people from the command by dehumanizing them. It narrows the pool to only the ones we want to love. Yet, the Parable of the Good Samaritan re-humanizes people. In a sense it re-neighbors people and our neighbor becomes every person. Second – God If God is always a spiritual principle, an ethical or moral cause, or a mysterious feeling, then we fail to comprehend how He has revealed himself. In Jesus, we see God personallyāa living body that ate food, drank wine, spoke to people, and listened to people. Jesus was born into a family, had a childhood, got angry, wept, and lived and walked among people. The reason this is important is that we canāt become more like Jesus by divorcing our humanity. We donāt grow in grace by becoming less human. We arenāt more spiritual by being less human. It is in our humanity that God seeks to redeem. It is our humanity that God loves, and it was a human that God humbled himself to become in the person Christ Jesus. So, again, ponder with me: āWe depersonalize people by stereotyping them. We depersonalize God by generalizing Him.ā This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Revelation 18 *Tuesday – Revelation 19 *Wednesday – Revelation 20 *Thursday – Revelation 21 *Friday – Revelation 22 Prayer Requests: *Families traveling to and fro this holiday season. *Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. *Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. *Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. *Guidance for those seeking to find their way. *Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC. |
| āDonāt worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.ā – Philippians 4:6 |
Traditional Worship Service/Matthew 1:18-25
| Is there a such thing as a respectable sin? Ā Iāve wondered. Ā Obviously, in the strictest sense, the answer is a resounding āNO!ā However, hang with me as we explore the concept. Ā Some sins need no announcement for they shake the earth. For instance, adultery, theft, and murder are easy to spot, and by no means would anyone call them respectable. They rear their ugly in places that would never be a pew or at a church meeting. Ā But there is a sin that can show up often in the pew or in the middle of a worship service where Christians gather to praise God. Ā It is self-righteousness that can be a type of cancer to the heart for out of this one sin grows many others: Gossip, lying, lust, and envy. Ā Though we wouldnāt call them respectable, butĀ at least they happen in a respectable place, in the pew, under the radar of anyone to see. Ā They are eusebeigenic (Eugene Petersonās term stemming from the Greek eusebeia meaning āgodly reverenceā). Peterson formed this word while recovering from a staph infection where his doctor said he had an iatrogenic illness, a disease contracted while being healed of something else. Ā Spiritually, while being healed from something else, a person can develop a practice of something equally as destructive, self-righteousness. While reverencing God, we practice judgment, gossip, envy, and many other inward sins stemming from self-righteousness. This was the struggle of the older son in Luke 15. Ā He failed to realize he was a wandering sheep just like his younger brother. Ā Whenever we cross the line and fail to recognize our constant need for Godās grace, our sin of self-righteousness is eusebeigenic. Ā Thankfully, the remedy is simple in practice, difficult in heartāhumble oneself and allow Godās Spirit to show us our constant needs.Ā It is there that we will find that his grace continues to be sufficient. Ā This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Revelation 13 *Tuesday – Revelation 14 *Wednesday – Revelation 15 *Thursday – Revelation 16 *Friday – Revelation 17 Prayer Requests: *Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. *Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. *Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. *Guidance for those seeking to find their way. *Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC. |
| āDonāt worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.ā – Philippians 4:6 |
Traditional Worship Service/Matthew 2:1-12
