December 2013 - Pastor's Reflection

There is a song that played on the radio about a man with a message on his home phone that had been there for many years. The message was for his rebellious daughter in case she called home when he wasn’t there.

The words said something to the effect “whatever you have done, wherever you have been, I love you and want you to come home.” He hadn’t talked to her in many years but the song said when she called she heard the message that she needed to hear.

Remembering the message of the song lyrics mentioned above, I can’t help but think that God has that message on his answering machine for all of us all of the time. I think that’s what Jesus came to tell us with his birth and through his life and message. The prodigal son story says that clearly. When I reflect on what it means to be made in the image of God, I think it means that we can love people the way God does, we don’t do that all the time, but we have the capacity to do so when we are at our best; when we are most in touch with God. The lyrics of that song display the capacity we have to love as God does.

During the holiday season we all think about gathering with friends, coming home to loved ones, or remembering those times when we did. But let us be attentive to not miss the call of the gospel, the message from God, the reason for the season. We are welcome to return home all the time, no matter what we have done and no matter where we have been. God loves you, and even me.

May your Christmas be blessed,
Rev. Pat

November 2013 - Pastor's Reflection

Donuts and Donut Holes        

Years ago I stumbled on a series of parables written by William Barton. As a pastor, Barton wrote extensively from the late 1800s through the early 1900s. He died in 1930.

He wrote one column from the point of view of his alter-ego, Safed the Sage (SAY-Fed) and his wife, Keturah. Although the parables are written in the King's English, they have much to share in this modern world. One article especially spoke to me this season.

In this particular one, Safed was watching Keturah make doughnuts. Keturah mixed the dough, rolled it flat, cut out round shapes and then removed the holes. After frying the doughnuts in hot oil on both sides, she gave one to her observing husband. The donut tasted so good that it prompted Safed to question what could be the advantage of having a hole. If the donut is good without the hole, how much better it would be if the entire donut, hole included, were dough! Keturah explains to him that without the hole, the donut would require an extended bath in the hot cooking oil. This process would make the outside rock hard while the center would remain uncooked. Safed then applied this idea to life.

Rather than simply give thanks for all the good things in our lives, we often worry about the missing holes in our lives. The donut hole reminds us of the difficult and painful gaps in our lives. We may be thoroughly blessed, but seeing someone else with more, we wonder what we are missing.

As I reflected on that parable I was reminded that my job will often require me to be concerned with the holes in the ministry. Which visitor or new believer is slipping through the cracks? What small group is needed to help disciple those not connected in Sunday School? What programs are working for those who attend regularly and what programs do we need to create to reach those who have stopped attending? How should we reach out to those in our community without a place of spiritual rest? If I only focus on the holes, my life would be that of a spiritual fireman, putting out one fire after another.

What I have realized, is that my main job is to stay close to the Lord. My strength, my hope, my vision, and my ability to love all come from God. My job as a pastor, shepherd, and spiritual leader is to help open the eyes of those people God allows me to encounter to the beauty of Jesus Christ by pointing them to the many blessings around each of us every day. My life - personal, pastoral, church, and spiritual - are filled with holes. There are always problems to address and something else to do. But, there is so much good happening around me - if only I will take the time to see it.

The Psalmist probably wasn't thinking about doughnuts when he wrote, "O taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8), but the comparison works. One way we stay close to the Lord is to "give thanks in all circumstances." Let us enjoy what we have rather than mourn what is absent from our lives. As we prepare for this season, let us reflect on the good that is present in our lives and give thanks.

In His love,
Rev. Pat

October 2013 - Pastor's Reflection

The Parable of The Fisherman And The Banker

             A Banker was taking a much-needed vacation in a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. The boat had several large, fresh fish in it.

            The Banker was impressed by the quality of the fish and asked the Fisherman how long it took to catch them. The Fisherman replied, “Only a little while.” The Banker then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish?

            The Fisherman replied he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs and to share with another. The Businessman then asked “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

            The Fisherman replied, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, spend time with my wife, serve people who are needy, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends: I have a full and busy life, sir.”

            The Banker scoffed, “I am an Ivy League MBA, and I could help you. You could spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats until eventually you would have a whole fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to the middleman you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You could control the product, processing and distribution.”

            Then he added, “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to The City where you would run your growing enterprise.”

            The Fisherman asked, “But sir, how long will this all take?”

            To which the Businessman replied, “15-20 years.”

            “But what then,” asked the Fisherman?

The Businessman laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You could make millions!”

            “Millions, sir?   Then what?”

            To which the Banker replied, “Then you would retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, spend time with your wife, serve people who are needy, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends.”

            

I love this simple parable. It brings clarity to what life is all about… and definitely not about. It brilliantly illustrates the illusions we so easily fall into when pursuing wealth and the riches of the world. It is far too easy to build incessantly and forget that the purpose of life is about our relationships and service to others. It is equally easy to forget about all the goodness we are surrounded by today. The truth is it doesn't take a lot of money to have a truly wealthy life, but it does take freedom. Remember, we are freed from the burdens and expectations of this world through the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

So here are some questions for each of us to ponder …

* What do we really need to be happy and fulfilled?

* What is the price you are willing to pay for simplicity? Complexity?

* If you died tomorrow what unfulfilled dreams would you regret having never lived?

* What is keeping you from living those dreams today?

Be a blessing, as you have been blessed -

Rev. Pat

September 2013 - Pastor's Reflection

They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'" - Exodus 32:8 

In April during our daily Bible reading we spent a week focusing on worship. Our readings encouraged us to worship with gladness, to put aside inhibitions and to be joyful. We were also reminded that when we come to The Lord in truth, God meets us wherever we are and inspires us to worship. The week ended with a reading from the book of Leviticus. 

As one of the books of Law in the Bible, a lot of folks do not find it to be as “inspiring” as some of the other books we find in the Bible, but there is much we can learn from studying it. In the first seven chapters of Leviticus we read how God defines worship. Many of the rituals we read of in the time of Leviticus seem really strange to us today but lead us to the heart of what God wants from us in our worship. The rituals that were laid out for the people reminded the Israelites of just how much God had given them and allowed a means for them to remember, to celebrate and to teach their children what God had done. God took special care to help his people be holy and taught the people that what he simply required for worship was an offering of one’s very best. Although God took steps for us to be made right with him after our sin, we need to do our part to be in covenant with God. 

Our worship, when done the way God desires, allows us to put our focus on God and to give him our best - through our prayers, our presence in worship, our money, our sacrificial gifts, our service to others, and our witness to the community. Not simply our leftovers of our time, financial resources, or our energy. Worship allows us to remember whose we are and what he sacrificed to make a way for us to be made right with him. Let us prayerfully evaluate if we are living out our end of the covenant - are we giving OUR best, or are we giving from our leftovers? 

The Psalmist asked the question, "What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me?" Then the Psalmist answered his own question, "I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord and I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people in the courts of the house of the Lord in your midst O Jerusalem." (Psalm 116:12-13) 

That is how GOD defines worship. 

Let us ask ourselves, what is my worship costing me? What am I willing to sacrifice so that I may worship in the house of The Lord? And am I willing to give my life to him as a living sacrifice?

May God help us to examine our worship. 
~ Rev.Pat

August 2013 - Pastor's Reflection

Why Does Worship Matter?

When people were asked to answer the question “Why does worship matter?” on a recent blog I read, the blogger received some great answers. Here are several of the responses that I particularly found interesting.

Ryan J. said: “Worship matters because it is the inescapable activity of all people everywhere regardless of whether they are a Christian or even “religious.” All people have some sort of “god” that they orient their life around, making sacrifices for the sake of that god’s glory. In our culture, people sacrifice for everything from their stomachs to their favorite sports teams worshiping them as their functional gods. Worship matters because it is obvious that though we do not need help learning how to worship, we desperately need to understand how to worship rightly.”                                                 

Daniel B. turned his focus to God’s uniqueness: “Worship matters because God matters – a simple, yet infinite reason for true worship. Only God can declare that He is perfectly holy, uniquely different from all His creation. He alone fashioned our universe ex nihilo. He alone sustains all around us – all existing because He spoke. Yet even in His holiness, He loves us who are rebels, bent against Him and naturally exalting ourselves. He proved His love through the bloody sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, who received God’s wrath against us and reconciled us to our Creator God forever. Worship matters because God infinitely matters in this universe.”                                                                                                                         

My personal favorite is from Naomi T.: 

“Worship matters. It’s an obedience issue. Just read Psalms. Worship matters. It’s an eternity issue. Just read Revelation. This life will pass away. Possessions will rust. Fame will fade. But love remains. And a believer’s love for God compels him to worship. Not just in this life, but the ages to come. Worship matters. Forever.”  

I like that – simple, to the point.  

Finally, the most unique reply I've ever read was offered by Geoff Y.: 

“Putting the toilet seat down. Flowers on your anniversary. Saying and living “I do.” Toiling week in, week out, to provide. A poem on her birthday. All ways of declaring, with our lives, who matters. Worship should matter to us as much as God does: it is our most basic response to his status, sovereignty and salvation, whether in simple obedience or exuberant song. True worship declares to God our grateful estimation of him, to the world our humble sincerity, to our hearts what is of ultimate value. Worship matters because God does.” 

I guess that when we think about why worship matters it’s really simple in a perfect sort of way. Worship matters because God is God. (And we’re not!)

Hope to see you in worship soon!

Rev. Pat                                                                               

July 2013 - Pastor's Reflection

The following devotion came from the weekly M.U.S.T. e-news and was shared with me through another United Methodist pastor. I found it inspirational and want to share it with the whole congregation of Mt. Nebo UMC in the hope that you will find it as inspiring as I do!

            "It seems every week I see a TV commercial that, in bold type and loud voice, urges me to “Dare to compare!!!” their prices to those of their competitors. It reminds me of another “dare to compare”, a kind of spiritual self-check that I sometimes apply to myself.

           “We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

           “…Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39

             So, we are called to love, but how do we do that?

            “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

            

            So how do your interactions with others compare with the above passage? If any of them perhaps fall a little short of that example, I have good news- God is a God of second chances! You get another chance every day."

            Carefully consider the witness you present to others because the perception people may make of Christ may be based upon it. It is important that I remind myself every day that “it’s not about me" but it is about the One who created me. 

May the me they see be Christ in me,

Rev. Pat

June 2013 - Pastor's Reflection

When I grow up I want to be like ... (you fill in the blank). 

For me, there are several people whose names I would want to include in that blank space. Not for every quality they possess, but because of particular qualities they have shared with me.

The first name I would put in that (blank) space is Kim. During 32 years of marriage he has been an example of real love towards me, our children, other family members, friends, strangers, and others I've never even met. I hope one day to be able to love as generously as he has.

The next name I would put in that blank is my friend Buffie. This lady drips joy from her very pores! She has had her share of life's ups-and-downs, but is always encouraging, loving, supportive and full of joy when I am in her presence. And that joy is authentic.

Another name I would put in my (blank) space is my friend Mickey. Everyone who knows this guy will tell you that if Mickey had too much more of the peaceful, easy-feeling attitude, you would have to check his pulse! His smile is genuine and his attitude is contagious.

There are other names I would put in that (blank) space. People who have been examples of patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Some of those names are of people from my past who have moved on to glory long ago. Other names are people who I have had brief opportunities to interact with but who have shared a part of themselves that left me forever changed. And there are the names of some people who I come into contact with on a weekly basis and encourage me to keep on growing. What each of these folks have in common is a love for God and a deep desire to show that love to people, ALL people - even me.

My challenge, and yours, is to continue to grow up - in our love for God and for his people so that others will look at us and say, "When I grow up, I want to be like" ... (write YOUR name in the blank).
In Christ, 

Rev. Pat

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23

May 2013 - Pastor's Reflection

“What is Your # 1 Priority?”              

Romans 10: 8-15

            Summer is quickly approaching and for many of us it is a time where we slow our hectic pace and take time to “catch our breath”.  It’s also a good time to reflect and look at our priorities for the remaining half of the year. 

Remembering what we have experienced of the love Jesus has for us through His sacrificial death and the glory of Easter, we are able to see what God’s number one priority is: His love for us.

John Wesley, the 18th century Anglican priest who founded the Methodist movement, was putting Thomas Coke, known as the Father Methodist Missions, on a ship to his new assignment. Mr. Wesley was sending Coke to give leadership to a rapidly growing church in the new world, which we now know as the United Methodist Church. Tradition tells us that Mr. Wesley gave Mr. Coke only three words of advice, "Offer them Christ." Years later, Mother Teresa shared a comparable statement with a reporter while trying to sum up her life’s work by telling him, “I give them Jesus.”

In Romans 10:15 Paul is telling the disciples that for them there is no greater priority than for them to share their faith with others. The power of the 15th verse is most moving where Paul proclaims, “How beautiful are the feet of those who come to share the good news of Jesus Christ.”

John Wesley’s advice, Mother Teresa’s statement and the advice of Paul are still relevant to the church and to each of Jesus’ disciples in this day. It is true that there is no higher priority for our lives than to offer Christ to the world.

We should make His #1 priority our #1 priority. We should love others so much that we will give them Jesus and help lead them into a life of discipleship.

Shalom,

Rev. Pat

April 2013 - Pastor's Reflection

A Parable of Two Servants

There once was a man who had two indentured servants. One day a disagreement arose between them as to who was the greatest in the eyes of their master. So they went to the master of the house and asked him, "My lord, which of us is greater?" 
The master of the house replied, "I will let you discover that for yourself. I will ask each of you a question and you must answer truthfully." So the servants stood before him and he started to question them.
 To the first servant, he asked, "What do you do for me?" "Sir, I work in the fields all day long to grow wheat for my lord's granary", the first servant replied. "Then, at night, I go through the house and fill all the lamps so that my lord will have light. For this you pay me a wage, but I hope that one day that I may earn my freedom."
 The master nodded his head. He turned to the second indentured servant and asked, "And what do you do for me?" "Sir", he replied, "I am an educated man. I am well-versed in literature, music, mathematics and science. I teach your children all that I know so that one day they may leave your house and make a success in the world. And when they do, I hope that you will grant me my freedom. In the meantime, you give me a wage for what I do."
Again, the master nodded. Then he turned to a lowly slave who was standing nearby, and asked, "And what do you do for me?" "You know that I love you, my lord, and my only wish is to do whatever you ask", the slave answered without hesitation. "You bought me and I know that I will be a slave for life, therefore I earn no wage. But you are kind and merciful to me, and do not beat me as other masters beat their slaves. You are wise and just and kind and that is why I love you."
 The master of the house smiled. "Then you are the greatest of all my servants and I will make you a free man."
 When they heard this, the two servants were aghast. "Why him?" they cried. "We do much more work than he does. He waits around for you to give him an order, but we labor in your fields without orders, teach your children, and light your lamps. We work unceasingly and should be rewarded." "Yes", the master of the house replied. "You do work in my fields, and do all the other things that you said. But this man wants only to serve me, not himself. He waits patiently until I tell him what I want him to do. His faithfulness has never failed him. He now has his reward -- his freedom. And I will place him as overseer, and you will be his servants. Because of his faithful service to me -- though he was once a lowly slave -- he is truly the greater." – Author Unknown

Have you figured out which of the servants you are most like? Sometimes we are like the first servant. We use our hands, our feet, and our backs to earn our way in this world. At other times we are like the second servant. We try to think and reason our way through the problems of the world. But the thought of being a mere slave is frightening to most of us. Yet here we see the freedom of being a slave.  Maybe what we should truly fear is who or what, we are the slave to.

In Christ,

Rev. Pat

"Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free." - Ephesians 6:6-8 (NIV)

March 2013 - Pastor's Reflection

Preparing for Easter

Lent is a time to prepare for Easter. It is a necessary prelude. The death and resurrection of Christ are true whether or not we prepare for Easter. However, without our heart and lives being ready, we may not experience the depth and power of Christ's death and resurrection.

So let’s join with each other to commit ourselves to disciplines for conversion from sin and death to love and life in Jesus Christ.   With the aid of the list below, try to make the following commitments to discipline and growth for the remaining weeks of Lent:

Inward and Personal Disciplines:

___ Spend time in solitude each day

___ Read a book for inner growth. (See Rev. Pat if you need suggestions)

___ Read twice through the gospel of Luke (from the 2013 lectionary cycle).

___ Begin to keep a journal of prayer concerns, questions, reading.

___ Focus on thanksgiving, rather than on asking, in prayer.

___ Find a way to go to bed earlier or sleep in so I get enough rest.

___ Make a list of people with whom I need to be reconciled. Pray for them and let Jesus guide me in my thinking and feeling toward them.

___ Take control of my life by ______________                                                                                  

___ Go to all of the Holy Week services as an act of love and waiting with Jesus (see dates and times on calendar).

___ Take one hour to inventory my priorities and plan how I will reorder them.

___ Give up a grudge or a rehearsal of a past event.

___ Forgive someone who has hurt me.

___ Other promptings

Outward and Social Disciplines:

___ Recommit to the membership vows of the church by faithfully participating “in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service”.

___ Decide to become a member of the church and speak to a pastor or lay leader

___ Take on some loving task:

___ Plan to visit a "shut-in" neighbor or church member weekly

___ Write a letter of affirmation once a week to a person who has touched my life.

___ Listen and respond to Christ's call to a ministry of service

___ Go to coffee, lunch or dinner with someone I want to know better

___ Begin to recycle waste from my home and workplace.

___ Give blood and remember the cross.

___ Say "NO" to something that is a waste of my money and my time

___ Pray to God to help me resist racial prejudice and to give me courage in opposing it

___ Rebuke the spirit of criticism and my own tongue out of control.

___ Find a way to live out the baptismal promise to "resist evil, injustice, and oppression" in the power and liberty God gives us by ___________________

___ Other outward and social promptings:

As a way of being accountable, I will:

___ Share my plan with at least one other person and share with that person my experience of Lent during Holy Week.

These are just a few of the many ways we can see the example of Christ’s sacrifice made for us.  May we each experience the depth and power of Christ's resurrection this Easter.                    

Shalom,   Rev. Pat

February 2013 - Pastor's Reflection

Defining Worship

based on Leviticus 1:1-9

Do you remember getting your driver’s license? I remember thinking that if they would just let me behind the wheel – I knew what to do! Instead, I had to take a book home, study it, and learn all of the laws well enough to pass a test before I was even allowed to sit in the driver’s seat with the keys to the car! Although I resented that time of preparation for myself, I appreciated the instruction when the time came for my children to get their driving permits.

The book of Leviticus is one of the books of Law in the Bible, and although it may not be as “inspiring” as many of the other books, I think it has much to teach us today. It begins with the Lord calling Moses into the tent of meeting to give him important instructions on how the people were to conduct their worship. In the first seven chapters of Leviticus God defined worship and told the people what he required from them in worship. God simply required offering one’s very best.

But further reading shows us that God gave specific instructions on how to make sacrifices. Why? The primary purpose that God summoned Moses and told him to tell the people his words is seen in v11:44 "For I am the LORD your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy for I am holy…For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy."

God has taken extraordinary care to help his people be holy. Then Sin happened. And although God took steps for people to be made right with him, we need to do our part. Worship first requires that we offer our very best to God. God makes it clear that the offering they brought to the temple was first from their own personal property and then secondly it had to be without blemish! Worship needs to cost us something both then and now!