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!

November 2012 - Pastor's Reflection

Have you noticed the many visitors we have had in worship lately? It seems that every week we have people coming in to check out the worship of God that is happening inside and out of Mt. Nebo. It is wonderful that many of these visitors are coming on their own with no personal invitation, but I wonder if we can do a better job of inviting and receiving people into the church if we actually make a point of inviting a friend, acquaintance or neighbor to church.

Statistically it is a fact that only 10% of Christians have the “spiritual gift” of evangelism. It’s also a fact that only 5% of Christians ever lead someone to Christ. And yet, it is the responsibility of every Christian to lead others to Christ, and part of that responsibility is inviting people to Church. Inviting someone to church isn’t difficult, but it may be helpful to have a simple “plan” so you feel more confident in your encounters. And a plan will help increase your effectiveness. Here is an example of a simple plan anyone can use and follow:
A-    Always look for opportunities to invite others
B-    Be ready to seize the opportunity when it arises
C-    Communicate in such a way that says you care
D-    Don’t be pushy; there may be future opportunities.

The next question I have is, if you aren’t inviting people to church, why not? Are you scared? If you are then I encourage you to find ways to make it less scary. You can invite a friend to one of the many special events we have at the church instead of Sunday morning. Are you embarrassed of the church, if so, why? Is this a problem you need to deal with or do you really feel that the church is that bad? If you do feel this way, will you please come talk to me so we can work together to help the church become less uncomfortable? Maybe you just don’t think of inviting people. If you don’t, then start being intentional about it and begin thinking of specific people you can start inviting.

This leads me to asking one more question: What can the church do to make it easier for you to invite people? We have handy invite cards with worship times, directions and other relevant information available for everyone to share. We've created a Facebook page, a website and a Twitter account for you to share with potential visitors. These tools can give someone an introduction to the church so they can get an idea of what our church is about. We have new events and regular programs in place each week. What ideas do you have to make it easier for you to invite someone to church?

Tell me your thoughts and ideas. Let us find ways that we can make disciples for Jesus Christ – together.
In Christ,
Rev. Pat

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I've commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” ` Matthew 28:19-20 (CEB)

October 2012 - Pastor's Reflection

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what worship is for the community of believers here at Mt. Nebo and especially what worship is for me. Worship is defined by Webster’s dictionary as "reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power"; also "an act of expressing such  reverence; a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual; extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem <worship of the dollar>. Others have tried to define it as “love,” or “intimacy,” or “relationship”. All of these may seem to say something true, but seem to end up leaving out more than they contribute to a complete understanding of what worship really is. Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) once said “Every definition is dangerous.” That may explain why when we try to define worship in simple and specific terms we may end up missing significant aspects of what we actually want to define.

Through the years I’ve have read a number of definitions of “worship” that have caused me to start thinking about worship from a more biblical point of view. Here are a few for you to ponder:

• “Worship is the believer’s response of all that they are – mind, emotions, will, body – to what God is               and says and does. (Warren Wiersbe, Real Worship, p. 26
• Worship is “acknowledging that someone or something else is greater – worth more – and by consequence, to be obeyed, feared, and adored…Worship is the sign that in giving myself completely to someone or something, I want to be mastered by it.” (Harold Best, Music through the Eyes of Faith, pg. 143)
• “Worship of the living and true God is essentially an engagement with him on the terms that he proposes and in the way that he alone makes possible. (David Peterson, Engaging with God, pg. 20)
• True worship is “reverential human acts of submission and homage before the divine Sovereign, in response to his gracious revelation of himself, and in accordance with his will.” (from Dr. Dan Block’s For the Glory of God. course notes) 
• "Worship is the gift of participating by the power of the Spirit in the incarnate Son's communion with the Father." ~ James Torrance 
• WORSHIP is: Our response both personal and corporate to GOD- for who HE is! and for what HE has done!   Expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live. -Louie Giglio, 
• “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by His holiness;the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of the imagination by His beauty;the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose - and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable, and therefore the chief remedy of that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin.” (William Temple, 1881 – 1944)

Let us take time to consider how WE define worship and then let us express that whenever we gather together. Shalom, Rev. Pat

September 2012 - Pastor's Reflection

“But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best.” (1 Corinthians 12: 18, Common English Bible)

It is the beginning of a new year for many in our community. School has started back and the demands of activities, work and family commitments are seen in the lives of those around us. Even those of us who no longer have school – age children are affected by this annual cycle with traffic changes and the necessary adjustment to our routines. In the church we also have a new year that will begin shortly and it has the possibility of affecting not only our lives, but the lives of others in our community.

Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth made me think of some of the changes that we will engage in this year. Next month we will start by having our annual Charge Conference and electing new church leadership. In Corinth, the people were arguing among themselves trying to decide who had the more “important” position in the church. Today, people still compete for what they believe may be the more prominent position, but we are called to affirm all people to use their gifts to benefit others and the world. We need to see others with spiritual eyes and help them develop their gifts. Those gifts, when used wisely, can transform the world and help make disciples for Christ.

A lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across the lion's nose. Woken from his nap, the lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.

"Spare me!" begged the poor mouse. "Please let me go and some day I will surely repay you."

The lion was so amused at the idea of the little mouse being able to help the King of Beasts, that he lifted up his paw and let her go.

Some weeks later, the lion was caught in a net. The hunters, who desired to carry the lion alive to their King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him.

Just then the little mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the lion's sad plight, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes of the net, freeing the lion.

"You have helped me and now I have returned the favor. Was I not right - even a mouse can help a lion!” said the little mouse.

Even the weakest and smallest among us have gifts we can use to serve others. 

As a Christian, you weren’t made to compete with others. You weren’t born to advance your own agenda. You weren’t created to be served, but to be a servant to others. You were born to make a difference.

In Christ’s service,

Rev. Pat

August 2012 - Pastor's Reflection

It seems that fall is quickly coming upon us as we prepare to send kids back to school in just days! Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was sitting on my porch watching the Dogwood trees blooming? Today I still feel the heat of summer but know that soon we will be hearing the sounds of football games being played on Friday nights.

I’ve also noticed the frequency of new faces and the return of some familiar faces to our worship times. I am blessed to have a few moments to connect with most people in attendance on Sunday, but have lost track of some of our visitors and members. Have you noticed that happening to you also?

These circumstances led me to think about the makeup of people who visit the church. There seem to be five kinds:

1) Persons seeking surrogate family. These people are separated from their families of origin by work, school, or military life. They may even be at odds with or divorced from their family of origin. They want someplace that makes them feel welcome. They want someplace to belong.

2) Persons seeking an alternative to the anonymity of the work place and general community. When it comes to worship and spiritual growth, these people want a setting where they know and are known by name. They want someplace to belong.

3) Persons weary of self-absorption and in search of a community story into which they can jump. These seekers are looking for a story bigger than themselves but still small enough that they might contribute to the larger story. They want someplace to belong.

4) Persons who have a score to settle with God but want to settle it in a safe environment. They are looking to God to make sense of the sudden death of a child, a spouse, or best friend. They regret the setbacks of their lives and seek to find God’s presence for their lives. They want someplace to belong.

5) Persons who are looking for a place to give back for the blessings they have received. Life has been good to them and they have reached a fork in the road. Will this person hold on tightly to what God has given to them or will they seek to make a difference in the lives of those around them? They want someplace to belong.

     Do you see yourself in any of these descriptions? I certainly see myself and am so grateful to the people who surrounded me with God’s love and allowed me to grow with them. Now the question becomes, how will the church respond to the new visitor? Will there be room at the table? Will we invite, nurture and help all people seeking a relationship with God to grow with us? Or will we seek to remain comfortable and complacent?

     I believe all persons have a place at Christ’s table and I have personally witnessed the love and fellowship of the church at Mt. Nebo UMC. I look forward to welcoming others to the family! So, let’s all pull up a chair and grow together!

In Christ’s service, 

Rev. Pat