The question at the heart of today’s scripture lesson is one that I hope you’ll take seriously. Jesus is talking to his disciples in this passage. He knows he’s not going to be with them much longer. And he wants them to think seriously about the direction of their lives. Even though his ministry is popular now, he knows it won’t last. After his death, his disciples will be persecuted for spreading his message. They will be forced to make a choice: commit their lives to the work of the kingdom of God or go back to pursuing their own safe and comfortable interests. And so, he tells them a very strange parable, a story about a rich man who accuses his household manager of mismanaging his resources. The rich man calls this manager into his office and asks, “What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management because you cannot be my manager any longer.”

            Why do I think we should all take this summons seriously? Because Jesus wants all his disciples to consider this question in light of their own responsibility to God. What if this were the last day of your life? What if tonight God came to you and asked, “What is this I hear about you? Give an account of how you have managed this life I’ve given you.” How would you answer? Have you been a wise manager of this life God gifted you? 

Jesus is saying, first of all, that God is the master of our life and He created us for His own purpose. Our life is not our own. We belong to God. The second thing Jesus is trying to teach his disciples in this story is that what you desire most becomes your master. Got that? It’s so important. What you desire most becomes your master. Jesus showed us what this looked like in his own life. His greatest desire was to do the will of God. He had plenty of people around him questioning his ministry, questioning his character, questioning his priorities. But he never lost his focus on doing God’s will. He could say with both enthusiasm and conviction that no one can serve two Masters.

If we build our life around our own desires for happiness or security or respect, we will fail to fulfill the purpose God made us for. And the final lesson Jesus is trying to teach his disciples in this passage is this: The master you serve will shape the legacy you leave. If God is our Master, then our life will have an eternal impact. We will follow the example of Jesus as his Spirit grows in us.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

Where were you on September 11th, 2001: The Day the World Shrank? How did you feel? Not only do we recall the fear we felt and the grief we shared, but also our resolve as a country. More than twenty years later, we pay tribute to our God being a God of unity. He gives hope, heals, and restores the broken. May we never forget the compassion that grew in us all because of our God who turns disaster into deliverance. Many of us know where we were and what we were doing 21 years ago September 11, 2001. We remember how we felt because to some degree we have felt that way ever since, and this pandemic, divisiveness, riots, killings, natural disasters, and anniversaries such as this one reminds us that nothing is normal now. What should we do when pandemics and cataclysmic events strike?

I. HAVE FAITH - NOT FEAR 

II. PRAY - DON’T PANIC

III. BELIEVE GOD - DON’T BLAME HIM

IV. RESPOND - DON’T RUN

V. BE ASSURED – NOT ANGRY

Serving with joy,

This is the Labor Day Weekend. Labor Day is a strange holiday. While we call it "Labor Day,” we try to do as little labor as possible and most working people have the day off. Nobody has wished me a "Happy Labor Day". We didn’t get any Labor Day cards. We don’t decorate the house or give Labor Day gifts. The florists and greeting card manufacturers haven’t found a way to capitalize on it. It’s a bad weekend for a Church because everyone wants to travel.

Labor Day is different things to different people. To the factory or office worker, it may be a day off. For policemen, who deal with extra traffic and alcohol abuse, it’s a tough day. To farmers and ranchers, it’s just another day to feed the cattle and work in the fields. For preachers, it is an opportunity to talk about work. Work is a very important part of God’s will for people. This Sunday, I will to teach on the greatest work ever and it involves the best meal ever.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

Most of us never imagined we would be living in such a divided world. My grandfather fought and lived through the second world war, and he was convinced that our world would be drawn together in harmony, peace, and plenty. He was convinced that the sacrifices were so enormous that he seemed certain that we would never again permit our world to become so divided. But here we are, nations are increasingly hostile toward one another, communities are divided around issues of education, development, and the status quo. 

Folks, Religion is divided with each claiming to have a firm grip on the truth. Denominations and congregations are divided over doctrine and what constitutes faithful discipleship and mortal sin. And families are divided by competing agendas, rival priorities, and the daily pressure to survive and thrive in an increasingly competitive culture. We’re just plain exhausted, aren’t we? Those who seek to follow Jesus must be asking if this is the way Christians are to live?  Are we really measuring up to our calling as children of God?

Is there a better way for us to practice our faith? Will our children have faith? Are we the living answer to the prayer of Jesus, Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. John 17:11. Do we look at one another and see movement toward our oneness in Christ? Do others look at us and see God at work in our life together?  Is our way of living life-giving rather than life draining? Is our way of living one that will enhance the quality of life of each of us for as long as we live? If we live a life of faith, then the answer to all these questions will be yes!

Deep within, I believe all of us do want to live that faithful and fruitful life even though we have often turned away from God’s invitation to Holy living.

This Sunday we will hear some things that will help our children and us have faith.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

We have been spending some time in Luke’s Gospel the last few weeks. We have learned that popularity is not a measure of success in God’s eyes; obedience is. How do you measure popularity? These days most people measure popularity by social media followers and likes. But that’s not always an authentic measure. There are companies that will sell large blocks of fake followers to those who want to look more popular than they really are.

In the beginning of Luke 12, we read that Jesus’ popularity has become so great that he and his disciples were being followed by a crowd of “many thousands” of people. And he didn’t have to pay for any of them. The crowd was so boisterous that Jesus and his disciples were in danger of being trampled by them. How does it feel to be a rockstar? The disciples must have felt really good about their decision to follow Jesus, seeing as how his ministry was becoming so influential. Only Jesus understood that they were following him, not to a throne or a new political movement, but to his death on the cross, the death of an outcast. From popularity to shame and suffering and persecution. In a short time, that crowd of many thousands would be lining the streets of Jerusalem and loudly demanding Jesus’ death at the hands of the Roman government. 

So, Luke 12 is basically one long teaching on how to disengage from the world’s attractions, from its values, from its popularity contests. Jesus is trying to warn his disciples that they can’t count on the crowd’s approval for long. He knows he will be leaving them soon, and they will suffer greatly as they try to carry on his mission without him. They will pay a price for following him, so they’d better be prepared for it. But he can also see how the Holy Spirit, his Spirit living in them, will lead them to change the world.

Many leaders gauge the success of their ministry on its popularity, on the number of followers they have. Jesus gauged the success of his ministry on his obedience to God. And he warned us that obedience to God will make us unpopular with the world. In Luke 12, he’s teaching his disciples, “Don’t let your current circumstances blind you, or your current comforts bind you to this world. Saying ‘Yes’ to me means saying ‘No’ to this world and its comforts and priorities and value systems.”

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

God has called His children to a life of significance, a life of adventure, and He’s created good works for each of us to do. Jesus came to save us yes, but that’s just the beginning. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, God wants to use us to accomplish the greater things that Jesus spoke of in John 14:12. But these greater things are almost always outside our comfort zone, we have to trust God and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Like Peter, He’s calling you and I to step out of the boat of complacency and to courageously walk upon the water.

Are you ready to accomplish the greater things that God has created for you? 

I love y'all

doug

Have you ever stopped to notice the things that you worry about? If you were to make a list of the last three things you worried about, what would be on it? I ask this question because most of us live insulated lives. We have a place to live. We have enough food to eat. We are not in danger of starvation or homelessness or dying from a simple infection because we can’t afford antibiotics. We are insulated from the dangers of extreme poverty that afflict about 689 million people worldwide. That’s almost 10% of the world’s population just in case you were doing math in your head. 

The problems most of us complain about are a little less life-threatening. In fact, our problems are so minimal in comparison to the rest of the world that they have earned a strange nickname: First World problems. First World problems are inconveniences, not threats. They come from having too much of everything and not enough gratitude for anything. All of us are familiar with Third World problems: poverty, hunger, lack of adequate health care, etc.  But what about First World problems?

Our Scripture Lesson today is about a man who suffered from First World problems. And though we may not have the same problem as the man in this story, we may have the same mindset he did. And according to God, that is the biggest problem of all. So I hope you’ll open your mind as you hear our story from Luke 12:13-21.

Jesus is surrounded by a crowd of people, and someone in the crowd says to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Jesus is so wise here. He could have made money, or goats, or vineyards—whatever counted as half of this man’s inheritance—appear out of thin air. He could have easily solved this man’s problem. The man would have been thrilled. The crowd would have been impressed. But no one would have learned anything about God. And that is the greatest need any of us have in life. Jesus knows that. We need to remember that the next time we question why God doesn’t solve our temporary problems.

Jesus didn’t come to make our life better; he came to lead us from death to life. In the Book of John, chapter 17 verse 3, John writes, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Read through the first four books of the New Testament. When Jesus doesn’t give people what they want in life, it’s because he’s about to give them what they really need: a greater understanding of God, the Source of true Life.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

If you’ve ever hosted an event at your house—a Bible study, a Super Bowl party, a holiday meal, a book club meeting—you know that there are a hundred little details that need to be taken care of before the guests arrive. And one or two details could make the difference between a great event and a hosting nightmare. So it takes a certain spiritual gift and an inner fortitude to be a good host. Not everyone is cut out for this job.

Every time I read our scripture lesson for Sunday, I wonder how Martha had the energy and skill to host a large group of people on short notice. Our lesson for this morning begins, “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.” As she rushed around preparing, she noticed that Mary, her sister, wasn’t helping her. Where was she? She was sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to him teach. 

Verse 40 reads, “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” The Greek word used here for “distracted” literally means “to drag all around.” Have you ever experienced this? You feel like you are dragging around others’ demands on your time and energy. You are dragging around others’ expectations and standards. You are dragging around other people’s priorities. Of course, Martha was stressed out!

Stress comes from the sense that someone always needs something from you. Peace comes from the realization that you need something from God. The one thing we need, the only thing that can never be taken away from us, is our love for Jesus Christ. And this love will change everything about our lives. It will decide what gets us out of bed in the morning. What breaks our hearts. What amazes us with joy and gratitude. And that love comes from spending time at Jesus’ feet. So, I encourage you to lay aside your agenda and your distractions and spend time praying, meditating, worshiping Jesus every day. Fall in love with him, stay in love with him, and it will decide everything. 

Grace and Peace,

Stephen