spirituality – Plattsville Church

Science, Relationships, and Spirituality

Well on Sunday we are launching a new little two-week series called: Science, Relationships, and Spirituality.

What we are going to be looking at are some of the surprising connections between current science, the relationships you have, and the ancient wisdom of the Bible. We will be looking at the neurology of anger, and the brain. We’ll be looking at social psychology and how negativity lingers in relationships, and how you can overcome it. We’ll be looking at all sorts of cool little connections.

So I hope you can join us to learn a little about our world, a lot about relationships, and most of all, what the Bible says on how to improve them.

Theological Musings

God Does Not Compartmentalize Our Lives, Why do We?

I’ve been reading a lot of Eugene Peterson lately. I find so much of his thinking fresh and convicting all at once. He writes this simple but incredibly challenging sentence:

God does not compartmentalize our lives into religious and secular. Why do we?

That’s challenging. God looks at the totality of our lives. He looks at how we live on Sundays, and the rest of the week. But this question isn’t just to be taken from consistency perspective – meaning that our Sunday lives live up to the rest of our lives. It should also be embraced from the sacred perspective. That what you do on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday is just as sacred and holy as what you do on Sunday. There is no separation of sacred and secular, religious and not-religious.

So that means that how you live and work during the week is just as important as on Sundays. This is enlivening. Because on Monday you could be a person of justice, on Tuesday an example of the Kingdom, on Wednesday a picture of Jesus, on Thursday a catalyst for forgiveness, on Friday a model of love, and on Saturday a gift of grace. The point is that the totality of our lives matter, so there isn’t any wasted days.

So the question I think is this: are we living in light of this?

And if God does not compartmentalize our lives into religious and secular, why do we?

Personal Musings, Theological Musings

“Daddy I’m Not Special Because You Love Me”

A few days ago I was talking with my three-year old. And sometimes I think three-year olds should be in charge because in their simplicity and understanding they are brilliant. But, of course, if they were in charge we’d probably have to watch more Dora than we’d want to but that’s a side point.

As I was talking with Hudson I told him he is so special and loved by mommy and daddy. And he got mad. Down right angry. And he told me, “No daddy I’m not special because you love me”. And I started to get a little frustrated that it kind of felt like he was rejecting a bit of my care and love for him. So I told him, “No you are special because daddy and mommy love you and will always love you no matter what.” And he said again “No daddy I’m not special beause you love me” And he started stomping his feet.

Just as I was feeling a little inwardly unsure about what to do, Hudson said this. “Daddy I’m special because God loves me, mommy told me that. God loves me, made me, so I’m special”.

See three year olds can be brilliant – right?

And Hudson is right. That is the foundation for why we are all special, unique, and valued. And I pray to God that he will never ever forget that foundation. I pray that he holds onto that truth for every day of his entire life. I pray that he will never seek to find his validation in love from anyone else, from anything else, or from any other substitute. I pray that he will know he is special, matters, and has value because God loves him.

If you think about how might our lives be different if we would have just held onto that truth?

How might decisions in high school have been different, if we knew with such conviction, like Hudson, that we matter because of God? How might our decisions in our marriage, in our jobs, and in our families be different if we were so secure in God’s love for us?

So on that day Hudson taught me something important. He is special because God loves him, and so am I, and so are you.

Sermon Reflections

Beatitudes, Blessing, and The Best Sermon Ever

On Sunday we looked at the most beautiful sermon ever given…and of course it was given by Jesus. We looked at the Beatitudes found in Matthew. These are beautiful promises, pronouncements, and announcements that blessing is being given by God. That in God’s Kingdom blessing flows. The beautiful thing about the Beatitudes are that they aren’t extra to-dos. The Beatitudes aren’t telling us what more we need to do to be blessed. The Beatitudes are telling us that God is about blessing, and he is giving it free of charge. Are you poor in spirit – burn out and broken? Blessing is for you. Are you mourning – experiencing loss and hurt? Blessing is for you. Are you trying to show mercy in chaos? Blessing is for you. This is the radical nature of the Beatitudes and of our God. That he gives blessing regardless of whether we deserve it, can earn it, or even appreciate it. God is about blessing and life.

And so on Sunday we really tried to rest in this reality. To help to do this we read and listened to the Beatitudes. We simply sat and asked God to speak to us through his promises in the Beatitudes. To help with this I read a targum (an expanded and interpretation added version) of Matthew 5:3-10. I simply invited the church to ask God to speak to them through it. And I’m going to invite you to do the same. Why not sit, read, and ask God to speak to you through it. And of course, my hope is that you might experience some of the blessing God wants to give.

God blesses those who realize their need for him, Because with less of you there is more room for God. When you’re are at the end of your rope, and your strength is failing, that’s when he shows up in a furious torrent of love and strength. When you’re lost and wandering in the desert, His love will chase and capture your heart leading you to his rest, presence, and purpose

God blesses those who mourn, who weep, who have lost, and feel broken. He will not let you break, he will not let your heart run empty of hope. When your heart is broken, healing is on the way – hope on the horizon. When your spirit is lost and low, God sends his Holy Spirit that mends the tears and wipes away the tears.

God blesses those who are gentle and lowly. When you’re simply content with just who you are – no more, no less, the world belongs to you – because you belong to God. Those who place trust in God – and not others, will know great peace and victory over all things, and all evil.

God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for Justice. Who see the world as God sees it. For you will know righteous living flowing from you like a river, changing the tide of history. When you desire justice – You will be filled. When righteousness is your hunger, God will fill your soul – and loose the Spirit in your life.

God blesses those who are merciful because mercy will be abundantly theirs. When kindness becomes a habit, God’s presence becomes a never-ending reality. When you find yourself full of caring, you will find yourself cared for by the lover of your soul.

God blesses those who have a pure heart, for they will see God. For those who know Jesus, God’s presence is never far away but always right before your eyes ready to be seen.

God blesses those who work for peace, who stand up for reconciliation in the midst of chaos. You are invited into God’s family. Your peace and grace-filled actions mark you as God’s and God’s alone – You are his firstborn.

God blesses those who are persecuted, because the kingdom is yours – here today. When you are slandered, taken to town, and thrown to the dogs because of your love of Jesus, know that you do not stand alone – Jesus stands with you and stands up for you. When you are hurt -and you respond in grace, then the kingdom is fully alive in your life – bursting out sending light to dark places.

Sermon Preview, Theological Musings

Best Sermon Ever Given

On Sunday you will be hearing the best, most moving, and most beautiful sermon ever given.

I hope you’re excited, and I hope you also know me well enough to get that clearly it won’t be coming from me.

Instead I want to read and focus on the most beautiful sermon ever given, and of course, it was given by Jesus Christ. On Sunday we are going to be exploring and going deep into the beatitudes found in Matthew 5. We are going to not only explore Jesus’ teaching, but actually experience Jesus’ teaching.

So before we get there why not simply spend sometime with the best sermon ever given. Why not read over the Beatitudes found in Mathtew 5 a few times, and simply let Jesus speak through it to you. And come Sunday, that’s what we’re going to do too.

Matthew 5:3-10

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,  for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Personal Musings, Theological Musings

Asher in The Dishwasher and its Spiritual Ties

My little boy is scary fast. I mean this in all honesty; you’d think with such short legs it would take him forever to get anywhere…but no. In a few seconds of your back turned he can be up the stairs and into the bathroom. In essence, he ends up in all sorts of situations so quickly. Twice in the past week my oldest son, Hudson, who is three, has yelled, “Daddy come see something crazy, look where Asher is”.

And I’ve discovered him in these two places: the dishwasher, and our Tupperware drawer. I, of course, took pictures.

But it’s amazing with a little lapsed focus, where this little man can get to. In almost no time he’s into something that might not be healthy or good. You really have to keep an eye on him. And that’s not a bad thing, it’s just a real life thing.

And I know this might be a bit of a stretch but I think it’s same with our spiritual lives. I think that if we don’t spend regular time in reflection and paying attention to our spiritual lives, they can end up in places we wouldn’t have dreamed so quickly. Things can be going well, but we aren’t paying attention, we aren’t reflecting and focusing, and all of a sudden we end up in a dishwasher, stuck in a drawer, or worse, stuck in a moral failure, a moment of weakness, a mistake that takes years to rebuild.

The point is that we don’t often go from making good decisions to really really bad ones. We often, instead, go from making good decisions to forgetting to think about decisions, to bring God into our choices, to reflect on how God has or hasn’t been active in our lives.

The main point is this: when we forget to pay attention to what’s important, it’s only a matter of time before trouble comes. This is the same thing with my son, but it’s also the same thing with my relationship with God, my wife, and my character. When I stop paying attention to Jesus, my wife, or my character, it’s only a matter of time before something slides and trouble comes.

So my challenge to you today is this: pay attention to what matters. Spend time reflecting on your relationship with God this week. Ask yourself where he has been active, when you’ve felt distant from him, and what you can learn from this. Pay attention to your important relationships; friends, family, or spouse. In essence, just be alert to all that’s going on around you.

And that’s it for me today, because I gotta go. Asher is trying to climb into the washing machine 🙂

Personal Musings, Theological Musings

Finding God all Around Us

Today I want to just focus on a quote from Eugene Peterson that really spoke to me:

You would think that believing that Jesus is God among us would be the hardest thing. It is not. It turns out that the hardest thing is to believe that God’s work – this dazzling creation, this astonishing salvation, this cascade of blessings – is all being worked out in and under the conditions of our humanity: at picnics and around dinner tables, in conversations with bling beggars and suppurating lepers, at wedding sand funerals. Everything that Jesus does and says takes place within the limits and conditions of our humanity. No fireworks. No special effects. Yes, there are miracles, plenty of them. But because for the most part they are as much a part of the fabric of everyday life, very few notice. The miraculousness of miracles I obscured by the familiarity of the setting, the ordinariness of the people involved. (Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in 10 000 Places)

I’d encourage you to read it again, and again, and again until it starts to make sense and seep in.

If I were to summarize this whole paragraph and what it means I’d say this: We often miss the activity of God all around us, all around us. The point is that we often discount everyday regular life as a place where God is working. But the story of Jesus says that he is just as active in picnics, parties, and in people’s lives as he is in temples, miracles, and worship settings. The point is that sometimes we don’t see God working, because we aren’t looking where he works most: in everyday life.

It’s hard to believe that God works best and most often in the everyday rhythms of life. But this is precisely Peterson’s point. It’s not hard to believe that God is involved when a miracle happens. It’s harder to believe and perhaps see that God is involved in your conversation with the neighbor, cutting the grass, playing with your kids. But he is. He is there, so maybe we should start looking for him.

At least that’s what I got out of the quote…What about you?

Theological Musings

I Don’t Believe in that God Either

I have had a recurring conversation with my friends, family, and neighbors over the past few years. Often what happens is this type of a scenario. They either know or find out I’m a pastor and eventually ask this question:

“So you believe in…[insert any idea / caricature / or type of god here]”

Essentially they are asking about who I have given my life to following. They wonder if I am following a god who lives in the clouds. If I believe in a god who is prejudiced, hates, and unloving or a god so uninvolved in the world that he becomes non-existant, etc, etc. In essence, they often ask if I believe in a caricature of God that they have either been taught, or have experienced through society.

The point is that these friends and neighbors cannot reconciled this caricature with reality. And so they wonder, “how do you follow a god like this…” And so my standard response is this: “Oh I don’t believe in that god either” To which they are often surprised. You don’t believe in a god who hates, who is distant, unloving, uninvolved, or prejudiced? I respond with no. I believe, follow, and absolutely trust in the God who looks, lives, and loves like Jesus Christ.

I share that the perfect representation of God is Jesus Christ (Colosians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3). Which in “un-theological language” means that not only does Jesus look like God, but God looks like Jesus. Which means that God is “Jesusy”. So when we see the supreme act of Jesus Christ, dying sacrificially on the cross for all people and being raised again, this is who God is. Someone who cares so much about injustice, sin, and evil that he enters into it, experiences the full brunt of it, so that we might be freed from it. This is the God I follow. Not some silly caricature of an old man sitting in a rocking chair in heaven. But a God who brings heaven to earth with the way he loves, and lives in the person of Jesus Christ.

So when my family, friends, and neighbors ask about what type of a god I follow – I love that question. Because I get to tell them that God looks like Jesus Christ. And that is a great place to start because people may be frustrated or turned off by church, nominal Christians, or caricatures of God but people are drawn to Jesus. So I always just start there and say, “If you want to know who I have given my life to following, and who I believe God is, look no further than Jesus Christ”

I think it’s the best and only place to start…with Jesus.

Theological Musings

Finding God in a Dark Bathroom

Hudson had to go pee last Sunday. So we ran quickly at church to the bathroom. The lights were off because we were closing up and leaving, so he said “Dad I scared”. I of course turned on the lights, but I thought while using a urinal would be a good time to have a little talk.

So I told him we don’t need to be scared with mom and dad around. Then I told him that even better than that, you always have God with you. He loves you, and is with you even if things are dark, so we don’t need to be scared.

I thought I had done a great job explaining things, but little did I know Hudson would do an even better job. He said to me, “Oh yes daddy, God, I know him. We have him at our house, I do devotions with him” and he ran out of the bathroom.

Nothing as a dad, or a pastor makes me happier than little moments like that. In case though you are picturing me and Hudson sitting down and reading the Bible together having deep prayer moments, that’s not what it’s often like. It’s often like what every interaction with busy boys is like: loud, sometimes difficult, and sometimes frustrating. Hudson is often jumping around, getting out of the covers, singing, making car noises, playing with a car he snuck into bed, and most often not looking at our devotional book. But we press through and do it every night in spite of the ups and downs.

And as Hudson ran out of that bathroom saying, “I know God, we do devotions” I realized something. That the very rhythm and action of trying to lead him into a deeper relationship with God is in fact leading him into a deeper relationship. The point isn’t perfection, it’s perseverance. We might not get it right every night, but the very act of trying is leaving an impact.

I tell you this, because I don’t know if you’re at all like me, but sometimes faith is tough. Sometimes following Jesus isn’t easy, and sometimes it’s a struggle. Sometimes our nighttime routines are beautiful and wonderful. Sometimes they seem like an utter disaster. Sometimes I wonder if me reading our devotions to a jumping boy making car noises is having an impact – if it even matters. But what I realized on Sunday was that sometimes just sticking it out is succeeding. Sometimes the very act of us not giving up leaves a bigger impact than we might imagine.

So even if tonight goes rough, I’m not going to quit doing devotions, praying, and following Jesus with my little boy because it’s making a difference. Because on Sunday after months of up and down devotions, I’m so proud to share with you that Hudson told me that he knows God, he’s at our house, and we all do devotions together.

Theological Musings

Lent, Suffering, and Bonhoeffer

“Only the suffering God can help.” Dietrich Bonheoffer.

This is brilliant, true and full of hope for us during Lent. During Lent the disturbing reality is that we focus on a God, who in the person of Jesus Christ, was beaten, broken, and buried. This is the God we follow, one who died. Is it any wonder Paul said preaching the cross was foolishness…The world follows power, display, and strength; our God demonstrates sacrifice, weakness, and a willingness to enter even into death.

This though is why only the suffering God can help. We do not follow a God who is above suffering, empathy, and distantly removed because of his power. Instead, we follow a God who knows what it is to be beaten. We follow a God who knows what it is to be broken. We follow a God who knows what it is to be buried.

So if you have ever felt beaten down by life…have hope. If you feel broken in body or soul…have hope. If you have lost someone, or feel like you yourself are being buried under darkness…have hope. Because our God felt all those things, but broke through them to show us the way. Our God didn’t stay in heaven removed from the muck and mire of humanity and our struggle. Our God chose to enter into our struggle, to empty himself of all power and privilege to join us. This is why only the suffering God can help, because only the suffering God can understand what we go through. So you are not alone. God knows what it is to feel betrayal. He knows what it is to look forward and see darkness. He knows what it is to die. But the message of Easter is he also knows about resurrection. He is the resurrection and the life. It is through him that all of the world is changed, in a blinding moment of new creation, new life, and a new future. He enters into suffering to lead us out…so may we reflect and remember that this Lenten season. Let us not rush past the suffering to the resurrection of Easter. Let us remember that only the suffering God can help…