The Great Story

In the beginning.
In the beginning, God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God and the Word was with God.
In the beginning God created.
Nothing was created that wasn’t created through the Word.
God spoke: “Let there be.” BANG…BIG BANG!
Let there be light, heavens, earth, creatures, and the crowning creatures, humans, with whom He would share His crowns. And He saw that it was good.

Life in the Garden in Paradise, but one day Paradise was not as nice, because a snake was in the grass, there to harass there to deceive Eve and the man. Lies, deception, choice, rebellion. Cursed is the woman, the serpent shall bite. But cursed is the snake, because the woman’s seed shall smite. The Word will become Seed and fall into the earth. One day…

Kicked out and forbidden but not out of anger, out of protection. God didn’t want them to be cursed forever. They ate of one tree; the other would be saved until a new day.

Anger begat hate, and hatred violence. God could not simply sit there and keep silent. He had to do something, but not utter destruction. Almost, but not quite, because His plan was salvation. Always salvation, redemption, and mercy. A second chance for Noah, for Abraham, for all the nations through one man.

Contracts won’t do, a covenant was cut – blood spilled, promises made, life for life, death for death. God is faithful, always faithful, always faithful.

The people grew. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Twelve.  Joseph’s own brothers would end up selling him into slavery in Egypt but favor would cause the humble alien to be exalted. Too exalted, too numerous. A pharaoh rose who knew him not. They must be oppressed or else.

After hundreds of years, God broke the silence. He spoke to Moses through a bush that defied science. “Let my people go.” Freedom is never free. There must be blood, paid penalty. Death passed over by the blood of the lamb to deliver God’s people out of Egypt land.

Promised Land into the desert at the foot of a mountain to receive a new Law for a new life, because how are slaves supposed to know how to act free? New behavior, new character, first on tablets of stone, then on the heart. Forty years is a long…start.

Enter the Promised Land. Enjoy the goodness of God. Forget it came from God. Rebellion has an age-old name: Sin.

God raises up Judges.
Sin – Judgment – Repentance – Forgiveness – Repeat

Eventually the people ask for a king. First the people’s choice, then the shepherd boy, then his son whose splendor would be his undoing. If only we could get back that shepherd king. One day…

Prophets speak truth in a world full of lies. The kingdom of Israel divides after Solomon dies. Civil war, and capture, destruction and exile, some places rebuilt others defiled by pagans, how long, Lord must we be punished?

Silence.

The Romans appoint King Herod to rule over the province of Judea where the Jews are. God breaks the silence. One angel, two creatures: one male, one female.
In the image of God He created them. And the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and you are to give Him the name.
The Word, the Word that broke the silence. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Tabernacled, lived, pitched His tent, hung out, chilled, ate with sinners. Thanks be to God.

Born in a manger, the first king-sized bed, first would be hay then thorns on His head. The baby, you see, was born to die, but not before the world would see heaven and earth collide. One hundred percent God, one hundred percent man, He would be the beginning of God’s renovation plan. New heaven and new earth, no more death, no more tears. His time on the cross would not end in fear. Not end in defeat nor the triumph of the enemy, but on the third day He would rise in victory…

Over sin, over hell, over death and the grave, over weakness, corruption, destruction, and decay, over evil and violence, hurt and despair, He would go back to His Father our place to prepare for the day when ALL things would be made new. New heaven, new earth, new me and new you, when finally forever God and humans would live…

In the place we were meant to never have to forgive. A Garden city, not the first but the last, all things are made new, the old things are past. That other tree is now the only one. We can eat all we want in the Light of the Son.

So Christmas and Easter, Easter and Christmas, listen to The Great Story, because you’re not gonna want to miss this. Are you wondering where your story fits into His? Or are you willing to listen to what He says the story is?

Look for the intersection between the seen and unseen, earth and heaven, natural and supernatural, God and man…

Because it came one night in a manger to land

The first Word shall be the last.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Immanuel, God…was…is…always will be…with…us.

All Things New

We named our daughter for that garden paradise where we once walked blamelessly and blissfully with our Maker and for the hope of returning to a garden city where we will do the same forevermore. Eden. One of my Old Testament professors in seminary wrote a book entitled The Epic of Eden. Her premise was that God’s entire plot in The Great Story of scripture is to get Adam and Eve back into the Garden – the people of God in the place of God with the presence of God. She taught us to read every sub-story of scripture with these things in mind, looking for the people, the place, and the presence. We are finally approaching the resolution of The Great Story we began a year ago. The Story began with creation. One eternal God made everything out of nothing, and He made it all good! Through the ups and downs of rebellion and brokenness, redemption and promise, through the stories of nomads, slaves, prophets, kings, disciples, and saints, we see that the Creator never stops creating and recreating, making something out of nothing and something whole out of something that’s been made a mess. Revelation 21 and 22 may be my two favorite chapters of scripture (although it is always hard for me to say for sure). They are the picture of God’s final act of recreation – all things made new. This time when He sits down, like He did on day seven in Genesis 1, He will sit down for good. Everything that comes after that will flow from the growing reproductive love and work (yes work, fun work!) of a perfect Kingdom, new heaven and new earth finally in the same reality – the people of God in the place of God with the presence of God, with everything as it should be, forevermore. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Devotional thoughts to ponder:

• In ancient religion, temples were the place where the image of the deity could be found. If you wanted to worship Artemis, for example, you would go to the Temple of Artemis. Israel’s God was also worshiped in a Temple, but He was very clear there were to be NO images! Read 21:22. What is different? Can you think of ways we have already started leaning into this new reality?

• Read Genesis 2:8-17 and then Revelation 22:1-5. How are these two scenes similar? How are they different?

• How is Christmas a celebration of the arrival of new things and the passing away of old things?

• Is there anything you want “made new” going into a new year of life? What would it take for you to trust God in this area and go into this New Year with gratitude for a new year of opportunity and faith that God can do new things?

• Is there a new habit (not a resolution; a habit or a practice) you could cultivate that would give God more of a chance to make you new?

Enter the Throne Room

 

Have you ever heard Handel’s Messiah, can you recall the music of this classical masterpiece? “KING . . . OF . . . KINGS . . . (Hallelujah, Hallelujah) and LORD . . . OF . . . LORDS . . . (Hallelujah, Hallelujah)” One thing I love about it (besides the breathtaking genius of the music itself) is that it truly tells the whole story of Messiah, the promised one for the people of God. It includes Old Testament prophecy, Christmas, Easter, the Book of Revelation and the final picture, the whole thing! This week, as we approach our final Advent message before Christmas we look at the greatest message of Revelation, that Jesus is Lord. That IS the “revelation.” The heavenly vision of John that involves past, present, and future is that Jesus is the victorious King.

We can see how this is quite relevant to the season we are in. There is a picture that has been floating around the internet for some time now. It is a wooden manger filled with hay indented where a baby might lie. The caption at the bottom reads: “The first king-size bed.” As gimmicky as this might sound it’s true, isn’t it! Of all the kings of the earth history has witnessed, when that king was delivered in a feeding trough He was the only King born to the earth whose rule and reign would endure forever. Revelation 4-5 is an incredible sneak peek not simply of a future reality, but of the present heavenly reality we can’t yet see.

What a vision! If I’m not careful, the overwhelming “other-worldliness” will simply leave me with a crinkled brow and a puzzled expression. When I allow myself to take in what I may not even fully understand my response is like the hosts around the throne – I fall down in worship. Around the throne we see a rainbow, the sign of God’s covenant mercy from the story of Noah and the flood. Twenty-four elders represent the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of Jesus, together a perfected image of God’s holy people, clothed in white representing purity, and crowned in gold representing the “kingdom of priests” all His people are called to be. So we see in this great vision that this King is reigning now even as other worldly powers seem to be in control; and His power is a different kind of power – love, mercy, and self-sacrifice over physical might and brute force – and His power ultimately prevails over the wicked evil powers that would threaten this world and human life. Those who have already been ushered into His presence are reigning with Him, which the New Testament affirms in places like Ephesians and 2 Timothy.

I want to invite you into a meditation as we prepare to celebrate the coming of the King. Let us join John in the Throne Room. He is one of a few blessed select individuals in scripture who have been invited there, and we with him. As you allow yourself to envision what you cannot actually see, pray that God would give you the faith to trust in this unseen reality. Let it redefine our seen reality of terrorism, fear, racism, hatred, persecution, selfishness, and desperate power struggles that leave wakes of victimized innocents. How might believing that the first Christmas brought the inauguration of the eternal King produce in us comfort, joy, peace, and celebration even in a world where these things may seem scarce? Are you waiting to have these things? What are you waiting for? Jesus is Lord. Hallelujah!

The Long Haul from Saul to Paul

 

Growing up I remember one of the most moving experiences in Christian environments: the personal testimony. I must confess while this was one of the most exciting things to hear or witness, it always left me a little self-conscious or insecure. I just never thought my story would tell as well as those who “gave their testimony.” The Apostle Paul’s story is so remarkable and such an integral part of the earliest Church history that it comprises at least half the Book of Acts. The story of this once-Christian-killer teaches us that God really can turn us into a radically different person. Saul’s transformation was not just a Damascus Road experience. The road to Damascus was the starting point where Saul encountered the Risen Christ, but his transformation story took his whole life. Some of us sell ourselves short because of our age, our past, or our lack of what we think is a “good testimony.” When we look at the man who held the coats for Stephen’s murderers and then the man who got beaten, shipwrecked, and survived a viper bite all to preach the Gospel to the most powerful emperor in the world, we realize God can do anything with any life, even mine.

New Sermon Series Kicks Off Sunday!

Lord In Your Mercy, Hear Our Prayer

The prophets are amazing books and unique to scripture. They are not for the most part the books you want to read if you’re looking for the warm fuzzies of the Bible. However, I am reminded of something wonderful about the nature of God. Jeremiah’s book begins with a bleak picture of Israel. The nation has (yet again) turned from her God, and Jeremiah’s opening chapters are, well, pretty graphic. The warnings are scary. Political and military ramifications are promised, and one biblical word comes to mind – judgment. I seem to hear this word a lot today, too. When we see patterns in our nation and the world for which there was judgment in scripture, we warn of the same judgment today. Here’s where the hope comes in.

A refrain appears at the beginning of Jeremiah 4 that I seem to recall in virtually all the Prophets – “If you, Israel, will return…” God’s judgment, even in the sternest chapters of Old Testament history, was always paired with an offer of mercy and restoration. God has never been limited or restrained in His desire to extend mercy, grace, restoration, and offer a chance to start again His way. (This is certainly a lesson the prophet Jonah learned the hard way.) We learn in Romans that it’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), not His wrath. This is our chance to participate in God’s activity, model His nature, and have an impact on our community, nation, and world. Our job is twofold: first, begin with ourselves. Are we finding fault with God that we would stray and get distracted by other things (Jeremiah 2:5)? Are we confessing and repenting that we might live in the obedience of faith? Second, are we influencing those around us with our witness and prayers? I thank God for His mercy today, and that He can even use a handful of people in remote parts of the world to wake others up to the reality of His presence and love.

The Voice

Yesterday was an amazing day at Shalimar United Methodist Church. We heard from two amazing young preachers that were raised in the church and are pursuing God’s call to full-time ministry. Lori Galambos is headed into her final year at Duke Divinty School. She preached in our 8:00 Traditions service that rather than being a people who “limp between two opinions,” we are to limp as those who have “struggled with God.” Hunter Griffin Bethea is halfway through his undergraduate work at the University of Alabama. In our 9:30 Connect service he challenged us to be modern day Elijah’s (whose name means “My God is Yahweh”) pointing people to God, uniting people rather than dividing them, and listening to God’s voice. We were so honored and inspired to hear both of these servants of God proclaim His message to His people. You can find both sermons here: http://shalimar-umc.org/livestream.php.

In this series we will explore one of the three “offices” or appointed roles of the Old Testament: prophet, priest, and king. Jesus fulfilled each of these. So, what was a prophet? What was his or her role? How did Jesus fulfill the prophetic role and redefine the prophetic calling for God’s people of the New Covenant? In Deuteronomy 18:14-22 God explains what a prophet is to be and why the people of God should require them. Essentially, while a priest goes to God on behalf of the people (think sacrifices and atonement for sin), a prophet is to go to the people on behalf of God to deliver His message. Jesus not only performed this job in a supreme and ultimate way, He is the Word of God, the Word made flesh (John 1:1). Jesus is the full revelation of God. The Church of Jesus Christ filled and influenced by His Holy Spirit is called to hear the voice of the Lord still today, obey it, and proclaim it. We are also called to be the megaphone for His Word to continue to pierce through the dark of a broken and distorted world. After all, His voice was first: “Let. There. Be.” It created, and it is recreating still.

Blueprint for the Church

The Book of Acts offers us a blueprint for the church.  The Sermon on the Mount teaches us about a wise foundation in which to build a life and the Book of Acts teaches us about a solid foundation to build the church.   If we want to be more the church Jesus wants us to be, we only need to read and study the Book of Acts.  The Church is people so as we grow so does the Church!

Acts begins with the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit and then teaches us about the birth of the Church.   Amazing things happened with the birth of the Church!  3000 people were added in one day!  Think about that Jesus disciple 12 and the disciples were involved with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Acts 2:42-47 captures some of the essentials for the blueprint of the church teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer.   

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.   Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.   They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.   Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,   praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42-47).   

What a great example in which to build the church!

“So few words and so much WONDER!”

This Sunday we will be preaching about God’s Creation Story in Genesis and begin “in the beginning…and recall that God said…”IT IS GOOD.”  The “beginning” could be also considered the “BIG gining” as the Story is literally “larger than life” as it is the Origin of life.   One of my observations of this magnificent Story is how much WONDER there is to behold in such few words.  A phrase like “let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let the dry ground appear” (Genesis 1:9) is so brief but reveals so much wonder.  As I write this reflection I see a breath taking view of the sky, sun, water, and shore line meet.  This beautiful sight is filled with wonder and I think of the mighty Hand of the Creator separating land from sea in one single sweep.  In Genesis there are so few words…yet endless WONDER!   God said about creation…”IT IS GOOD.”  Hope to see you Sunday as we engage the Wonder of Creation and seek God’s goodness in our lives!

It’s Coming . . .

What if there was one great story from which all other stories came? The fatal flaw, the victorious underdog, the tragic lover, the super human, the battle between good and evil… Shalimar UMC will journey through the Bible in 2015 to explore how a sacred collection of ancient books can contain so many stories that are each a part of one GREAT STORY, and how that great story intersects with the stories each one of us is seeing unfold in our lives and our world. We invite you to read through the whole story with us in 2015 with some original reading plans. You can read through the whole Bible in 2015. You can spend time in the Bible every day with a daily plan of smaller portions. Or you can spend one sitting engaging our weekly reading in preparation for the message any given upcoming Sunday. This blog will offer reflections as we move through the daily and weekly readings. Posts will start appearing in this space January 1. You may comment on posts with your own responses or reflections as we encounter the great story together. If you click the menu icon in the upper left of this page you will find a page for each reading plan. You can click on an Old Testament or New Testament reading and it will open that reading for you to have right there on your screen. Also in the upper left corner there is a file folder icon. Here, you can access the archive or subscribe to follow this blog either by email or WordPress. If you subscribe by email, every time a post is published you will immediately receive it by email. Our hope is that all of us at home as well as those members of our faith community who are deployed, TDY, and abroad for other reasons can remain connected and engaged through this medium. We invite you to the journey, we invite you into THE GREAT STORY, and hopefully we will all find our place in it.