JOIN US FOR WORSHIP!

UPCOMING SERVICES: 

  Service at Coldwater United from September 2011 to June 24, 2012 will be at 9:00 a.m.

and at Eady United at 10:30 a.m. 

Sunday School classes ard held at both churches.

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Remember the Good

Sunday Feb 5 2012

Annual General Meeting

Isaiah 40:21-31, Psalm 147:1-11 Mark 1:29-39, 1 Cor. 9:16-23

Being a parent changes everything. But, being a parent changes with each baby.
1st baby, you spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby, you spend a bit of every day watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking the baby.
3rd baby, you spend a little bit of every day, hiding from the children.

The Bible clearly tells us there are certain things we should forget and there are certain things we're supposed to remember.

It's interesting in the O.T. God commanded the people to have certain celebrations. The main reason was so they would not forget what God had done for them. So several times a year, everybody would take time to celebrate how God brought them out of slavery and how God protected them from difficult situations. They were required to remember.

God knew there was power in remembering.

The psalmist said, "I recall the many miracles God has done for me. I can't stop thinking about them."

Notice, he said thoughts of God's goodness were constantly in his mind. God knew that when we remember the good things God has done for us; it’s going to build our faith no matter what comes against us in life.

Let me ask you today.

"Are you taking time to celebrate what God has done in your life?"

"Well, Bright, that's what we do today during our AGM, isn't it?” you may say.

Having attended one like that last Sunday, I'll just keep my finger crossed. Just kidding, I'm sure ours will be another great meeting today.

One way to build our faith is to on a regular basis go back over the great things that God has already done.

Remember the day your children were born; the time God made a way when it looked like there was no way; the time when God brought that person into your life. Remember what God's done for us.

Some of you at one point were so broke, you couldn’t even pay attention.

Do you remember the Christmas drama last year? We wondered if it was ever going to work out. At the first meeting, we looked at each other, thinking “Bright’s going to pay for this!” But God not only arranged the things for us but also provided costumes and even a fire pit as well as a full-sanctuary audience.

What about the time when we visited those of us physically challenged? We wondered if he was ever going to get better. But God has not only strengthened our dear friend but also has taught us the importance of companionship. I still vividly remember the phone call where we were all joyfully shouting, “Hi” to our friend. That was God, greeting to each one of us.

When we learn to recall the good things God has done, it helps us to stay in faith.

Really that's what Isaiah was into when he asked,
"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God. God does no faint or grow weary.

The scripture goes on to say, "God gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless."

Just as Isaiah prophesied to the Babylonian exile, these words are also being spoken to the exiles of our time; more job creation in the midst of economic challenge; recovery from ill health; betteropportunities for our children; the full awareness of God's presence in life.

Isaiah helps us to see God and humankind in perspective. The temporal and spatial descriptions of God, "the everlasting God" and "Creator of the ends of the earth" indicate the timeless dimensions of the power of God. The repeat of verse 21 in verse 28 moves from the abstract to the concrete. Using rhetorical force, Isaiah encourages the weary to remember the good things God has done.

In the movie Black Robe, a Jesuit missionary tries to persuade a Huron chief to let him teach the tribe to read & write. The chief sees no benefit until the Jesuit gives him a demonstration.
'Tell me something I do not know,' he says. The chief thinks for a moment and replies, 'My woman's mother died in snow last winter.' The missionary writes a sentence and walks a few yards over to his colleague, who glances at it then says to the chief, 'Your mother-in-law died in a snow storm? The chief jumps back in alarm. The writing allowed knowledge to leap across space and travel in silence through symbols.

I want to challenge you today.

When something happens in your life that you know is God, write it down or put it on Facebook.

Just like Isaiah, keep a running record of the good things that God has done for us.

Philip Yancey claims, "Those who follow biblical values live longer, enjoy life more, and are less diseased. The facts are in; we need to get the word out.

Listen to Isaiah's burning words again.

"God does not come and go. God lasts. God doesn't get tired out and pause to catch his breath. And He knows everything, inside and out."

Isaiah was saying, "It's hard to go around complaining when you're constantly thinking about the goodness of God."

You may say,
"God has been good to me. I can't complain. But I've achieved my goals. I've reached my limits.” No, believe God’s best is yet to come. Jesus couldn't do any miracles where there was a lack of faith. We easily forget what Jesus often said when he miraculously healed the people, “Your faith has healed you.”

I have heard people say, "God is everywhere”; no, God is everywhere we let God in.

Sometimes, we find ourselves making the mistake of putting God in a box, looking for God outside the box, and end up getting frustrated.  In fact, God is so beyond that.  Isaiah must have known God is beyond our understanding.

In other words, Isaiah's vision may seem too good to be true or Isaiah's vision may just be deeper, larger, more spiritual and less confined.

A lot of people say, “Well as soon as my situation turns around. I’ll cheer up.” But the truth is, we’ll never know what the future brings. Only God does. Only when we admit our impossibilities can wecorrectly put our faith in the right direction; only then we can start dwelling on God’s plan for us, not on the box.

Most of us can tell of a time when God opened up a door for us.
By faith, we need to understand, there is no such thing as coincidence when we are directed by God. Something good happens to us, we need to be sensitive and learn to recall it often.

What are you remembering today?

Many times when problems try to steal our joy, we're tempted to say,
"Oh, it's so hard. The United Church has supported the First Nations’ ministry but this country is never going to resolve all the issue. We have supported the food bank but many locals are still experiencing hunger as an ongoing issue. Look, even my dog is depressed."

One thing we have to know deep down in our heart is that just because

something doesn’t work for us doesn’t  necessarily mean God gives up on us. Here is some good news: we don’t have to be the best US in the world, just be the best US that we can be. “Don't try to give yourself a heart attack!”

I read this church bulletin blooper. Their favorite hymn, 'Jesus shall reign' became in one stroke, "Jesus shall resign."

Sometimes, we believe in God, but we live out our days like God has just resigned or something like that. We forget what we are supposed to remember; "God does not faint or grow weary."

Throughout the O.T., God seems to alternate between Spectator and Participant. At times, God acts decisively, even violently. The New Testament, though, shows the God who selflessly chose to bepart of the suffering, chose instead to love the world, at any cost. One difference between the O.T. and the N.T. is that God has become more like us, stepping back to see what others are doing.

Jesus just heals a person with an unclean spirit. Then He goes to dinner. Yet Jesus is still "on duty."

Jesus finds no rest at Simon's house. Simon's mother-in-law is sick and unable to provide hospitality. Jesus raises her up and she responds by serving her guests. This is not a matter of a women's role, but vocation in this time and place. Jesus is teaching while he rests that our vocations are rooted in our time and our place. Through healing, Jesus restores bodies and social standing. He transforms outcasts into insiders. He also cures many others.

Jesus never gets tired out, but rather continues to heal and teach, heal and teach, just on and on.
And occasionally Jesus steps back to see what the disciples are doing.

As morning dawns, Jesus retreats to a solitary place.

When the disciples find Jesus, they quickly ask, "Everyone is searching for you." They were asking, "Did you just sneak out? Did you get tired?"

If it were Isaiah to whom they were talking, the disciples would have probably heard things like,
"Have you not seen?" "Have you not heard?"

However, Jesus responded differently. He said,
"Let us go on to the neighboring towns so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that's what I came out to do."

Never gets tired of, never gets upset, in spite of knowing everything about the disciples, inside and out, Jesus only and always remembered what he came out to do. Jesus remembered what God wanted him to do.

This tells us that when we feel overwhelmed, when we feel surrounded by expectations, more than ever, we need to step back and remember what God is trying to do in our lives.

The famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright was fond of this incident. He was 9, he went walking across a snow-covered field with his no-nonsense uncle. As the two reached the far end of the field, his unclestopped him. He pointed out his own tracks in the snow, straight as an arrow's flight, and then young Frank's tracks meandering all over the field.
"Notice how your tracks wander aimlessly from the fence to the cattle to the woods and back again," his uncle said," And see how my tracks aim directly to my goal.
Years later, Frank told how the experience had contributed to his life. "I determined right then not to miss the things in life, that my uncle had missed."

Frank saw what his uncle could not: It's easy to let the demands of life keep us from the joys of living.

In life, there will always be a balance between being focused, accomplishing dreams and taking time to stop and smell the roses. I would rather smell the coffee though.

A lot of people today are too busy to enjoy what God has already given them, family, friends, community, and don’t forget the dogs and cats. And many wonder where God is and what God is doing. They forget what they were supposed to remember

We live out our days between memory and foretaste. The view out our windows gives mere glimpses of who God is and what God is doing in our lives. When God came to be with us, one thing many missed was that God remembers everything about us, inside and out. God knows who we are and what we have been doing.  Not only that, God decided to forget the past but God also stepped back to see what we would do.
 

Keep Your Heart of Compassion Open

Mark 1:40-45, 2 King 5:1-14                                                             Sunday Feb. 12th 2012

I heard about a minister who put sanitary hot air hand dryers in the church wash rooms. But after two weeks, he took them out. When asked why he said: "They work fine. But someone put a sign on them that said, 'for a sample of this week's sermon, push the button.”

Relationships are what really matters in life. Our relationship to God; with our family members, friends; and others within our communities. Yet, all too often, we allow these relationships to occupy much lower positions than they deserve.

Years ago, a man came to me and began telling me about his problem - in great detail. He went on and on. About three or four times, I tried to interrupt his monologue to give him my advice. I thought, "I have a great scripture for you." I tried and tried, but I just couldn't get a word in edgewise. I kept listening and listening.

Finally he finished his talk, and just as I was about to give him my great wisdom, he let out a big sigh and said, "Boy, I feel so much better. God just spoke to me and told me what to do." Then he turned around and walked away! I was so disappointed. I almost ran after him.

Then I realized he just needed my ears to listen.

The world we are in is crying out for people with compassion. And I believe God puts compassion in our heart, and when He bring people across our paths,  God is offering us to make a difference in that person’s life.

We see this principle in 2 King chapter 5.
This story begins with Naaman. The Bible calls him a "great warrior," One of the great leaders of that day.

But Naaman had a problem. He had leprosy, a dreaded disease. You can imagine he had gone to the best doctors, got the best treatment. Nothing had helped. He continued to go downhill.

One day, a servant girl said, "Naaman, if you go to see the prophet Elisha, he will pray for you and God will heal you of the leprosy."

Notice what she is doing here. She could’ve written off Naaman. After all, she had been captured in war. She could’ve said, “You deserve the disease. My people suffered from you.” She could’ve dismissed him. But she understood the principle that God puts compassion in our heart for a reason. God is teaching us that by doing good to those who harm us, we not only diffuse a tense situation but we also change people. I heard someone say, “Because we love, God is present.”

Do you believe, “when things get tough, the tough get going”? But I believe, “When things get tough, God toughens up our heart to win something even bigger. Understand God has already equipped each one of us to overcome whatever comes against us.

Naaman went to Elisha, travelled a great distance, and knocked on the door. Elisha sent his servant to the door. The servant said, "Naaman, Elisha said, go wash in the Jordan River 7 times, then you will be healed."

It's not a coincidence that Naaman was greeted by another servant. We never know who God will send to assist us in dealing with our problem.

This time, Naaman got upset. He said. "I travelled a long way. I thought at least Elisha would come out here and say, "Hello!" Doesn't he know who I am? Besides I don't want to wash in the Jordan River. That river is dirty. We have much cleaner rivers back at home." But one of his servants said, "Naaman, if he'd asked you to do something hard, you would've done it. Why don't you do this easy thing?"

Isn't it interesting that God sent three people to Naaman? In the Bible, the number three has a meaning of fullness or perfection. In other words, the scripture describes that Naaman was fully informed about God’s compassion.

Naaman finally swallowed his pride and washed in the Jordan River. When he came up the 7th time, his skin was just as clean as a little baby.

The more we read this story, the better we see this is the story of the servant girl who kept her compassion open.

If she had blown Naaman off, he would've missed his miracle.

God brought people across Naaman’s path for a reason. (God brought winter across our path for a reason. Come on Canada, let’s embrace our winter here.)

Naaman thought he could just buy some help and move on. But God was different. God wanted to save his life. God had compassion on Naaman’s leprous body and deeper purpose on the leprous soul.

Like Naaman we often ask God for a quick fix, expecting God to do everything.
“God, please make Bright know every hymn we are going to sing” like the ladies at the Apartment service. Thank God, we had this fine lady, the former Choir member of the church who boldly claimed, “Let me start. Everyone, follow me.”

We have to understand God’s concern is not just fixing our problem, God wants us to understand, He makes the weak say, ‘I am strong.’

It's like this 18 wheeler I heard about. It was carrying this large load of pipes. It went under a bridge. The driver didn't realize the load was too high and it gets stuck under the bridge, wedged in there. Traffic was backed up for miles. The city had the crew out to jack up the bridge, with no success. Finally, a man drove by with his ten year old son. The boy rolled down the window and said, “Why don't you let the air out of the truck tires." They scratched their head, saying, "Why didn't we think of that?" They deflated the truck tires and drove it out.

When we feel stuck, instead of trying to jack up that problem, we’ve got to learn to just turn it over to God who has a miraculous way of meeting our needs. The Bible teaches that God gives us the privilege to know people. God does it so that we can increase our faith in God. Really our job is to stop trying to figure everything out but believe that God is still in control.

Maybe God was going to have the person develop our character, or give us invaluable advice, or even bigger than all of that. Maybe it was not about what we can get but about what we can give.  

Let's pass the test and believe God is in control.
The scripture encourages us to keep our compassion open to people around us.

I wonder what our world would be like if every person would find some way to brighten up somebody else’s life every single day.

Unlike Naaman the people in Mark actively seek God and embrace the opportunity to meet God. What a change! They did so not because they were the finest people around no, because they realized Jesus had compassion on them.  

They see, Jesus reaches out his hand and touches the person with leprosy. Jesus makes Himself unclean by breaking two boundaries: healing on the Sabbath day, touching the unclean leper. Even so, Jesus declares, "I do choose. Be made clean!" And immediately, the leper is made clean. Healing the leprous body is one thing and healing the peoples’ ignorance is another.

The word ‘compassion’ means ‘suffering with others.’ In other words, Jesus didn’t forsake the man; he didn’t turn his back on him. How forsaken this leper had been! Jesus acted partially because no one else would. Mother Teresa said, “People with leprosy suffer even more from rejection. Loneliness is the most terrible poverty.”

God brought the leper across the crowd’s path which allowed the people to recognize their ignorance. Yes, Jesus wanted the people to be part of that healing. Jesus had compassion not only on the physically ill but also on the spiritually ill.

After all, Jesus trades places with a leper. This story begins with Jesus on the inside and the leper on the outside. As the story develops, however, we discover Jesus is outside in lonely places. And the crowds are still in between.

My question is, “Do you see yourself on the outside with Jesus?”

It’s not a coincidence that we are called to be followers.
Christ has no hands but our hands to reach out and touch.

Shay was ten year old, physically and mentally challenged, and he loved baseball. One day he and his father walked by a baseball field where a bunch of young boys were playing a game.
"Do you think they would let me play?" Shay asked.
Shay's dad didn't want to disappoint his son.

The father asked the boys if his son could play. They said, "Well, Sir, there are only two innings left. Sure he can play. We will put him in the outfield."

Shay was so excited. In the last inning their team was down by one run. There were two outs, with a runner on third, and it was Shay's turn to bat. They considered a pinch hitter but decided it wouldn't be right for Shay. They sent him, thinking they'd already lost the game.

The pitcher threw the first ball so fast. Shay swung late. Then the pitcher realized that Shay had some challenges. He threw at half the speed. But Shay missed.
This time, the pitcher stepped off the mound and walked closer to home plate. He threw the ball as soft as he could.

Shay hit it. The ball dribbled about five feet. The pitcher picked it up and saw Shay struggling to run the best he could. The pitcher's heart took over for his instincts, throwing the ball over the first baseman's head.

Shay's dad yelled, "Run Shay! Run."

The runner on third scored. By this time every one knew what was going on. They threw the ball over their heads.

Shay rounded the third base and the crowd was cheering his name. He scored the winning run while his father watched in tears. Shay was nearly bursting with joy.

When God puts love and compassion in our heart toward someone, God’s offering us an opportunity to make a difference in that person’s life. We must learn to follow that love. Don’t ignore it. Act on it. Somebody needs what we have.

When we keep our heart of compassion open to people around us, I declare that God will make sure someone is there to help us not only win one thing but also to win something even bigger.

My challenge to you is to make everyday a Shay day, the servant girl's day, and Jesus' day. Believe in people. Believe in God. When we know God is in control no matter what, God will keep His heart of compassion open to us. Amen.