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Monthly Archive for December, 2008

Harnessing Your Inner Scientist

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relevant church
on December 30, 2008
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I am a scientist. It’s something that I don’t often admit to people. I usually tend to go with songwriter or filmmaker (both of which I am as well). But the fact is that this May I will be graduating from USF with a bachelor’s degree in bio-medical science. We scientists have a tendency to want to figure everything out and we get frustrated when it proves to be an impossible feat. I’ve discovered that a lot of Christians (including myself at times) look at their faith this way.
This poses a problem when we are confronted with a divine being whose ways are far superior to ours. As the speaker on Sunday emphasized, our God has an unfathomable mind; it would be ludicrous to assume that we could understand it fully. While listening to the message at church, I was reminded of the first chapter in the book Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. The chapter is titled “Jump” and it’s basically about how God is inviting us to follow Jesus with all of our doubts and questions. God doesn’t say “You have to get all of your questions answered before you can come to me”. If you read scripture, God is saying something more like, “Listen, I know you have a lot of questions. That’s a good thing! I want you to ask them! Just know that you won’t be able to figure everything out because I’m a really big God”.
As Christians, we need to learn to ask questions while still embracing the mystery in our faith. Rob Bell put it this way: “Being a Christian then is more about celebrating mystery than conquering it”. Read through the Bible. Abraham, David, Mary; all of them asked God questions and what happened? He accomplished phenomenal things through them. It appears that God likes when people ask Him tough questions; it shows that they are engaged in their faith and their relationship with Him. If you look carefully though, you will notice that these people also acted on faith; even when they couldn’t comprehend God’s reasoning, they obeyed Him because they realized that His intelligence was much higher than theirs.
This idea that faith and doubt go hand in hand is something that I have been dealing with for quite some time. A while back, I realized that God is big enough to handle our questions and doubts. I wrote this song called “My Clever Hands” and one of the stanza’s goes like this:

We could stand around with our hands on our hips.
And try to make some sort of sense of all this
Or we could take a look in a book and find out
That faith isn’t faith if it’s absent of doubt.

Asking questions is something that is not only vital to our relationship with God but it’s also an important facet of our church community. I brought my friend Sarah to church this Sunday and afterwards she told me that she was excited to hear the speaker mention the names of people in Church history who questioned the actions of their peers. It is our responsibility as members of the body of Christ to sort through the traditions and procedures of the church and determine what is Biblical and what is not. We need to discern which ideas are coming from God and which are coming from man. Probably the most notable example of this was the protestant reformation (which the speaker also mentioned). If Martin Luther and others like him had not stood up all over Europe and pointed out what was wrong with the church, the majority of Christians today might still believe that you could get a persons soul into heaven by paying money to a priest. By questioning the practices of our church we purge it of corruption and insincerity. This makes us as members more secure when we worship and tithe and at the same time it shows unbelievers that followers of Jesus are concerned with being as true to His teachings as possible.
When it comes down to it, asking questions seems to be something that is at the core of our faith. When we ask questions to God, we are admitting that we cannot figure everything out and that His ways are too complex for our simple minds to wrap themselves around. When we ask questions to the rest of the church about the way we do things, we are showing people that worshiping with a sincere heart is important to us and that corruption has no place in the body of Christ. You know, maybe being a scientist isn’t that bad after all. As long as I keep in mind that I will never be able to completely figure out this experiment called life.

Trey

The Manger

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relevant church
on December 27, 2008
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I never really put much thought in to how important the manger is to the story of Jesus’ birth. Like most people, I just assumed that there was nowhere else so Mary and Joseph simply settled for what they had available. We like to say that God has a reason for everything, but until this sermon I honestly did not know of any significance to the manger.
Paul explained several ways that the birthplace of Jesus is deeply meaningful to his purpose in our world. He spoke of the manger being a feed trough for the animals and how Jesus is our spiritual nourishment. We also learned that the word used in the Bible for “inn” translates to “a place where burdens are lifted” and how Jesus is the ultimate burden lifter. Paul also told us of the meaning of Bethlehem (House of Bread) and how Jesus became the bread of life for all of us. I would like to plus these analogies with one more. I learned in Micah 5:2 that the ancient name for Bethlehem was Eprathah (just don’t ask me for pronunciation.) This ancient word means fruitful. There are many places throughout the Bible in which the term fruitful or bearing fruit is used. In the New Testament alone there are over 20 verses that mention fruit. Jesus used the idea of bearing fruit in his parables as well. An example of this is found in John 15:1-8.

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken. Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.”

So from a place which means “fruitful” a baby is born who will become the man who represents our only method of bearing fruit for the Lord. We must strive to stay close to Him and to work on becoming better disciples. Then and only then will we bear the fruit that will glorify God. I challenge you to do some introspective analysis and ask yourself, “Are the fruits that I produce all they can be?” If your answer is no, the simple solution to improvement is to get closer to Jesus.

-Bill

Christmas

Published
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relevant church
on December 18, 2008
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I was at the mall yesterday and I saw an amazing sight. Among the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, there was a line of wide-eyed children eagerly awaiting their two minutes on Santa’s lap. You could almost feel the anticipation in the air. They were going to meet the man that they were working all year to impress. The one man who could make or break their Christmas. They were going to see magic with their very own eyes. No wonder kids cry, wet themselves, and throw up. The pressure is incredible.
I wonder if that same feeling was in the air on the night of Jesus’ birth? How wide-eyed were the wise men when they traveled to meet the Messiah they had so long anticipated? How excited were Joseph and Mary to receive the most precious gift possible and begin their journey with Jesus? How relieved was the world to finally receive it’s King? If there was ever a night where magic was truly in the air, this had to be it!
I remember telling my friend Stephanie that when you really listen to a sermon, it will almost always pertain to what’s happening in your life that week. God always speaks to you if you’re willing to listen. I proved myself right this week. (Sidenote: I’m a woman, and I LOVE being right!)
I wasn’t planning on going home for Christmas this year. I didn’t want to endure the drive, and do the whole “everybody is full of joy” routine. There is nothing I hate more than being fake. I decided to use Christmas as a free day off of work to catch up on some much needed rest. I’ve been channeling the Grinch, Scrooge and all other Christmas villains to put me in the mood. I’ve been practicing my best “Bah-Humbug” for weeks now!
Of course, God had other plans for me. Paul spoke this week about traditions that made me nostalgic. At the end of the service, the song that the band played kicked me right in the gut. The smallest line “Baby please come home,” melted away the frost that the season had put on my heart. It was as if my mother had said it herself. I’m still not thrilled about the idea of being with my family this year. Almost everything in me is telling me not to go. But then there’s that voice in my head that grows stronger every day. It’s saying that it’s not about me. It’s telling me that the most amazing things come out of sacrifice. It’s telling me to trust.
I’ll be home for Christmas….you can count on me. There won’t be snow or mistletoe. I’m not really concerned with presents under the tree. It will be bittersweet, and exhausting. I will inevitably question my decision to be there. Maybe I’m wrong, though. What if I saw a little magic of my own this Christmas? What if I went home and came back relieved and ready to start next year’s journey with my family and with Christ? What if my visit was the one that was anticipated, and it made the day a little more special for someone I love? What if I really am wrong? Maybe I’ll learn to love proving myself wrong as much as I love proving right. Well, maybe almost as much.

Tiffany

What I want for Christmas…

Published
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Ryan
on December 13, 2008
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In celebration of the Christmas season, I want to talk about someone who is a big inspiration, a friend, a supporter, a good listener, a pick-me-up when I am down, and someone who always forgives me no matter how badly I screw things up. I want to talk about Jesus, and who he is 2,008 years later.

I often wonder what Jesus would look like if he were walking here on earth today. He definitely wouldn’t be wearing a robe and sandals, but I think he would still have a beard and some shaggy hair. What kind of clothes would Jesus wear? I think he would be kind of trendy, wearing a cool pair of jeans, an awesome tee, and maybe a hoodie if it were kind of chilly outside. Would I recognize Jesus if he walked by me on the sidewalk? We say he knows each and every one of us, does that mean he would stop and talk to me, ask me what’s up, say my name and give me advice on life? Would Jesus eat dinner with my friends and I, just shooting the breeze and talking about whatever? I often wonder what Jesus would do when he walks by a homeless guy on the sidewalks of 7th. I don’t always give them money, but I usually acknowledge them and say hey. Is that the right thing to do? Is that what he would do?

Two of Jesus’ many qualities that I really wish I could show more of in myself are limitless grace and eternal, or ever-lasting, forgiveness.

What is grace? Christians see grace as being God’s unmerited or undeserved favor. However, grace is more than that. It’s courteous goodwill, it’s a polite manner, and it’s even a talent or blessing. How many of us really show people any kind of grace on a consistent basis? Sure, we all have favorite people who we love and hang out with more than others, but that’s not really showing grace. Christians tend to put a limit on Gods grace. We think it’s reserved just for those who love him, and not an amazing gift for everyone. The truth is that Jesus died for everyone’s sins. He died for you, me, the non-believers, the thieves and the murderers. His grace is limitless in that he gives it everyone, no matter their background. I think that if Jesus were here today he would still show unbelievable grace. He wouldn’t just go to church-to-church meeting all the Christians and thanking them for their faithfulness. I think he’d walk to streets, visit the prisons, and get to know those who are furthest for him. Just as Jesus did, we need to stop putting a limit on our own grace. We need to be more polite to others, we need to honor others, and we need love others, even if we feel they do not deserve any of it, for it is when we put a limit to grace, that we have no grace at all.

It is so easy to forgive someone for something small. Someone bumps into you on the street, they turn around and say, “sorry man,” you say, “oh no worries.” You instantly forgave them. But what if instead, someone bumps into on the street right after you picked up your freshly made venti cinnamon dulce latte from Starbucks, and to make it worse, the lid was loose and it spilled all over your brand new, white jacket that you saved up for months to buy? They say, “Ahh! I’m so sorry man”, you turn around and go off on them. What’s really the difference? It was the same bump, same amount of force, but this time you had coffee, and it ruined something of value to you. So what if Jesus was here today? I’m pretty sure that if someone bumped him, and spilled his coffee, he would chuckle, brush it off, and say, “No worries my brother.” Jesus instantly forgives everyone for anything, no matter the size of the crime. Forgiveness is one of the most difficult things to do. When we learn to freely forgive, we rid ourselves of all the negative thoughts and feelings toward those who wronged us that we keep inside. When we are free of all these, we are open to truly experience the joy and happiness that Jesus has in store for us.

Is it possible to promise someone that we will always forgive them, and always show them grace? Probably not, but it is possible to work on those two qualities within ourselves. This holiday when someone asks me what I want for Christmas, I’m going to consider telling them limitless grace, or eternal forgiveness.

Ephesians 3:20-21: “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us…”

Ryan