Robin Mark - Jesus, All For Jesus - With Lyrics

This is one of the songs we'll be singing this Sunday, and even though we've sung it before I thought it might be helpful to reacquaint you with it before church.

Songs for Sunday

This Sunday our first hymn is going to be #597, Take My Life And Let It Be, by Frances Ridley Havergal.

The prayer hymn is going to be an old text set to a familiar tune. Jesus, Where'er Thy People Meet was a hymn written by William Cowper for the dedication of a place of worship.

Jesus, where’er Thy people meet,

There they behold Thy mercy seat;

Where’er they seek Thee Thou art found,

And every place is hallowed ground.

Dear Shepherd of Thy chosen few,

Thy former mercies here renew;

Here, to our waiting hearts, proclaim

The sweetness of Thy saving Name.

Here may we prove the power of prayer

To strengthen faith and sweeten care;

To teach our faint desires to rise,

And bring all Heav’n before our eyes.

Lord, we are few, but Thou art near;

Nor short Thine arm, nor deaf Thine ear;

O rend the heavens, come quickly down,

And make a thousand hearts Thine own!

During communion we will sing the Robin Marks song, "Jesus, All For Jesus," for which there is a post below.

And our closing hymn will be #588, "All For Jesus," by Mary James.

Readings for Sunday, June 1

One of the worst things about being an RD was mediating roommate disputes. Often I didn't get involved until things were already out of hand. Picture two roommates squabbling and the threats escalating until one roommate is holding up in the air a cherished figurine belonging to the other. "You wouldn't." Those are always ill-advised words, the sort of words that are too often punctuated by the sound of shattered figurines.
I think of that when reading this passage. Jesus stands with his pruning shears aimed at the unfruitful bride. The church, in a low tone, with eyes wide and head shaking: "You wouldn't."
He does.


Call to Repentance
Joel 2:12-13 (Page 1415)

Call to Worship
Psalm 16 (page 853)

OT Reading
Isaiah 5:1-7 (page 1065)

NT Reading
Ephesians 5:8-21 (page 1822)

Message
John 15:1-17 (page 1676)
Fruit or Flame?

Readings for Sunday, May 25, 2008

Here's a question to consider: certainly the unsaved are welcome guests in our churches, but is there any sense in which they can belong to a church prior to their conversion? Can believing be the result of belonging or should it be the condition for belonging? The passage from 1 Peter that I will be preaching on would seem to speak to that question, but I'm anxious for the church to wrestle with it some.

Call to Repentance
Hebrews 6:7-8 (page 1867)

Call to Worship
Psalm 71 (page 907)

OT Reading
1 King 8:22-30 (page 535)

NT Reading
John 15:9-17 (page 1677)

Message
Christian Architecture
1 Peter 2:4-10 (page 1888)

Apocalypse Eventually . . .

. . . but how about heaven now?
One of the best things about the Brothers Wesley is their optimistic approach to the life of faith and their insistence that the abundant salvation life begins now. Heaven should represent a change in the location of that life, but not the quality of that life.
Where most Christians think that salvation means hell has been deflected and heaven is promised, we can believe instead that hell is being defeated and heaven realized. Right now!
Tonight, as I was singing hymns to my girls at bedtime, I was struck by these lines from a hymn by Charles Wesley.

His love, surpassing far,
The love of all beneath,
We find within our hearts, and dare,
The pointless darts of death.

Stronger than death or hell
The sacred power we prove;
And, conquerors of the world, we dwell
In heaven, who dwell in love.

Now if only "beneath/death" and "prove/love" still rhymed in the English language!

A Sinner By Any Other Name

I've read "Evangelism Without Additives" by Jim Henderson for the class I'll be taking at Houghton College this coming week. It has been both challenging, encouraging, and dismaying.
One of the most thought provoking things about the book is the challenge to our vocabulary. The author says it's time to get rid of descriptions of people who are not Christian that non-Christians might find offensive, such as "the lost," and "non-believers."
I see his point, and most of the terms we use don't even reflect the Biblical text. The problem is that the Biblical terms are much more potentially offensive. Reading the book I found myself trying to come up with positive words that did not reinforce the us/them mindset. I began to congratulate myself for coming up with "beneficiaries (of salvation)" and "potential beneficiaries."
But then I turned to the Bible and discovered that to Peter and Paul my neighbors are "enemies of the cross of Christ," and "sinners" and "the ungodly."
What is a disciple of Christ in a pluralistic society to do?
What words should we use, do you think?

Ancient Anger in the Mouths of Milquetoasts

These are the readings for this coming Sunday. It's a hard thing to preach on and probably no easier sitting in the pews. The hard Psalms are inspired scripture. We can not dismiss them as David's personal ramblings on a bad day. We have to do something with them, but we have to be so careful.


Call to Repentance
Revelation 3:19 (page 1917)

Call to Worship
Psalm 47 (page 885)

OT Reading
Jeremiah 17:12-18 (page 1201)

NT Reading
James 5:1-9 (page 1884)

Message
Ancient Anger in the Mouths of Milquetoasts
Psalm 109:6-15 (page 950)

Readings for Pentecost Sunday

Remember to wear red this Sunday as we celebrate the incalculable gift of God's Holy Spirit.

May 11, 2008 Pentecost Sunday

Call to Repentance
Hosea 10:12 (page 1407)

Call to Worship
Psalm 126 (page 967)

OT Reading
Isaiah 62:1-7 (page 1159)

NT Reading
Hebrews 12:12-24 (page page 1877)

Message
Living Out of a Suitcase
Acts of the Apostles 1:4-5 (page 1690)

Fishes and Loaves

This Sunday, the Sunday of our Annual Meeting, I'll be preaching on what it means for us to have a drenched altar; what it is our altar's drenched with, and why it's so important that it stay that way.

We're a little church with lots of strikes against us. And that's exactly how we want it.

During this time of glossy megachurches and their ambitious aspirants it takes a real effort of the will to be the sort of church where God's activity could not be mistaken for anything else.

Other churches, hearing that there are hungry masses, put in a bid on the catering job. They invest in chafing dishes and cloth napkins. They come up with an enticing menu. They make sure the drinks are cold and the chicken parmesan is hot. The servers in their uniforms know what to do so that things go smoothly. There will be compliments to the chef.

We, on the other hand, hearing the same report simply go to the Master, not with a bid, but with our lunch. What happens with the few fishes and loaves is, ultimately, up to him. It is primarily our job to turn them over.

Call to Repentance
Romans 12:3 (page 1763)

Call to Worship
Psalm 144 (page 978)

OT Reading
Judges 7:1-8 (page 383)

NT Reading
Acts 1:1-14 (page 1690)

Message
Our Drenched Altar
1 Kings 18:16-39 (page 557)

John Wesley Part 1 - From the Burning

I would urge you to consider this brief video from "Under the Stairs Productions." It tells the story of John Wesley, the founder of the movement that gave rise to the denomination to which our church belongs.
Knowing more about our heritage gives us a better idea of our direction and mission.
I'll be posting the next two parts next week.

Bi-vocational Ministry

Tomorrow might prove a big day in the life of the church. Of course, that's true every Sunday and we would do well to remember it. You can't make a habit of coming into the presence of the Consuming Fire and not keep in mind that one of these Sundays we might get seared.
But tomorrow in particular we will be having our Annual Meeting and one of the things we will be discussing is the possibility of changing my employment status with the church. Right now, in order to make ends meet, I am having to work full-time outside of the church.
The board is considering increasing our salary to some extent so that I can drop down to part-time employment and go on state health care.
I don't think that full-time employment at the church is realistically an option, at this point.
I can't stress enough how important it is that we as a church pray through this and study Scripture to see what it tells us.

Some points to consider in no particular order:

1. Relying on the church for personal income is a risk, but you can't really think of it that way when it's an act of obedience.

2. From talking with mature saints, I suspect that North Chittenden Wesleyan has never had a full-time pastor in its considerable history (unless Charles Dayton was full-time).

3. I know that other bi-vocational pastors in this church's past have had successful ministries and been comfortable in retirement. Some of their outside work has included working for the road crew, working for the fish hatchery, and doing local farm work on a per diem basis.

4. Working at Barstow Elementary has been a wonderful (and fruitful) connection with the community and they have proven to be a generous and accomodating employer.

5. In theory, having a bi-vocational pastor should result in a more active (and even bi-vocational) congregation. Full-time pastors can lead to passive flocks.

6. There are some serious obstacles to ministry and threats to the pastor's health when he is required to work the second shift for forty hours a week, while trying to pastor, parent and pursue ordination.

7. The employment status of the pastor has an effect on people's perceptions of the church. It would be ugly of us to take steps toward having a full-time pastor so that our affluent, highly educated neighbors would possibly think better of us. But, on the other hand, people in and out of the church will be more likely to ask the pastor for pastoral assistance when they can do so without feeling that they are being an imposition on an already stressed schedule.
And taking these steps, as with improvements to the building, sends a visible signal to our community that we are a vital fellowship whose devotion is bearing fruit.

8. No one would be more directly affected by any change in employment status than I would be, and no one is more confused about what to wish for than I am. It would be nice to have my mind made up, but it's also nice to know that I can be pleased with any outcome.

9. God is faithful and we have good reason to believe that he loves our church.