Benjamin

July 2, 2013

Genesis 35: 18  As [Rachel] breathed her last--for she was dying--she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin. 

Pastor Sheila Kelly explained this to campers at Camp Bright Star: 

You can't control people or even many circumstances. Sometimes, circumstances are awful. But God has given you the authority to control yourself. Rachel named her son, whom she died birthing, Ben-Oni-- "child of my sorrow." But Jacob, the boy's father, who could have thought of his beloved Rachel's death every time he saw their son, renamed him Ben-Amin (Benjamin). Ben-Amin means "child of my right hand." What a positive response to a tragic circumstance! You can let a sad circumstance define you, or you can rise above it. Ben-Oni? Or Ben-Amin? YOU have the authority to determine your response. 

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I am convinced Sheila delivered this morning devotion in response to a camper's struggle with homesickness the night before. According to the boy's mother, the child had never been able to stay away from home overnight since the death of his father several years ago. Despite his fear and grief, and with much pastoral support and encouragement, he DID stay overnight. The context of his fear and uncertainty the night before made this a very powerful and sensitive message the next morning.

I wonder if he realized she was speaking directly to him? Or at least it seemed so to this amazed and tearful counselor :')

Desire vs Love

May 11, 2014

Galatians 5: 16-26  So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. 

John 10: 10  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Revelation 12: 11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Matthew 6: 33  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

1 John 4:19  We love because He first loved us.

Pastor David said:

According to the Bible, love is not a feeling. Love is an act of volitional will--a choice, a decision, a covenant relationship--which God and ONLY God makes possible. Love is a fruit of the Spirit [Gal 5:22-23] Americans want love to be romantic, emotional, accidental--a coup de foudre! False love is based on needs and feelings. Real love is defined by giving--the choice to give to others. It is based on what you can give, not on what you need from someone.

If we want to live as a holy, set-aside people (holy = kodesh), we must love as the Bible teaches love. 

1. People are not commodities. Don't shop for love; decide to love. 

2. Love is a sacrifice, and it must be freely given. 

3. Where there is no love; there are rules. Love makes graciousness possible and destroys self-absorption. When you love, you think of others. And when others love you, you feel nurtured and don't have to command attention. So for love to function--as God intends it to function--we all must love.

4. Truly and deeply love God. And when you choose to do that, He will give you the ability to love all others. FIRST, love God. [Matt 6:33, Rev 12:11]

New Testament Christianity: We love because we are loved! We are not trying to earn a place in heaven--we have a place in heaven. Heaven is a gift of love and mercy, freely given by Jesus. Jesus' love for us is our example of how to love others. We love and reach out to others because Jesus loved us. Because we accepted that gift of mercy and love, we have a place in heaven--and we don't deserve it. Maybe our fellow man doesn't "deserve" it, either, but Jesus set the example. We simply follow it.

Once in Deepest Darkness Dreary...

May 18, 2014 

The Book of Jonah: The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord ... 17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 

3:1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh... 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth... 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

4:1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry... 4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” ... 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered... 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” 10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

Pastor Doug Rorex, District Superintendent, preached a "bedtime story" about Jonah:

Jonah focuses on the things he hates; he is self-centered. But God sends him to Nineveh to exhort Nineveh's people about their sinfulness. Lecturing people is right in Jonah's wheelhouse. But Jonah avoids this mission: he doesn't want the Ninevites to repent; he wants them to burn! Ultimately, Jonah goes to Nineveh. He enjoys preaching destruction, and when the Ninevites repent? What then? He's disgusted and angry with God for being God: just and holy and merciful. But God takes mercy on Jonah while Jonah pouts: shades him with a plant grown especially for his protection! And when God allows the plant to die the next day, Jonah is ticked about that, too! God wants the best for Jonah, but Jonah won't have it. And Jonah is angrier about the plant's demise than about the narrowly-avoided demise of thousands of people in Nineveh--God's children! An object lesson in how not to behave!

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God wants what is best for all of us, but he cannot help us if we won't take the help! He is always reaching, always and in all ways. Get over yourself and try God's way.

Another thing I took away from this: God can and will use even the smallest-minded, least forgiving of His people. Even Jonah's anger and vengefulness had a place in God's plan: God needed just such an angry man to literally put the fear of God in the Ninevites!! And it worked!  

I admit it: I can be awfully Jonah-like. I'm a "stick"--follow the rules!  no mercy! straighten up! Jonah's story comforts me: if there's a place in God's Kingdom/plan for a complete jerk like Jonah, then there's surely a place for me! But I remind myself: don't be like Jonah!!

When All Else Fails

August 28, 2011

Genesis 29: 30-35  Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years. when the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "It is because the lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son, she said, "Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon. Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son, she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi. She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son, she said, "This time I will praise the Lord." So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

Matthew 1: 1-3 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah...

Genesis 49: 29, 31 Then [Jacob] gave them these instructions: "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite... There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah."

When all else fails, praise God. He will raise up the least. Leah couldn't make Jacob love her, so she finally decided to praise God. He raised her up. She--not Rachel--was buried in the family plot next to Jacob [Gen 49: 29, 31]. Leah--not Rachel--is Jesus' great great... great Grandmother.  [Matt 1: 1-3] Just praise God!

This sermon was delivered at the Pioneer Day service in the Perry Park. At the time, I noted, "One of the most powerful sermons I've ever heard." Pastor evoked so clearly those feelings of desperation we feel when we want to be loved and just aren't. When we want to be the center of someone's life and just aren't. How many of us have thought, "If I just... , s/he'll care or love or appreciate me?" And sometimes, it just doesn't happen. 

But, when you turn your face from self-pity and give thanks and praise for what you DO have, life straightens out. You hold the keys. No one else does. JUST PRAISE GOD.

By Way of Introduction

On June 1, my pastor, David Kelly [Bright Star Parish of the LaMoine District of the Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church in Illinois], invited his parishioners to submit our "favorite" sermons from the past 8 years and he will do encores a couple times a year. Oohhh, I have been WAITING for this day! 

I am a note-taker by nature, and I treat every Sunday's sermon as a Bible study opportunity. I have years' worth of sermon notes, and have been tempted to start a little blog based on David's in particular. He is an amazing preacher. His sermons are deep and wide, cross referenced, annotated, connected to German philosophy (he loves the German philosophers) and contemporary literature. He reads and speaks Hebrew and regularly posts the Hebrew spelling/meaning of the terms he references in the sermon.

Most importantly, as David reminds us in almost every sermon, ALL SCRIPTURE IS PRESENT TRUTH. That means no matter the context at the time it was written, there is a message for US, today, in 2014 and beyond, in every word of the Bible. 

What you will see here are 1) the text of the sermon--Bible verses upon which it is based; 2) the preacher's message; and 3) my own "take" on the sermon and what I got from it. 

MOST of the sermons are Dave's, but there will be other preachers represented: Sheila Kelly, Karma Webel, Peg Ratliff and others.

This is a self-indulgent little blog, but, hey! Aren't they all? Enjoy!