Stay in Love with God
I love coffee…The taste, the smell, the idea…I’m not gonna lie, I need to have at least 2 cups of coffee in the morning to be functional and the stronger the better…I like my coffee with cream and sugar…I prefer fair trade coffee because there’s nothing like knowing that a farmer earned a fair wage for their work rather than being exploited by corporations…I love coffee…I love the way that it warms me up when I’m feeling cold or if I’m feeling adventurous and try ice coffee, how it cools me down…I feel better after that first drink in the morning and I feel full of energy and ready to tackle the day…I crave coffee…Coffee fills me up! And yet…no matter how much I love coffee, there are times when I’m just done with it…I cut out the hard stuff by about 2:00 and am not a fan of decaf…Sometimes I’m just not thirsty and don’t need a drink…Sometimes I’ve just had too much and I’m done for the day…As much as I love coffee, I’m just kind of done with it…I’m sure you’ve got something like that for you…chocolate? Sports? Shopping? What is that thing that you just seem to crave? And yet no matter how much coffee I drink, it’s not always what I’m craving…I think it might be, but it’s just not satisfying like I want it to be…It seems like there’s something more…
For the past couple weeks we’ve been going through John Wesley’s 3 Simple Rules…The first week, we explored the first rule—Do No Harm, which isn’t as easy as we may think nor is it one that many people go out to intentionally break and yet it happens, right? So there’s grace for when we do fall short…But more than doing no harm, we explored the second rule—Do Good…which is the other side of do no harm—where we seek to do all the good we can in all the places we can to all the people we can as long as we ever can and not because we are trying to earn God’s love, but because we have already received God’s love…Which brings us to the third rule which is clearly not about coffee…But the third rule is to stay in love with God. So, what does that mean?
When married couples are having difficulties in their marriage, one of the pieces of advice is to think about what made them fall in love. To go to the time when they knew this was the person with whom they wanted to spend the rest of their life with—the person that they were madly in love with. So, when was the first time that you knew that you were in love with God? Now, it sounds like an awkward question because we usually don’t talk about God in a romantic way or in a way where God is my boyfriend or girlfriend…But, falling in love with God is something that we do when we decide to claim Jesus Christ as Lord…If you didn’t love God—would you really do something like that? Give your whole life over? No, we don’t talk about God with the romantic love, we talk about God in the “agape” love…Agape is the fullest kind of love…In the Greek language there are several different words for “love” each describing a different kind of love—erros which is passionate love; philios which is brotherly or friendship kind of love, and agape which is the fullest and Godly kind of love. The root for the word agape is also the root for the same word as holy in the Greek…So agape is kind of that holy love. So, when did you fall into agape with God? It doesn’t have to be a life changing moment, although that’s possible! It may have been a gradual happening—something that you didn’t even realize was happening, but now life will never be the same! When did you fall in love with God?
Jesus’ sermon on the mount is a challenging piece of Scripture because it challenges beliefs and actions…Jesus calls for a commitment to the whole of God—to fall in love with God with our whole beings…The last section doesn’t sway from that idea whatsoever…Jesus tells those listening that not everyone that says “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of God…That’s not very comforting is it? Not everyone that calls on the name of God will enter the kingdom of God? What does that really mean? Jesus is insistent that our actions must match our belief…If we confess that Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Lord over our whole lives and not just what we want Jesus to be Lord over…So you can’t say, Jesus I want you to be my Lord, but stay out of my business…And if we confess Jesus as Lord it’s all the time and not just when it’s convenient…Jesus I want you to be my Lord on Sundays and Tuesdays, but the rest of the time is off limits…Not everyone who claims to believe really believes…
Now that’s not to say that we should look at everyone who confesses Jesus with suspicion and think, “I wonder if they’re one of those Christians.” Jesus also said, take the log out of your own eye before you attempt to remove the speck in another’s…Don’t worry so much about what someone else is doing—what are you doing? Are you in love with God with your whole being? Because I have to tell you that it is not easy all the time…
There are so many things pulling our attention from God…Oh, I’ll just watch this one episode of ER and then I’ll pray…Oh, I’ll just miss worship this one week so that I can sleep in…Oh, I’ll just stay at work a little bit longer and then I’ll study the Bible…There is much that will pull our attention away from God. There is much that comes between that love that we have with God…Now some may be thinking…Well, you know what Melissa you have no idea—I do love God with my whole being…Which you may very well do…But let me ask a question—where does most of your money go? If you looked at the register in your checkbook—where does most of your money go? Is it to God? Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…
In a couple weeks we will begin the Advent countdown…The four weeks where we prepare for the birth of Jesus—Christmas. Our culture gives us subtle hints as to when it’s time to celebrate Christmas…Maybe you’ve heard the songs on the radio already, or have seen the decorations in the stores, or have started thinking about gifts lists…Christmas has taken on a whole new life in the middle of our culture…Over the past few years there have been arguments about whether to say “Happy holidays” or “Merry Christmas”…but instead of focusing what we say to one another, what if we focused on what Christmas is really about? Because Christmas isn’t really about what our culture tells us…It’s not about gifts or ribbons, or cookies…Christmas is about a Messiah that came to us because we couldn’t do it on our own…Christmas is about a Savior who chose to spend time with us so that we could understand the love and grace of God…Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus…Christmas is Jesus’ birthday! Christmas is not your birthday…you have a birthday where you receive gifts and celebrate…Christmas is about Jesus’ birth…Now some may be thinking, “I’m not going to let you make me feel guilty for wanting to buy gifts for my loved ones.” Well, I’m not trying to…But here’s the challenge I give to you…Whatever you spend on Christmas this year—bring that same amount to the church. So, if you spend $1,000 on Christmas, bring $1,000 to the church…If you spend $10,000 on Christmas, bring $10,000 to the church. Whatever is collected from this Christmas miracle offering will go to help hunger issues. Because 30,000 children die every day from hunger issues. Because most of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day…Because it takes just $360 to feed a child for a year…$40 to feed a family of 5 for a month…Can you imagine what kind of a gift it is to give someone help to meet their basic needs? That instead of focusing on what we get and what we need, we focused on what someone else may need to live…That we live simply so that others may simply live.
Stay in love with God…Any relationship takes work…It takes communication and action…If you talked to someone you loved once a week, what kind of relationship do you have? If you talked to someone you love only when things are going wrong, what kind of relationship do you have? If you tell someone you love to stay out of your business, what kind of relationship do you have? Why is it okay to say & do those things to God? How do we stay in love with God?
By focusing on God…By being intentional about making God first in every aspect of our lives…John Wesley said to it was by attending upon the ordinances of God….Worship, Communion, Prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship and discussion…
Imagine what it would be like if instead of craving a cup of coffee in the morning, you craved spending time with God in prayer…Because the satisfaction that comes from that is more than any cup of coffee can give…Every morning, I start the with prayer and devotion. Upstairs in my library, before I even go downstairs to make my coffee, I’m in prayer and time with God…Sometimes it’s a long time before I can get settled enough to be fully with God and sometimes it’s very quick…And there are days when I’m running late or my alarm doesn’t go off that I don’t spend that time with God…And I know it because my whole day is off…I feel like the person Jesus talks about who built their house on sandy land instead of a strong foundation…That’s what it’s like when we don’t give our whole selves to God—when we still want to follow our own way or the way that our culture tells us…our lives are built on sand instead of a strong foundation…
Stay in love with God by attending to all the ordinances of God…God asks a lot from us…Just in Jesus’ sermon on the mount, there is a lot asked of us…Don’t murder, don’t be angry, don’t commit adultery, don’t look at anyone with lust, treat others as you would like to be treated, forgive your brothers and sisters, whatever you do to the least of these you do to me, where your treasure is there your heart will be also…And that’s just the beginning…God asks a lot from us—God asks for all of us! God wants us to love God with our whole being…And it’s not an impossible task…Yes, it is hard because so much pulls our attention elsewhere…But it’s not impossible to stay in love with God…If you find it challenging, turn to the person sitting next to you and promise to help them when life gets hard and they promise to you the same thing…Find some friends to build a covenant group…Find someone who will hold you accountable…It’s not impossible to stay in love with God…Partly because it’s deep within us to want to…God has placed a desire in us to be with God…Instead of filling that desire with other things, let’s fill it with God…By attending to the ordinances of God…By doing no harm…by doing God…and Staying in love with God.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Do Good
Do Good
This week we continue our series on John Wesley’s 3 simple rules. These rules were the basis that John Wesley required those in the Methodist societies to live by. As the members of the small groups gathered together they shared together how it was with their souls based around the general rules: Do no harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God. In their small groups, they were held accountable for their actions and responsible for deepening their faith together. It was John Wesley’s intention that through these Methodist societies, the Church of England would ultimately be revived. As with most revolutions, that proved to be impossible and the beginning of the Methodist Church was started. We didn’t become the United Methodist Church until 1968 when the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Bretheren Church joined together. In the past few years there has been a resurgence in connection with the Wesleyan way or the way that John Wesley taught and preached. One of those reconnections has been through the general rules. Ruben Job wrote a small book on these general rules in order to help understand these general rules and that has been the basis of the 3 Simple Rules.
Last week we considered the first rule: Do no harm and discovered that it may be more difficult than originally thought. But we continue to strive toward the goal of doing no harm and for the times when we fall short, God’s grace is there.
So on the other side of do no harm, would be to do good. Which just like do no harm seems to be quite simple! Many people would agree that the world would probably be a better place if more people helped one another and cared for one another as Jesus taught. So if do good is such an easy rule, why is the world not such a perfect place? Maybe because do good isn’t as easy either…
Whenever I hear the rule do good, I can hear my dad’s voice…It must have started when I was little, but I can remember all the way until I graduated high school the message that he left whenever he left. “Be good.” He always said…Now, that meant to follow all the rules and be respectful and help out…None of that was ever spelled out, but it was what he meant when he said, “Be good.” I wonder if that’s partly what John Wesley meant when he said, do good.
The full rule from Wesley is “do all the good you can, to all the people you can, in all the places that you can.” Now, I don’t know about you but I can name a lot of places to do good…And I can name a lot of places where good is not done…
It’s not enough to just do no harm…Because even if you succeeded in doing no harm perfectly, what would you be doing? You’d be focusing so much on that that you would forget anything else! So as we try not to do harm we also try to do good.
As Jesus continues his teaching on the sermon on the mount, he is talking to the crowd about spiritual disciplines—fasting, praying, and giving to the poor. In each case he gives them an instruction on how not to do the discipline and how to do the discipline….
”Whenever you give, do not sound trumpets so others will notice…Instead, don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.” Now, in the past few years many celebrities have been outspoken about the donations that they have made to charities…And for some it is a way to get more people to give, but for others it’s a way to draw attention to themselves…Bill & Melinda Gates—the world’s richest couple have also been the biggest philanthropists, and although some of their work is starting to get some attention, the Gates do not bring attention to the amount of money that they give, just to the work that’s being done. In May of this year at our General Conference the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations issued the challenge to double whatever was given to the Nothing But Nets campaign to buy nets for those who live in countries where malaria is rampant. I have not yet heard what the collection has been, but as the Northern Illinois Conference we have collected $22,983 during annual conference. Now some of you are probably thinking that you will not ever see that amount of money and so it’s pretty easy to think about not broadcasting how much you give…And although giving money is important because God commands it, it’s not the only way that we give…We give our time, our talents, our prayers, and our service as well…If the motivation of getting attention is your motive for doing good, are you really doing good or are you serving yourself? What does it mean to give without drawing attention to yourself? Well, it means to do good…
Jesus also talks about prayer….He talks about the hypocrites who pray loudly in order to be seen and get attention…Jesus says go into your closet and shut the door…What was happening was there were people who were in the temples and in the streets praying loudly and broadcasting all of their accomplishments and what they had done and focusing on themselves rather than on God. So when Jesus says go into your closet and shut the door he is reminding them to focus on God and their relationship with God rather than making themselves look good.
Jesus also talks about fasting—the discipline of giving something up, usually for 40 days. Most Christians understand this as a part of Lent, but fasting is not limited to the Lenten season. Fasting is something that can be done year round and in many different ways. Some people give up eating…some give up a particular item…What is important to remember in giving something up, is that we fill the time doing whatever it was that we gave up with spending time with God. So if your fast is from eating, the time that you would normally eat, you should spend that time in prayer and study with God. What was happening with the hypocrites as Jesus called them is that they were fasting for attention…They would go out into public looking pathetic…A way of saying, “I’m so faithful and holy--- look at me!” But Jesus says, to continue to fast and go out as though nothing had changed…Shower, dress up, put oil on your face and don’t look pathetic…Don’t draw attention to yourself because that defeats the purpose…
Jesus continues by saying not to store up treasures on earth—for where your treasure is there your heart will be also…Do good…If we are so focused on ourselves and what people think about us, are we doing good? Are we loving with sacrificial love like Jesus taught? Where is our treasure? Is it in our stuff? Is it in what other people think of us? Is it in God? As we love our neighbor as we love ourselves? Do good…
Doing good is important and there are many things that constitute doing good…But what is the motive behind it? Is it to get attention or is it to humbly serve? Do all the good you can in all the places you can to all the people you can.
It’s not enough to do no harm…If you hold your tongue from saying something bad about someone are you telling them something good instead? If you stop from hitting someone are building them up instead? If you stop gossiping are you instead sharing your faith? Are you doing all the good you can in the all the places you can to all the people you can? Even if we avoid doing no harm and do no good we have still been doing harm…Silence speaks volumes many times.
The Sudan has been called by the United Nations as the worst humanitarian crisis. Sudan is a country in Africa that is torn by war and genocide…Our government has called what is happening in Sudan a genocide…Children are being killed daily or forced to become soldiers…Women are being raped or forced to become slaves…There are conditions that we can’t even begin to imagine…We can say we won’t support the terrible regimes that are causing this harm and doing these things, but if we don’t follow that up with doing good our silence seems to agree with those who perpetrate the crimes against humanity…What does it mean to do good?
Maybe if more people focused on doing good the world would be a much better place…And it would be easy to look at the world and say, “well no one else is doing it so why should I?” or “There’s just too much to do and I’m only one person…” Maybe you’ve heard the starfish story? (Starfish story)…What difference are you making in even one person’s life? Are you doing all the good you can in all the places you can to all the people you can? It doesn’t have to be a grand event or something huge…It can be simple, but powerful…Like pushing someone’s cart back for them…or buying some extra food for the food pantry…or giving a smile to someone who’s had a hard day…giving someone a compliment rather than sharing gossip…Sharing your faith rather than worrying about what they’ll think about you…
There are countless ways to do all the good we can in all the places we can to all the people we can…And we don’t do good to earn favor with God…We do good because we’ve already gained favor with God…Jesus already took care of what we couldn’t…We are justified through Jesus because he did what we could not…Because of that justification we strive to do good…Not because we want God to love us more but because God has already loved us more than we can imagine…God doesn’t keep a tally list of how much good that we do and that means we get a bigger reward or it makes up for the times that we didn’t…We do good because it’s what God wants us to do…To love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor as we love ourself…To do justice, to love mercy, and walk humbly with our God…Do do no harm, to do good, and stay in love with God…
This week we continue our series on John Wesley’s 3 simple rules. These rules were the basis that John Wesley required those in the Methodist societies to live by. As the members of the small groups gathered together they shared together how it was with their souls based around the general rules: Do no harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God. In their small groups, they were held accountable for their actions and responsible for deepening their faith together. It was John Wesley’s intention that through these Methodist societies, the Church of England would ultimately be revived. As with most revolutions, that proved to be impossible and the beginning of the Methodist Church was started. We didn’t become the United Methodist Church until 1968 when the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Bretheren Church joined together. In the past few years there has been a resurgence in connection with the Wesleyan way or the way that John Wesley taught and preached. One of those reconnections has been through the general rules. Ruben Job wrote a small book on these general rules in order to help understand these general rules and that has been the basis of the 3 Simple Rules.
Last week we considered the first rule: Do no harm and discovered that it may be more difficult than originally thought. But we continue to strive toward the goal of doing no harm and for the times when we fall short, God’s grace is there.
So on the other side of do no harm, would be to do good. Which just like do no harm seems to be quite simple! Many people would agree that the world would probably be a better place if more people helped one another and cared for one another as Jesus taught. So if do good is such an easy rule, why is the world not such a perfect place? Maybe because do good isn’t as easy either…
Whenever I hear the rule do good, I can hear my dad’s voice…It must have started when I was little, but I can remember all the way until I graduated high school the message that he left whenever he left. “Be good.” He always said…Now, that meant to follow all the rules and be respectful and help out…None of that was ever spelled out, but it was what he meant when he said, “Be good.” I wonder if that’s partly what John Wesley meant when he said, do good.
The full rule from Wesley is “do all the good you can, to all the people you can, in all the places that you can.” Now, I don’t know about you but I can name a lot of places to do good…And I can name a lot of places where good is not done…
It’s not enough to just do no harm…Because even if you succeeded in doing no harm perfectly, what would you be doing? You’d be focusing so much on that that you would forget anything else! So as we try not to do harm we also try to do good.
As Jesus continues his teaching on the sermon on the mount, he is talking to the crowd about spiritual disciplines—fasting, praying, and giving to the poor. In each case he gives them an instruction on how not to do the discipline and how to do the discipline….
”Whenever you give, do not sound trumpets so others will notice…Instead, don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.” Now, in the past few years many celebrities have been outspoken about the donations that they have made to charities…And for some it is a way to get more people to give, but for others it’s a way to draw attention to themselves…Bill & Melinda Gates—the world’s richest couple have also been the biggest philanthropists, and although some of their work is starting to get some attention, the Gates do not bring attention to the amount of money that they give, just to the work that’s being done. In May of this year at our General Conference the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations issued the challenge to double whatever was given to the Nothing But Nets campaign to buy nets for those who live in countries where malaria is rampant. I have not yet heard what the collection has been, but as the Northern Illinois Conference we have collected $22,983 during annual conference. Now some of you are probably thinking that you will not ever see that amount of money and so it’s pretty easy to think about not broadcasting how much you give…And although giving money is important because God commands it, it’s not the only way that we give…We give our time, our talents, our prayers, and our service as well…If the motivation of getting attention is your motive for doing good, are you really doing good or are you serving yourself? What does it mean to give without drawing attention to yourself? Well, it means to do good…
Jesus also talks about prayer….He talks about the hypocrites who pray loudly in order to be seen and get attention…Jesus says go into your closet and shut the door…What was happening was there were people who were in the temples and in the streets praying loudly and broadcasting all of their accomplishments and what they had done and focusing on themselves rather than on God. So when Jesus says go into your closet and shut the door he is reminding them to focus on God and their relationship with God rather than making themselves look good.
Jesus also talks about fasting—the discipline of giving something up, usually for 40 days. Most Christians understand this as a part of Lent, but fasting is not limited to the Lenten season. Fasting is something that can be done year round and in many different ways. Some people give up eating…some give up a particular item…What is important to remember in giving something up, is that we fill the time doing whatever it was that we gave up with spending time with God. So if your fast is from eating, the time that you would normally eat, you should spend that time in prayer and study with God. What was happening with the hypocrites as Jesus called them is that they were fasting for attention…They would go out into public looking pathetic…A way of saying, “I’m so faithful and holy--- look at me!” But Jesus says, to continue to fast and go out as though nothing had changed…Shower, dress up, put oil on your face and don’t look pathetic…Don’t draw attention to yourself because that defeats the purpose…
Jesus continues by saying not to store up treasures on earth—for where your treasure is there your heart will be also…Do good…If we are so focused on ourselves and what people think about us, are we doing good? Are we loving with sacrificial love like Jesus taught? Where is our treasure? Is it in our stuff? Is it in what other people think of us? Is it in God? As we love our neighbor as we love ourselves? Do good…
Doing good is important and there are many things that constitute doing good…But what is the motive behind it? Is it to get attention or is it to humbly serve? Do all the good you can in all the places you can to all the people you can.
It’s not enough to do no harm…If you hold your tongue from saying something bad about someone are you telling them something good instead? If you stop from hitting someone are building them up instead? If you stop gossiping are you instead sharing your faith? Are you doing all the good you can in the all the places you can to all the people you can? Even if we avoid doing no harm and do no good we have still been doing harm…Silence speaks volumes many times.
The Sudan has been called by the United Nations as the worst humanitarian crisis. Sudan is a country in Africa that is torn by war and genocide…Our government has called what is happening in Sudan a genocide…Children are being killed daily or forced to become soldiers…Women are being raped or forced to become slaves…There are conditions that we can’t even begin to imagine…We can say we won’t support the terrible regimes that are causing this harm and doing these things, but if we don’t follow that up with doing good our silence seems to agree with those who perpetrate the crimes against humanity…What does it mean to do good?
Maybe if more people focused on doing good the world would be a much better place…And it would be easy to look at the world and say, “well no one else is doing it so why should I?” or “There’s just too much to do and I’m only one person…” Maybe you’ve heard the starfish story? (Starfish story)…What difference are you making in even one person’s life? Are you doing all the good you can in all the places you can to all the people you can? It doesn’t have to be a grand event or something huge…It can be simple, but powerful…Like pushing someone’s cart back for them…or buying some extra food for the food pantry…or giving a smile to someone who’s had a hard day…giving someone a compliment rather than sharing gossip…Sharing your faith rather than worrying about what they’ll think about you…
There are countless ways to do all the good we can in all the places we can to all the people we can…And we don’t do good to earn favor with God…We do good because we’ve already gained favor with God…Jesus already took care of what we couldn’t…We are justified through Jesus because he did what we could not…Because of that justification we strive to do good…Not because we want God to love us more but because God has already loved us more than we can imagine…God doesn’t keep a tally list of how much good that we do and that means we get a bigger reward or it makes up for the times that we didn’t…We do good because it’s what God wants us to do…To love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor as we love ourself…To do justice, to love mercy, and walk humbly with our God…Do do no harm, to do good, and stay in love with God…
Monday, November 3, 2008
2008 Election Guide
The General Board of Church & Society of the United Methodist Church focuses on the social issues and how they relate to our faith and beliefs as United Methodists. Every election they provide an election guide for voters to use to compare candidates platforms with the social principles of the United Methodist Church. If you are interested in learning more, please visit the website here.
Who would Jesus vote for in the upcoming election? Only the foolish would hazard a guess. But the New Testament itself is a picture of Jesus’ priorities amid all that clamored for His attention.Christ’s mission of justice and compassion was extended to all people. As United Methodists, we are called to transform the world. Part of that transformation is made through faithful advocacy, community involvement and holding our leaders accountable.
This guide is intended as a discernment tool for you, your church and your community to evaluate potential leaders and political agendas of the two major parties as they relate to the Social Principles and Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church. As you read through the guide, ask yourself: How do these party platforms align with Church priorities for addressing human need and the integrity of God’s creation? What action might that call us to? What confession must we make about our own selfish priorities?
The United Methodist Church does not advocate a two-party system and we encourage you to seek out details on the variety of political parties and candidates. We have provided highlights based on party platform information available at the time.
Who would Jesus vote for in the upcoming election? Only the foolish would hazard a guess. But the New Testament itself is a picture of Jesus’ priorities amid all that clamored for His attention.Christ’s mission of justice and compassion was extended to all people. As United Methodists, we are called to transform the world. Part of that transformation is made through faithful advocacy, community involvement and holding our leaders accountable.
This guide is intended as a discernment tool for you, your church and your community to evaluate potential leaders and political agendas of the two major parties as they relate to the Social Principles and Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church. As you read through the guide, ask yourself: How do these party platforms align with Church priorities for addressing human need and the integrity of God’s creation? What action might that call us to? What confession must we make about our own selfish priorities?
The United Methodist Church does not advocate a two-party system and we encourage you to seek out details on the variety of political parties and candidates. We have provided highlights based on party platform information available at the time.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Do No Harm
Do No Harm
John Wesley was an Anglican priest in England, who took a hard look at the denomination that he faithfully served and said, “Something’s wrong…something’s missing.” He was so distraught over the lack of commitment & passion & discipline that he saw among Christians and members of the Anglican church that he said that something had to be done. He was set to revive the Anglican Church…So; he started what he called “holiness clubs.” These holiness clubs were covenant groups—they were meant for the members to deepen their faith commitment, be held accountable, and ultimately revive the church. The holiness clubs got a reputation around England…the people in them seemed to follow such rigid rules and do things just so…they had such a method about them, so the holiness clubs earned the nickname, “Methodists”…It was meant to be a derogatory term that referred to the methodical way that the holiness club members went about everything….Their rigid rules, their practice of faith, their daily prayer…They had a method for everything! Now, you might think… Why would anyone want to be a part of something that was seen so negatively and so rigid? It must have been impossible to follow all of the rules and to be nearly perfect for these clubs! Well, the truth is that it wasn’t easy…but practicing faith isn’t something that is easy—it takes dedication, discipline, believe, trust…And the rigid rules? Well, they really boil down to 3…What are being called now as the 3 simple rules. Do No Harm, Do Good, Stay in love with God. Over the next 3 weeks, we’ll be diving into these 3 simple rules and seeing how they continue to affect our lives and how they deepen our practice of faith. As we do that, we’ll also be thinking through the saying, “Live simply so that others may simply live.” I’m convinced that these 3 simple rules and this phrase go hand in hand with one another although they were spoken by different people years apart…What does it mean to live simply so that others may simply live? What does it mean to do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God? Over the next weeks, we’ll wrestle with those things together. At times the journey may be uncomfortable as we examine our lives together…That’s okay—they aren’t easy questions, but they are important questions. This morning we begin with the first rule…Do no harm.
Now, I have to admit that when I started looking at these General Rules a few years ago, I thought that Wesley made things too easy…I couldn’t believe that people thought these were strict or hard! It made the picture I had of John Wesley being an authoritarian kind of figure seem like a marshmallow…These rules weren’t difficult! I mean the first one sets it up…First, do no harm. That just plain makes sense doesn’t it? Who willingly goes out to harm other people? I mean seriously! So, I first thought, “Sweet! Check and mate! I got that one down cold!” Then, in devotional reading…I turned to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount…Which is probably the best sermon I have ever come across…and the most uncomfortable sermon I have ever come across…
Now in Jesus’ sermon, he announces that he has not come to abolish the law like some have accused him of, but he is there to fulfill the law…Nothing of the law of Moses goes away…In our passage from this morning, Jesus starts to talk about those laws…Now he starts with some of the laws that most people don’t have a hard time keeping…Of course there are exceptions…But if I took a poll this morning of how many people had committed murder or adultery, probably not a lot of hands would go up…It just makes sense—we know that those are 2 things that are wrong and we just don’t do them…So Jesus starts out with the first being, “You’ve heard it said do not murder.” And just like the first rule, “Do no harm.” I thought—“Sweet! No issue there!” But then Jesus goes further… “But I say to you…if you are angry with someone…if you insult someone…if you have a grudge against someone…you will be liable to the same judgment as murderers.” Ouch…It’s one of those times when I just say, “Oh Jesus…you were doing so good! Everything was so easy…and then!” But Jesus isn’t finished because he goes on to say, “You’ve heard it said that you shall not commit adultery.” Which again, sounds really easy right…Until Jesus keeps going… “But I tell you if you even look at someone with lust, you’ve already committed it.” Oh…Following the rules was supposed to be easy, isn’t it? Jesus didn’t abolish any law…he made it harder...Do no harm takes on a whole new meaning in light of Jesus’ teaching here…
What Jesus does is take 2 circumstances that a majority of people haven’t done before…a majority of people haven’t committed murder or adultery…So, most people are probably feeling pretty good about themselves that they are following the law and doing what they’re supposed to be doing…And then Jesus makes that twist that convicts everyone…Because who hasn’t been angry with someone? Or who hasn’t looked at someone attractive and thought, “Wow…” Jesus takes 2 laws that most people haven’t broken and puts them in context of things that pretty much everybody has done…First….Do no harm…
Maybe you’re starting to feel hopeless…Like how can you do anything right? Well, that’s kind of Jesus’ point…No one can do everything perfectly—everyone is going to sin and fall short as Paul writes…You’re going to be angry, you’re going to insult someone, you’re going to look at people…So, do you give up then and there and say, “Gosh it’s impossible so why even try?” Or do you say, “Only by the grace of God can this be possible.”
Do no harm…It seems so simple…It seems so easy…And yet…it’s really not…Do no harm…Not many people willingly go out and say that they’re going to inflict pain on another person…Not many people think that it’s a good feeling to hurt another’s feelings…Not many people sit around and think “how can I be destructive today?” But how many people do it?
When was the last time you physically hit someone? Do no harm…When was the last time you gossiped? Do no harm…When was the last time you called someone else a bad name? Do no harm… When was the last time that you thought something negative about another person? Do no harm…
Last weekend, Linda Floyd & Karen Lanehart & I and about 1,000 other people were at Ginghamsburg UMC in Tipp City, Ohio for a conference. This conference was full of dynamic speakers and amazing ideas and challenging thoughts…One of which was “Live simply so others may simply live.” Now, when it was first said, I thought “Yes! Absolutely!” Now in the economy that we are experiencing right now, this just makes a whole lot of practical sense. Not many people are spending money on the extra things…Out of necessity people are living more simply, right? Well, that’s true…But what does it really mean to live simply so that others may simply live? The next few weeks, I have encouraged you to wear your blue jeans to worship. I was talking with a friend of mine about that and he said to me… “Oh, Melissa—I can’t believe that you’re encouraging people to take worship so un-seriously…Don’t you know that you have to come to God in your best? That’s why it’s called your Sunday best, you know?” and I thought about it for a few minutes and I thought…You know you’re right—God shouldn’t get our second best…But what does that mean? As he continued his argument, I started to think about the clothes that I was wearing…Now, I don’t shop for designer labels or for the most expensive clothes…But when I calculated the cost of what it took me to go out of the house that day—clothes, make-up, jewelry, showering, shoes…I calculated that it took about $140 for me to walk out the door…Think about what you’re wearing this morning…How much did it cost you to walk out the door to come to worship this morning? If it takes that amount for you to walk out the door to come to worship on Sunday morning, what does that mean for a single mother of three who is working 3 jobs just so she can feed her children? Does she have the luxury of spending $140 just to worship God? Or the man who can barely afford his prescriptions because Medicare won’t pay for everything and he’s lost his 401K…Does he have the luxury of spending $140 just to worship God? What does it mean to do no harm? What does it mean to live simply so that others may simply live?!? When I got dressed for worship this morning, I had 15 pairs of shoes to choose from…10 pairs of jeans…I had hot water to take a shower…I had 2 towels to choose from…If you have more than one pair of shoes or more than one set of clothing to choose from…We are automatically in the top 15% of the richest people in the world…The United Methodist Committee on Relief has a program by which they feed a family of five for $40 for a month…That $140 that it took me to walk out of the house would have fed 3 ½ families for a month…How many families would you have fed this morning? Do no harm…30,000 children die every day from hunger related situations…every 5-7 seconds a child dies from hunger…What does it mean to do no harm? What does it mean to live simply so that others may simply live?
One of my favorite movies is Hotel Rwanda…It’s the story of Paul Russebagina who was a hotel manager in the 90’s when the genocide was happening in Rwanda, Africa. As the murderous rampage was happening on the streets, Paul Russebagina managed to keep over 1,000 people alive during this terrible time. As the genocide is happening in the streets, a reporter from the United States catches a murder on film…As he and his editor are editing the clip to send back for the news in the States, Paul walks in on them…They immediately turn off the TV to talk with Paul…Later that evening the cameraman finds Paul and apologizes for what he just saw…Paul tells him not to apologize because surely people will see what is happening in Rwanda and they can’t do anything but help. The cameraman looks down for a moment and says, “I think people will see that and think, that’s horrible and then go back to eating their dinner.” Do no harm…
Not as easy as it once sounds…And just like hearing Jesus tell the law, we can think… “Gosh, why should I even try?” Or we can think, “Only by the grace of God is this possible!” Because it’s not easy…but practicing our faith was never meant to be easy…We don’t just say yes to Jesus and that’s all…When we say yes to Jesus and accept Jesus as our Lord, we make him the Lord over all of our life and not just the parts we want to give him…Accepting Jesus as Lord means that we try to do no harm…And for those times when we fail and we fall short…well, there is grace and there is forgiveness…And in that forgiveness is a promise that we will try to never do it again…Jesus never said that it would be easy to follow him…He said over and over that it was a difficult path—but it is worth it…Even the disciples from time to time fell short…But Jesus didn’t kick them out or tell them that they should find him when they become perfect and do everything like he said...He told them to keep trying and to keep working toward the goal…
John Wesley didn’t establish these rules because he wanted to show how good he was or to find the unfaithful people to kick them out of the church…Although simple, they’re hard…Which means that we have to rely that much more on God…That we have to depend that much more on God’s grace…That as we work and try hard to do no harm, that God will still be with us when we fall short…Which doesn’t give us an easy out to say that God will forgive us anyway…but it gives us comfort in knowing that God will still be with us even when we break God’s heart…But that we are striving for perfection…just as God is perfect…And that we are being perfected by God in love…And because of God’s love and grace, we will follow what God has taught us…First, do no harm.
John Wesley was an Anglican priest in England, who took a hard look at the denomination that he faithfully served and said, “Something’s wrong…something’s missing.” He was so distraught over the lack of commitment & passion & discipline that he saw among Christians and members of the Anglican church that he said that something had to be done. He was set to revive the Anglican Church…So; he started what he called “holiness clubs.” These holiness clubs were covenant groups—they were meant for the members to deepen their faith commitment, be held accountable, and ultimately revive the church. The holiness clubs got a reputation around England…the people in them seemed to follow such rigid rules and do things just so…they had such a method about them, so the holiness clubs earned the nickname, “Methodists”…It was meant to be a derogatory term that referred to the methodical way that the holiness club members went about everything….Their rigid rules, their practice of faith, their daily prayer…They had a method for everything! Now, you might think… Why would anyone want to be a part of something that was seen so negatively and so rigid? It must have been impossible to follow all of the rules and to be nearly perfect for these clubs! Well, the truth is that it wasn’t easy…but practicing faith isn’t something that is easy—it takes dedication, discipline, believe, trust…And the rigid rules? Well, they really boil down to 3…What are being called now as the 3 simple rules. Do No Harm, Do Good, Stay in love with God. Over the next 3 weeks, we’ll be diving into these 3 simple rules and seeing how they continue to affect our lives and how they deepen our practice of faith. As we do that, we’ll also be thinking through the saying, “Live simply so that others may simply live.” I’m convinced that these 3 simple rules and this phrase go hand in hand with one another although they were spoken by different people years apart…What does it mean to live simply so that others may simply live? What does it mean to do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God? Over the next weeks, we’ll wrestle with those things together. At times the journey may be uncomfortable as we examine our lives together…That’s okay—they aren’t easy questions, but they are important questions. This morning we begin with the first rule…Do no harm.
Now, I have to admit that when I started looking at these General Rules a few years ago, I thought that Wesley made things too easy…I couldn’t believe that people thought these were strict or hard! It made the picture I had of John Wesley being an authoritarian kind of figure seem like a marshmallow…These rules weren’t difficult! I mean the first one sets it up…First, do no harm. That just plain makes sense doesn’t it? Who willingly goes out to harm other people? I mean seriously! So, I first thought, “Sweet! Check and mate! I got that one down cold!” Then, in devotional reading…I turned to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount…Which is probably the best sermon I have ever come across…and the most uncomfortable sermon I have ever come across…
Now in Jesus’ sermon, he announces that he has not come to abolish the law like some have accused him of, but he is there to fulfill the law…Nothing of the law of Moses goes away…In our passage from this morning, Jesus starts to talk about those laws…Now he starts with some of the laws that most people don’t have a hard time keeping…Of course there are exceptions…But if I took a poll this morning of how many people had committed murder or adultery, probably not a lot of hands would go up…It just makes sense—we know that those are 2 things that are wrong and we just don’t do them…So Jesus starts out with the first being, “You’ve heard it said do not murder.” And just like the first rule, “Do no harm.” I thought—“Sweet! No issue there!” But then Jesus goes further… “But I say to you…if you are angry with someone…if you insult someone…if you have a grudge against someone…you will be liable to the same judgment as murderers.” Ouch…It’s one of those times when I just say, “Oh Jesus…you were doing so good! Everything was so easy…and then!” But Jesus isn’t finished because he goes on to say, “You’ve heard it said that you shall not commit adultery.” Which again, sounds really easy right…Until Jesus keeps going… “But I tell you if you even look at someone with lust, you’ve already committed it.” Oh…Following the rules was supposed to be easy, isn’t it? Jesus didn’t abolish any law…he made it harder...Do no harm takes on a whole new meaning in light of Jesus’ teaching here…
What Jesus does is take 2 circumstances that a majority of people haven’t done before…a majority of people haven’t committed murder or adultery…So, most people are probably feeling pretty good about themselves that they are following the law and doing what they’re supposed to be doing…And then Jesus makes that twist that convicts everyone…Because who hasn’t been angry with someone? Or who hasn’t looked at someone attractive and thought, “Wow…” Jesus takes 2 laws that most people haven’t broken and puts them in context of things that pretty much everybody has done…First….Do no harm…
Maybe you’re starting to feel hopeless…Like how can you do anything right? Well, that’s kind of Jesus’ point…No one can do everything perfectly—everyone is going to sin and fall short as Paul writes…You’re going to be angry, you’re going to insult someone, you’re going to look at people…So, do you give up then and there and say, “Gosh it’s impossible so why even try?” Or do you say, “Only by the grace of God can this be possible.”
Do no harm…It seems so simple…It seems so easy…And yet…it’s really not…Do no harm…Not many people willingly go out and say that they’re going to inflict pain on another person…Not many people think that it’s a good feeling to hurt another’s feelings…Not many people sit around and think “how can I be destructive today?” But how many people do it?
When was the last time you physically hit someone? Do no harm…When was the last time you gossiped? Do no harm…When was the last time you called someone else a bad name? Do no harm… When was the last time that you thought something negative about another person? Do no harm…
Last weekend, Linda Floyd & Karen Lanehart & I and about 1,000 other people were at Ginghamsburg UMC in Tipp City, Ohio for a conference. This conference was full of dynamic speakers and amazing ideas and challenging thoughts…One of which was “Live simply so others may simply live.” Now, when it was first said, I thought “Yes! Absolutely!” Now in the economy that we are experiencing right now, this just makes a whole lot of practical sense. Not many people are spending money on the extra things…Out of necessity people are living more simply, right? Well, that’s true…But what does it really mean to live simply so that others may simply live? The next few weeks, I have encouraged you to wear your blue jeans to worship. I was talking with a friend of mine about that and he said to me… “Oh, Melissa—I can’t believe that you’re encouraging people to take worship so un-seriously…Don’t you know that you have to come to God in your best? That’s why it’s called your Sunday best, you know?” and I thought about it for a few minutes and I thought…You know you’re right—God shouldn’t get our second best…But what does that mean? As he continued his argument, I started to think about the clothes that I was wearing…Now, I don’t shop for designer labels or for the most expensive clothes…But when I calculated the cost of what it took me to go out of the house that day—clothes, make-up, jewelry, showering, shoes…I calculated that it took about $140 for me to walk out the door…Think about what you’re wearing this morning…How much did it cost you to walk out the door to come to worship this morning? If it takes that amount for you to walk out the door to come to worship on Sunday morning, what does that mean for a single mother of three who is working 3 jobs just so she can feed her children? Does she have the luxury of spending $140 just to worship God? Or the man who can barely afford his prescriptions because Medicare won’t pay for everything and he’s lost his 401K…Does he have the luxury of spending $140 just to worship God? What does it mean to do no harm? What does it mean to live simply so that others may simply live?!? When I got dressed for worship this morning, I had 15 pairs of shoes to choose from…10 pairs of jeans…I had hot water to take a shower…I had 2 towels to choose from…If you have more than one pair of shoes or more than one set of clothing to choose from…We are automatically in the top 15% of the richest people in the world…The United Methodist Committee on Relief has a program by which they feed a family of five for $40 for a month…That $140 that it took me to walk out of the house would have fed 3 ½ families for a month…How many families would you have fed this morning? Do no harm…30,000 children die every day from hunger related situations…every 5-7 seconds a child dies from hunger…What does it mean to do no harm? What does it mean to live simply so that others may simply live?
One of my favorite movies is Hotel Rwanda…It’s the story of Paul Russebagina who was a hotel manager in the 90’s when the genocide was happening in Rwanda, Africa. As the murderous rampage was happening on the streets, Paul Russebagina managed to keep over 1,000 people alive during this terrible time. As the genocide is happening in the streets, a reporter from the United States catches a murder on film…As he and his editor are editing the clip to send back for the news in the States, Paul walks in on them…They immediately turn off the TV to talk with Paul…Later that evening the cameraman finds Paul and apologizes for what he just saw…Paul tells him not to apologize because surely people will see what is happening in Rwanda and they can’t do anything but help. The cameraman looks down for a moment and says, “I think people will see that and think, that’s horrible and then go back to eating their dinner.” Do no harm…
Not as easy as it once sounds…And just like hearing Jesus tell the law, we can think… “Gosh, why should I even try?” Or we can think, “Only by the grace of God is this possible!” Because it’s not easy…but practicing our faith was never meant to be easy…We don’t just say yes to Jesus and that’s all…When we say yes to Jesus and accept Jesus as our Lord, we make him the Lord over all of our life and not just the parts we want to give him…Accepting Jesus as Lord means that we try to do no harm…And for those times when we fail and we fall short…well, there is grace and there is forgiveness…And in that forgiveness is a promise that we will try to never do it again…Jesus never said that it would be easy to follow him…He said over and over that it was a difficult path—but it is worth it…Even the disciples from time to time fell short…But Jesus didn’t kick them out or tell them that they should find him when they become perfect and do everything like he said...He told them to keep trying and to keep working toward the goal…
John Wesley didn’t establish these rules because he wanted to show how good he was or to find the unfaithful people to kick them out of the church…Although simple, they’re hard…Which means that we have to rely that much more on God…That we have to depend that much more on God’s grace…That as we work and try hard to do no harm, that God will still be with us when we fall short…Which doesn’t give us an easy out to say that God will forgive us anyway…but it gives us comfort in knowing that God will still be with us even when we break God’s heart…But that we are striving for perfection…just as God is perfect…And that we are being perfected by God in love…And because of God’s love and grace, we will follow what God has taught us…First, do no harm.
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