FIRE!!

FIRE!!
One of the things that you are just never supposed to do is yell “FIRE!” in a crowded theater…But picture yourself being in the room where the first believers were…Yeah…Anyone want to yell “FIRE!” with those tongues of fire??
The past 8 weeks, we’ve been celebrating Easter and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ…Now just because the season of Easter is over doesn’t mean that we can’t celebrate Jesus’ resurrection…We’ve just entered into a different season…Today we celebrate the day known as Pentecost…
Pentecost…Some call it the birthday of the church…It’s the day when the Holy Spirit came with a mighty rushing wind to the waiting disciples. It’s the advocate that Jesus had promised the disciples…The Holy Spirit is one that was promised to be a connection to Jesus…To remind of Jesus’ message and not just to remind, but also call to witness to the message…
Throughout these 8 weeks, we’ve heard stories of Jesus’ promises to the disciples…heard his farewell speeches to the disciples…We’ve heard the charges Jesus gave to his disciples—go and make disciples for the transformation of the world—feed my sheep…Throughout these 8 weeks, maybe you’ve put yourself in the disciples shoes and wondered in amazement at this resurrected Jesus…We’ve looked for the presence of God in our lives…Lots has happened over these past 8 weeks! And again…there’s no reason why that can’t continue…But there’s more to the story!
The disciples had spent 40 days with Jesus as he was resurrected and watched as he ascended to heaven…and now they have gathered together again…this time with many more gathered. Many of these followers would have heard Jesus’ messages and were waiting for this Advocate that Jesus promised…But not really knowing what this Advocate would look like…Would it be a person? A thing? What in the world would this Advocate be?
Could you imagine being in the place with the disciples on that first Pentecost? To be sitting and waiting, maybe still unsure of everything that had been going on…And suddenly a mighty rushing wind! And the wind wasn’t all…There were tongues of fire that touched each of the disciples and they could understand one another in their own language, even those who they couldn’t understand before….The Advocate was there! And oh my goodness did the Advocate make an entrance. The Holy Spirit came in a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire touched the heads of the people…
The sitting and waiting wasn’t waiting anymore…The believers welcomed the Advocate and they were completely changed! They were speaking other languages, celebrating…It was such an awesome experience and as awesome and wonderful as it was for the believers…it was confusing for those who were watching. It certainly didn’t clear things up for people who were witnessing what was happening…Those who were witnessing this event and the enthusiasm of the disciples called them drunk, filled with new wine…
Then Peter gets up to speak and tell everyone what’s going on…Now, there’s certainly been a change in Peter from the last few times we saw him…He’s gained confidence…He’s gained the ability to speak authoritatively in public…He’s grown in faith…When did it happen? Well, Peter has certainly been a work in progress…From his time as a fisherman to a preacher and teacher…From his time of denying Jesus to proclaiming Jesus’ message in the middle of Jerusalem…Some might ask what got into Peter…Maybe it was his last interactions with Jesus that made him finally understand and believe with everything that he was…or maybe he was filled with new wine himself? Or filled with the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit…One of the members of the Trinity…The trinity being God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit…Father, Son, Holy Spirit…Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer…The Trinity…And the Trinity is a difficult concept to understand…It’s God three-in-one…Three distinct pieces, yet one God…
There are many images to help describe the Trinity…One that I find the most helpful is the image of the sun…The middle of the sun, the great ball of light being the Father…The rays of the sun being Jesus, the Son…The heat coming off being the Holy spirit…All three are intertwined in the image…All are of the same substance…God, Jesus, Holy Spirit…Father, Son, Holy Spirit…Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer…
Heat usually spreads also…It doesn’t just stay in one place…The Holy Spirit is like that too…It doesn’t just stay in one place, but it spreads…The image of heat and the Holy spirit is one that is also held in the first Pentecost…The tongues of fire that rested on each of the ones present in that place…They were on fire…
On fire…It’s a phrase that’s used to describe when someone is passionate about something…So passionate about something that everyone knows…Can you think of the things that you are on fire for? That you are so passionate about that everyone knows it? Maybe it’s music or movies or a game…Something that when people think of you they associate whatever it is with you…Oh, there’s Angie—Angie who plays soccer…Oh, yeah—that’s Billy, Billy who plays guitar…Oh, you know Jane, Jane who reads a lot…Something that you’re on fire for…
A phrase that’s used often in Christian conferences, concerts, and books is being “on fire for Jesus.” Being passionate about Jesus and Jesus’ message so much that everyone knows about it…Some people show that passion in different ways…Some will talk about it to anyone and everyone that they encounter…Others will show their passion through actions…For some it’s a mixture of the two…
What is it that you can do to show your passion? It could be in something with the ministries of the church—helping teach Sunday school or Vacation Bible School or working in the kitchen during a breakfast or dinner…Those are certainly ways to share your passion…But what about in everyday life…in the ordinary time…Maybe it’s striking up a conversation with someone at the grocery store…Maybe it’s helping someone cross the street…Maybe it’s reading a book to children at the library…Sharing the message of Jesus sometimes with words and sometimes without….
Have you ever had an experience with the Holy Spirit before? Maybe you’ve felt like the first believers and felt the mighty rushing wind…Maybe it’s been like tongues of fire…Maybe it’s been a different kind of feeling for you…And maybe there are some of you who are wondering if you’ve ever felt the Holy Spirit move before…
I hope that you have felt the Spirit moving here…Over the past few months the Spirit has been moving something fierce! I hope that you have felt it too! Expand
This first Pentecost, the people received the Holy Spirit, but they didn’t stay in the room together forever…They went out to share what they had received and learned…The heat of the Holy Spirit spread…Hopefully we can be like those first disciples…That we can spread the heat of the Holy Spirit as well…

May Newsletter

Dear Friends,
Spring has sprung! Well, mostly anyway…It’s been nice to be able to open windows and feel the sunshine. Before too long, summer will be here!

Before we get to summer, we have the whole month of May and there is sure a whole lot going on…It’s so exciting! We’ll be celebrating Pentecost & Mother’s Day on the same day, the last day of Sunday school at Sheridan UMC on May 18 and the last day of Sunday school at Norway UMC on May 25, graduations, and gearing up for all of the summer activities…Did I mention that there are exciting things happening?!

Another exciting thing that I have to share with you is that from May 12-May 17, I will be on vacation. 2 years ago, as some friends and I were expecting to begin our first years in full time ministry, we knew that it would be impossible to be in ministry by ourselves and without a support system. Knowing that, our covenant group was formed. The 7 members of this group check in with each other, hold one another accountable, challenge one another, and support one another. They’re some of the first people that I call when I need to vent about something and they’re some of the first people that I call when I need to celebrate something. This is an amazing group of people! May 12-May 17, we will be joining together for our second annual Sabbath retreat and this year, we’re gathering here. The end to our time together will come on May 18th, when we gather for worship. I am so happy and pleased to share with you that we will be leading worship together at Sheridan & Norway United Methodist Churches on May 18th.

May 18th is going to be a big day for other reasons too! It’s graduation day for high school seniors and it is also the last day of Sunday school for this year. We’ve got a lot to celebrate, that I think we should share it with everyone! So, that’s exactly what we’re going to do!! May 18th will be “Fill-A-Pew” Sunday. Invite your friends, neighbors, family, strangers to church that Sunday. We’ll worship together in an inspiring worship service and then share a potluck at Sheridan United Methodist Church. We will also be working to build the largest sundae in Sheridan!! Think about whom you would like to bring with you to church on May 18th to fill our pews and with whom we’ll share the love and grace of God! I know who I’ll be bringing!

Even though it sounds like things are coming to an end, they’re really not…We’re just beginning something new! I am so excited to see the Spirit moving throughout Sheridan & Norway United Methodist Churches and to follow where the Spirit moves!

Blessings,
Pastor Melissa

Yes, I Like You, But...

Yes I Like You, But…
This is our last Sunday of Easter as next week we prepare for the celebration of Pentecost next week…But before we get to Pentecost, we have this passage from the Gospel of John. Some of you may recall this passage from our confirmation service a year ago…This is the last interaction between Jesus and his disciples found in the book of John…The story of Jesus’ ascension is found in other Gospels, but this story from John is the end of the Gospel…
It’s just been a short time since Jesus died and rose again and the disciples were beginning to understand that Jesus is who he said and that he was doing everything that he said he would…Peter was one of the fishermen that Jesus called to be his disciples, to follow him and learn and grow and to reach out in service…And after everything that had happened and all that Peter and the other disciples had been through and seen and done…They knew what it was that there were supposed to be doing because they had heard and seen Jesus…But, the first thing that Peter & the disciples do after they see Jesus risen from the dead is…Go fishing…Literally…Peter goes back to doing what he was doing before he met Jesus…He goes back to fishing because it’s more comfortable—he knows how to do that…There certainly has been a lot of change in Peter’s life over the past few years…He was fishing on a boat when Jesus called to him, “Follow Me.” And he did! And then there was this whirlwind of activities where he was labeled a criminal, blasphemer, coward, crazy, betrayer…Then, the man that said follow me, was crucified…And here he was, risen from the dead just like he said he would…And the first thing Peter does is go fishing…
While Peter is fishing, Jesus meets with him again and calls out to Peter from the shore. Jesus tells Peter where to fish in order to get the most fish and as soon as it’s pointed out that it’s Jesus, Peter can’t even wait for the boat to get to the shore! He jumps out of the boat and swims to shore where Jesus has a breakfast prepared…Jesus tells Peter to bring the fish that he just caught and they eat breakfast together…And then Jesus has a little chat with Peter…
This little chat…Jesus has just one question for Peter, but has to ask it three times…Do you love me? And three times Peter answers him… But there’s a subtle point that’s missing when this passage translates from the Greek into the English. In the Greek language there are 47 different words for the word love. And each of those words means a different type of love…The word that Jesus used, was “agape” which the fullest kind of love—the love that would make someone a servant. But…Peter doesn’t use the same word…Peter uses “Philio” which means a kind of brotherly love…How different are these two words? Well, here the passage in this way: “Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ Peter said to him, ‘Yes, Lord. You know I like you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then tend my lambs.’ A second time Jesus asked him, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter said to him, ‘Yes, Lord. You know I like you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then tend my sheep.’” Twice Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” and twice Peter can’t go the same way that Jesus is asking him to go…Listen to what happens the third time Jesus asks Peter that question… “He said to him a third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you like me?’ Peter felt hurt because he asked him a third time and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I like you!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then feed my sheep.’”
After the first time Jesus asked the question, he could have yelled and screamed at Peter for giving the wrong answer…But what does he do? He give Peter a second chance…He asks him again…And the same answer comes…And again, Jesus could have yelled and screamed at Peter for giving the wrong answer, but what does he do? It’s Peter’s third chance…And this time…Jesus asks Peter, “Do you like me?”
What does Jesus do? It’s more than just asking the question…It’s what he did from the very beginning of the passage…Jesus knew where Peter was at…He knew what steps Peter was ready to take and what steps Peter was still scared to take…He met Peter on the shore after helping him catch some fish…He asked Peter the question, “Do you love me?” twice before realizing that Peter wasn’t ready to go the next step quite yet…
Jesus didn’t do anything different with Peter than he does with each and every one of us. Jesus asks us the question…Jesus meets us where we are. Jesus meets us in our human-ness. Jesus meets us wherever we are…It’s not complicated…It doesn’t take us having to be perfect or even completely ready to meet Jesus…Jesus meets us where we are and if we’re not ready to answer the question that Jesus asks with the answer that he wants…He doesn’t yell and scream or say that he’ll come back when we’re ready…He meets where we are…He may change the question to what we are ready for…
But that’s not all he does…After he asked the question to Peter, “Do you love me?” and Peter responded…What Jesus ask Peter to do? He asked Peter to take care of his sheep. Oh, Peter wasn’t off the hook yet…Jesus met Peter where he was at, but he asked Peter to take the next steps…There was more than Jesus was asking than to just love him. Jesus was asking Peter to do his work…He said two simple words with big meaning… “Follow me.”
And that’s what Jesus does with us…He meets us where we are…wherever we are…But doesn’t leave us there…He asks us to take the next step. And that can be scary and dangerous…Ultimately for Peter, it meant that he lost his life…What does it mean for us? Yes, those next steps are certainly scary…They can mean sacrifice…
And our passage continues…Because as soon as Peter finishes this talk with Jesus, he must have felt terrible…He knew that he didn’t answer Jesus in quite the way that he knew he was supposed to…He went back to fishing instead of going out in ministry…Maybe he was feeling embarrassed and ashamed and guilty…And we’ve all felt those emotions at one point in our live…When we disappoint someone and we feel bad about that…After this chat with Jesus and Jesus meeting Peter where he was and calling him to do his work…Peter looks at another disciple and says to Jesus, “What about him?”
He tries to take the heat off of himself by pointing his finger at someone else…How many times do we do that? When we’re being focused on a little bit too much…What about that person over there? When we’re embarrassed that we haven’t lived up to our full responsibility, we try and focus on someone else… “Yeah, I know I that I haven’t lived up to my call from Jesus, but what about this other person? Neither have they!” Maybe it makes us feel better for a minute because we feel like we’re not the only ones who are falling short…Or we try and make excuses for why we’ve fallen short… “yes, I know what we’re supposed to be doing and what we’ve been called to do, but Jesus you just don’t understand….We just don’t have enough people…Someone keeps stealing our people…It’s easy to turn the attention on someone else without looking ourselves and where we have fallen short…There’s always the elusive “someone” too…Have you met this someone? Maybe there’s a new idea or something that needs to be done and instead of doing it, we hear, “Someone really should do that.” And what does that mean? Well, anyone but me should do that…Someone should take care of that…Instead of focusing on what we are called to do and be, we focus out the focus on someone else because it’s not easy to look at our own shortcomings…
But Jesus responded very quickly to Peter when he tried to put the focus on someone else…Jesus said to Peter, “What is it to you what happens to him? It doesn’t matter what I have called him to be…What have I called you? “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” Then Jesus repeats to Peter… “Follow me.” Don’t focus on someone else…Focus on what I have told YOU to do…Feed my sheep…Follow me…Don’t focus on what someone else is supposed to do…Don’t point fingers…Feed my sheep…Follow me…
And as much as Jesus was saying these words to Peter…He’s saying them to us…He asks us to love him and to feed his sheep…He meets us where we are and asks us to take the next step…He tells us not to focus on what someone else is doing, but he says, “Follow me.”
It’s not easy to do…sometimes it means sacrifices…Maybe it means getting up earlier on Sunday morning to come to worship…Maybe it means taking a class or joining a Bible study… Or you talk to your neighbor about your faith…Or you give up going out for dinner for a couple months so that you can support a child who is suffering from hunger…Oh those next steps…See, Jesus isn’t content with just leaving us where we are—he wants us to make the journey with him…Jesus promised over and over to his disciples that although he was going away and we would be able to see him for awhile, he was sending an Advocate…We will not be abandoned…I AM with you always…God says to us, I have created you to be my child…I love you…I was, I am, I will be with you always…I have blessed you…Be that blessing to others…Feed my Sheep…Follow me…Take those next steps and be ready to answer that question, “Do you love me?” And you can answer, not with a question, but with a statement, “Yes Lord, You know I love you.” Then feed my sheep…

Living into our belief

Living Into Our Belief
Welcome to this our 5th week of Easter…We’ve been celebrating the resurrection of Jesus for several weeks now…Recalling that same excitement of Easter morning when the women were at the tomb of Jesus and seeing for the very first time that Jesus was not dead, but that he was indeed alive…Easter is an 8 week celebration in the Christian calendar—50 days of Easter from the morning of Easter until we reach Pentecost—the day the Holy Spirit came upon the followers after Jesus ascended…As we continue in our celebration of the resurrection, which can really be celebrated everyday as we look for ways that we have seen God—the ways that we have recognized God’s presence in our midst…But as we come together this morning as Christ’s Church, we come to celebrate the resurrection together as a community of believers.
As we continue to celebrate the resurrection together, this morning we have two stories—one is the passage from John where Jesus is sharing part of what is known as his farewell discourse or his kind of “goodbye speech” with the disciples…He gives further information about who he is, if they haven’t gotten it figure out yet, what they’ll expect to happen, and also what they’re expected to do. In the passage from Acts, we have the story of Stephen who is known as the first Christian martyr—the first Christian to die for his faith. The very kind of faith and beliefs that Jesus talked about in his farewell discourse.
Within the conversation with the disciples, Jesus shared with them some profound truths—He told them that there was a place that was prepared specifically for them…He told them, “I am the way…”…He told them that they had seen the Father because they had seen him…He gave them these specific things as a gift to them, as not just words for them to cling to, but beliefs to hold and act upon…
Last week, as we gathered together in worship, we shared together the times, places, and events in our life were we had seen God…I have a confession to make about that…Last Saturday night, I was trying to finish my sermon and things just weren't coming...I'm not sure what the problem was, but for one reason or another, I wasn't in tune with the Spirit...I was trying, but I just couldn't quiet down my busy mind in order to hear the Spirit and to listen for the message...I had wrestled with the passages throughout the week and had heard things throughout that time and thought that I had the message, but when I put my fingers on the keys, it just wasn't coming...So, I shut the computer in frustration and decided that I needed a break...I had a basic outline and I had explored the passages, but nothing was coming to the front...As soon as I did that, and I walked away and went to brush my teeth, that's when I heard it...I heard the Spirit moving.
The week before that, we heard the story of the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus and in that story, I had challenged ya’ll to look for God...to see where God was present in their midst...And I realized that so many times these challenges are given and folks don't have an opportunity to share the responses from their challenge...Kind of like during VBS when the kids do their daily challenges, then they get to come back and tell everyone what they did! So, I listened to the Spirit moving and decided that for a good part of the sermon, it would be a wonderful opportunity for folks to share where they had seen God during the week...
Just as the disciples on the road to Emmaus stood in amazement to see Jesus standing before them and just as much as the disciples sat with Jesus in our story from this morning…My Lord & My God...It was an amazing, amazing experience...to hear where you had seen God...Where you had experienced God in their midst...Where your eyes had been opened and you had seen God...My Lord & My God...It was amazing...To hear where you had seen God in the midst of joyous occasions, stressful situations, unexpected situations, quiet situations...Amazing Grace...
It’s amazing when things like that happens…when we put ourselves aside and let the Spirit move where the Spirit will move…When we live into our believe…When it becomes something that shapes us and works with us and not just something that we do on Sunday morning or when we’re in the sanctuary….But when our belief in God is something so strong and so powerful that it invades every aspect of our lives and every aspect of our being…From getting a calculator from someone sitting next to us, to seeing a smile, to having someone answer a call from God…My Lord & My God!
What’s amazing when we live into our belief is that it becomes something that we don’t necessarily think about all the time…Sure there are the times when we have to take a step back and breathe—those moments when the “I” in ourselves just wants to burst out…You know those times too—when you’ve been wronged, when you’ve been hurt, when you’re mad or angry…You know those times…Those times when you just want to say, “Okay God, close your eyes for a minute, because this isn’t going to be pretty.” Those are the times when we have to take a step back from ourselves and take some deep breaths—where we breathe in everything that is of God and breath out everything that is not of God…When we allow the Spirit to move within and through us…When we intentionally live into our belief…
Stephen was someone who lived into his belief intentionally and completely and it lead to his death by stoning…He was not shy about sharing his belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah and if got him in trouble with authorities for being blasphemous or something that was going against God…But he didn’t back down at all from his beliefs or how he expressed them…He gave an impassioned speech to the council before they carried out his sentence of death…Stephen didn’t make his plea because he wanted a great crowd around him or because he wanted any more attention that he had already gotten…Stephen simply believed and lived his life in every aspect of that belief, so much that it cost him his life…And even up until the very end…He said that he saw Jesus and while he was being stoned and breathing his last breaths, he cried out to God, “Please don’t hold this sin against them.” Have you heard that phrase before? Jesus said virtually the same thing as he died on the cross, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” At that very moment where Stephen is being killed, where he is being stoned, he could have cursed the men there and cast all kinds of ill wishes toward them, but in Stephen’s last breath, he asked that their sins not be held against them…Amazing grace!
There’s another person mentioned in our passage about Stephen this morning...As Stephen was being stoned, Saul was holding the coats of the witnesses…Some may recognize the name Saul…But others may know him better as Paul…Yes, the same Paul who wrote many of the letters that we have contained in our New Testament…Within in Saul’s story, he had a conversion on the Road to Damascus…Certainly there were things throughout Saul’s life that helped him to become Paul and we’ll hear those stories another day…But, for Saul to see Stephen living his beliefs to the very end of his life…that even as Stephen breathed his last, he lived his belief…I can’t help but think that there had to have been something about that that made an impact on Saul…
Have you ever thought about that for yourself? How is the way that you are living into and through your belief showing to others? What kind of an impact are you making on another person? Where are you helping to show someone else the love of Christ through your actions? Those are big questions…and they’re big responsibilities…It may be what scares some people about believing in Jesus…That it’s just to high of expectations, and does that mean that I have to be perfect? Does it mean that I can never have any fun? Does it really mean that other people are watchign what I do? It can be intimidating to think about things like that! Anyone who has spent time with children knows that children pick up far more that oftentimes adults think that they do! And sometimes more than adults want them to! When we live into our belief, it’s more than being cautious because there’s someone else around, but it’s being intentional to follow the calling that Jesus has given us…To live into our belief…
Jesus told his disciples that greater works would be done through them…But they aren’t just greater works to do greater works…They’re greater works through faith. Faith in Jesus Christ…God made flesh…Working through the Holy Spirit…A belief in the promises that Jesus made…In the promises that Jesus continues to make and to extend to each of us now and every day…An opportunity that we have to life into that belief this day and everyday…Sometimes it’s a challenging road…But along the journey, we are surrounded by God’s perfect love…We are surrounded by this amazing grace…Sometimes we capture it in ways as we see God…There are times when we show that love through our actions…And those times aren’t isolated or separate instances…They are forever and constantly merged together…For where ever God’s love is shown, God can be seen…Greater works will be done…
Last week, your challenge was to continue to seek those times when you see God present in you midst and those times when you are able to show the love of Christ…The challenge this week is to do both…Live into your belief…Let the Spirit move in and invade…Let that perfect love, that amazing grace do greater works through you…

What We Can't See

What We Can’t See
Welcome to our third week of Easter…As we continue in our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, we continue to hear stories of Jesus interacting with his followers and joining with them as they see and hear Jesus for the first time after his resurrection.
Our story from Luke this morning tells the story of the two men walking from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus…These men weren’t a part of the eleven disciples of Jesus (the 12 disciples minus Judas), but they were still followers of Jesus and deeply effected by his death. Their walk to Emmaus was taking place on the same day of Jesus’ resurrection, as they tell that the women have already seen Jesus…But, they’re having a hard time believing it because just like many people, they can’t imagine death being anything but permanent…And even though they have listened to Jesus’ teachings and preachings, it’s still difficult for them to comprehend that Jesus is indeed alive.
As these men walked to Emmaus they were joined by someone on their journey…It wasn’t someone that they recognized, but we know from the story that this someone was Jesus who was walking with them…They shared with Jesus what had happened, about Jesus’ crucifixion and death and that they had heard that Jesus’ tomb was empty, but that they didn’t know what to make of it all…
On the walk to Emmaus, the two men were lost in their own grief…They were lost in their own emotions and focused only on themselves and not on what Jesus had promised over and over…It was all about them and they were blind…
There are these surveys on myspace & facebook that people can fill out…They have silly questions like “what color socks are you wearing?” and basic information like “where were you born?” and personal questions like “what are you afraid of?” These surveys are usually anywhere from 10-150 questions…As fun as these surveys may be to fill out, they’re referred to as “memes” because they’re all about me…All about the person filling them out…Now maybe you haven’t filled out one of these surveys before, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been times in your life when it’s all be about you…There are some people who live their entire lives with it being about them…Are you one of those people?
That’s an awkward question to ask, because I would think that very few people would think to themselves that they are a person who makes everything about them, who thinks that they’re selfish…Maybe there are some…But, I bet that we can all think of someone who is…We can all think of someone who is selfish…Who is blind to the world around…I’m guessing that some of you are thinking about that person right now and saying to yourself, “I wish so-and-so were here right now…I wish so-and-so were here to hear this…” Well, let me tell you something…The Gospel doesn’t work like that…The Gospel isn’t just for some people to hear and others to ignore…The Gospel isn’t just for so-and-so to hear, but it’s for you to hear…It’s for you to examine…It’s not for you to say, “Well, surely I’m not like that!” But it’s for you to take a serious step back and say, “What is being said to me right now? What does this mean for me right now?” Because as soon as we think that this can’t possibly apply to us and really applies to so-and-so…Guess what, we’ve just become blind. We’ve just become like the men on the way to Emmaus and can’t see Jesus…
The Gospel is full of love and grace…The Gospel is good news…But there are times that the Gospel pushes us to be out of our comfort zone…I have to say that I love Jesus, but there are times when I just wish that Jesus would stop talking to me…There are times when Jesus’ words hit just too close to home…I hope that you have the same experience…That you love Jesus, but there are times when Jesus’ words and Jesus’ stories pinch and pull you out of your comfort zone…This story is no different…It’s easy to look at the men on the road to Emmaus and point out where we’re not like them…But, where are we like them? Where are our eyes closed? What can’t we see?
The men on the road to Emmaus couldn’t see Jesus…They had no idea who was walking with them…They had no idea that in their midst was the resurrected Christ…That God was walking with them in the midst of their grief, pain, and confusion. It’s like that for us too…That in the midst of our daily struggles God is there walking alongside us…It’s hard to see God when we are struggling, but that doesn’t mean that God isn’t there walking alongside us, reminding us of God’s promise…Just like Jesus was reminding the men on the road to Emmaus of his promises that he would die and rise again…
My sister told me once, “Every time a song says Jesus in it, I think that you’re going to like it.” I thought that she was kidding when she said it, but then literally every song that she suggested I listen to talked about Jesus in some way or another…And because she listens to country music, they were pretty much all country music! Last night she sent me a message that said, “I know that you like songs about Jesus, but do you like songs about God? Here's a song that you should listen to.” I rolled my eyes when I got her message but then I looked up the lyrics and found a clip of the song…The song is I Saw God Today by George Strait and I have it for you to listen to this morning. (song) As the chorus goes, “I’ve been to church…I’ve read the book…I know He’s there, but I don’t look near often as I should…Yeah, I know I should…His fingerprints are everywhere…I’d just slow down and stop and stare…I opened my eyes and man I swear, I saw God today.”
The men on the road to Emmaus finally did see who Jesus was…They finally recognized this person that was walking with them…How did they recognize him? In the breaking of the bread…The last time that Jesus broke bread with his disciples in the upper room during the Passover festival…Where Jesus said, “This is my body which is broken for you.” In the breaking of the bread, these men saw Jesus…Their eyes were opened…They were able to get beyond themselves and see that there was a bigger picture…They were able to remember what Jesus had said to his disciples…This is my body which is given for you, do this as often as you eat this in remembrance of me…Remember me…Remember who I AM…Remember what has happened…Remember why it has happened….Remember what I have done for you…Remember what I have done for the world…Remember what God has done and what God is doing…Remember…
The breaking of the bread isn’t past tense…As we celebrate communion, it’s more than remembering…It’s an opportunity to share with the world…It’s an opportunity to share with all of the saints…As we share in the Great Thanksgiving, the prayer that’s prayed as we break bread and share the cup, we join in the heavenly banquet…It’s the moment where the past, present, and future come together…We call this a Holy Mystery…It’s called a Holy Mystery not because we don’t want to try and explain it, but because it’s a moment that is so sacred and so holy that it’s nearly impossible for us as human beings to wrap our minds around it…
As we come to the table this morning, there may be places in our life where we have been blind…where we have not seen…Come to the table with open eyes…When the men on the way to Emmaus had their eyes open, they saw Jesus…Open your eyes and see Jesus…As we collect God’s offering this morning, think about what those areas in your life are…Those places where you have been blind…Where your eyes have been closed…Where you have made it all about you…As we come to the table this morning and share in the Lord’s Supper together, see Jesus…Experience Jesus…After receiving communion, you have an opportunity to join at the rail in prayer to have your eyes continued to be opened…To see what it is that you can’t see…

Mission Trip Information

Don’t be bored this summer … help us change the world! One person at a time
Sheridan, Norway, Harding, Serena, Marseilles, Seneca and Wedron
United Methodist Churches
Invite you to participate in

Cincinnati 2008 Summer Mission Trip
Saturday, July 12 – Saturday, July 19, 2008
• Travel to Cincinnati, Ohio
• Work with city kids at Wesley Chapel Mission Center




• Visit the Freedom Center, the national museum of the Underground Railroad
• Experience what God is doing to help people in need through ministries around the city
• Learn what it’s like to work with friends from our neighboring churches
• Have fun and make a difference at the same time!

Come get all the details
at our
Kick-off Rally and Informational Meeting
Next Sunday, April 6, 2008
at Sheridan United Methodist Church at 6:00 p.m.
Bring $3 for dinner and bring your favorite soft drink or beverage
Questions ?
Call or email your pastor:
Pastor Jonathan Crail –815-792-8263 jnrcrail@yahoo.com
Pastor Melissa Meyers – 815-496-2021 missy815@aol.com
Pastor Tom Bourke, Jr. – 815-795-5233 tombourkejr@gmail.com

Un-expectation of Hope

Un-expectations of Hope
Over the past 6 weeks, we’ve been in the season of Lent in the church…The season when we are preparing for Easter…Lent is a time of prayer, meditation, and self-reflection…It’s a season where we are in preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus…In that season of preparation, we look at ways that we can remove the things in our life that keep us from fully celebrating the resurrection of Jesus…Those things that are a stumbling block in our relationship with God—those places in our lives that have become too full, too busy, too overwhelmed with ourselves to spend quality time with God…Lent is an opportunity to examine those places and put the focus back on God.
During our season of Lent, our sermon series and Lenten study have been using the book by Rev. Paul Nixon, I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church. Through the series, Rev. Nixon has set forth 6 critical choices that need to be made…These 6 choices have been…Choosing life over death, choosing community over isolation, choosing fun over drudgery, choosing bold over mild, choosing frontier over fortress, choosing now over later…each of these choices are difficult on some level, but are important for each individual and each church to make…These choices have been ways for us as individuals, and as members of God’s church to examine those places where we have been too full, too busy, too overwhelmed with ourselves to focus on what it is that God is calling to us…
With all of this talk of self examination and reflection, it could be easy to think of Lent as something awful…But taking these times to examine is important…It’s when we can remember who we are and whose we are…Throughout these times of self-examination there are bound to be things that come up that no one could have ever thought of…Feelings, emotions, events that arise that no one could anticipate…
Over a year and a half ago, I told you about a word that I made up… Un-expectations…Those times when you have an idea of what is going to happen and it turns out opposite or something that you didn’t even think of, happens…It’s a moment of unexpected surprise or un-expectation…And these moments can turn out great or they can be a little nerve-wracking…They catch you off guard…
Jesus’ whole life was about un-expectations…Jesus constantly did thigns that were unexpected…He spoke out against injustices…He challenged the social norms of the day…He encouraged people in their faith…He taught that we should love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and love our neighbors as we love ourselves…He healed…He performed miracles…While Jesus’ messages were filled with hope and love, they were anything but expected…It was those messages that got Jesus attention from all people…There were people who were filled with hope because of his messages and there were people who were threatened by his messages. The un-expectations can be seen and heard throughout Jesus’ life, and especially during the last week of Jesus’ life, when we celebrate Holy Week with Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Mornign…
Our Holy Week journey started on Sunday with Palm Sunday—Jesus entered Jerusalem for the Passover festival to a celebration with people waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna!” Things would change dramatically for Jesus…As we remember Jesus’ last supper with his disciples on Maundy Thursday, Jesus is aware of what is going to happen as he washes his disciples’ feet to the un-expectation of the disciples and breaks bread and shares the cup with them…As Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane and is betrayed by Judas and arrested…As we remember on Good Friday Jesus’ trial, beatings, and crucifixion…A life full of un-expectations…One of the things that we learn quickly about Jesus is that with him, you have to learn to expect the unexpected! And although we can say that, we say that knowing the whole story…
The disciples and followers of Jesus didn’t have the luxury of knowing the whole story…Although Jesus had told them over and over what was going to happen—that he would die and rise again…He had shared with them that he was going to be betrayed and killed, but that he would come back again…It wasn’t something that Jesus mentioned in passing once or twice, he told the disciples many times what was going to happen…But they didn’t want to believe that was possible—how could this person that they had grown to love, respect, and follow—someone that they thought to be the Messiah really die?? Although it should have been expected, the disciples truly didn’t expect Jesus’ death to be real…Jesus’ death for them was an un-expectation…
Can you put yourself in the disciples’ shoes? Because we’re often so hard on the disciples because they should have “gotten it”…They should have understood what Jesus was talking about because they had spent so much time with him teaching them and talking with them…But think about yourself for a minute…In Jesus’ last moments—where would you have been? Would you have been standing by his side or would you have fled to avoid arrest like the disciples? Would you have remembered Jesus’ teachings or would you have gotten lost in your own emotions and fears? And not just in those last moments with Jesus…Do you remember Jesus’ teachings today or do you get lost in your own emotions and fears? The disciples aren’t the only ones who have a hard time with what Jesus was telling them to do…We still have that difficulty today…Do we live our life in un-expectation or do we try and make sure everything is all together?
The disciples scattered when Jesus was arrested…Some watched from a distance, some fled entirely…At some point they all must have gathered together to share in what had just happened…We know that they were together the morning after the Sabbath…As they gathered together, did they recount all the moments in their time with Jesus that they had experienced those moments of un-expectation…Where they had watched Jesus teach, preach, and share…How they had each experienced those thigns with Jesus…The last days and hours of Jesus’ life…Did they recount those times with tears, laughter, or another emotion?
Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb at dawn to anoint Jesus’ body with spices and oils. She wouldn’t have been able to do it earlier because Jesus died on a Friday just before sundown. The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday at sundown and is over on Saturday just after sundown. The Sabbath is a day of rest—there were and still are specific rules about what can and cannot be done on the Sabbath. There were rules about how many steps you could take and still be considered observing the Sabbath. Observing the Sabbath was part of their religious observances and part of their law. Mary and the rest of Jesus’ followers being Jews themselves, would have observed the Sabbath strictly…
After the Sabbath, Mary goes to the tomb at dawn to anoint Jesus’ body for burial…She knew what she should expect—she saw where Jesus’ body had been laid and had seen the stone rolled in front of the tomb…She expects to see that stone, the guard, and the body of her Lord laying in the tomb…And as she approaches the place where she has seen her Lord’s body being laid, there have to be a number of emotions going, but all knowing what she is going to encounter at the tomb…
As she approaches the entry of the tombs, she receives a surprise as the stone is rolled away from the tomb. She ran to get the other disciples, thinking that someone has taken his body…As the disciples investigate and find that yes, Jesus’ body truly is gone, they have forgotten what Jesus said would happen and they simply return home. Mary stays outside of the tomb, weeping…Not only does she believe that her Lord is dead, but she thinks his body has been taken…
Mary sees two angels sitting in the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid…She speaks with them and wants to find Jesus’ body…As she turns around she runs into who she assumes to be the gardener…She asks him also where the body of Jesus is, not recognizing that he is in fact Jesus…As a matter of fact, she doesn’t recognize that he is her Lord until he speaks her name… “Mary”…
Jesus broke the silence…The silence that he had kept when he breathed his last to when he said Mary’s name…That silence can be deafening…That silence can overwhelm us at times…But that’s not all that there is…It’s not all just silence…Where are the moments in our life that Jesus calls our name? Those un-expected moments when we think we know what’s happening and Jesus calls our name? Where have you encountered Jesus? Where have you seen the resurrected Christ?
Two years ago, I was in seminary, getting ready to graduate and waiting for a phone call about where I would be appointed in the United Methodist Church…I took on more than I should have my last year at United Theological Seminary…I was working 3 jobs, organizing student activities for the campus, serving as an associate pastor, taking double the full time credits, serving the church on a national level, preparing to graduate and on top of that, I had volunteered to lead a Bible study on a college campus in Cincinnati…I know, I was crazy! About a month before the semester was going to end, I was getting very crabby…I had long past my breaking point and was working on about the third one! Thursdays were particularly difficult because I had a class that started at 8 am, which meant that I needed to leave my house by at least 7…Then, I was either working, studying, or in class from 8 am until 7 pm. After that, I would grab something quick for dinner and head down to the college to lead the Bible study. One Thursday I was just not in the mood to go, but it was too late to call anyone to cancel and it would have been irresponsible to just not show up…So, I grabbed something quick to eat and turned up my angry music in the car and drove the hour and a half down to Cincinnati—all the while whining and complaining and screaming my angry music! When I got to the college, I tried to put on a happy face, but it wasn’t my best attempt and quite frankly, I wanted everyone to know that I wasn’t happy…So, I sit down in the room where we have Bible study—cranky and crabby and in no position to lead a prayerful discussion on anything, let alone Scripture! When Erin walks in…Now, Erin and I were at odds a lot of the time—sometimes it was on theology, sometimes it was about nothing at all…Erin sometimes had a hard time communicating herself and often came out sounding judgemental, harsh, rude, or just awkward…In my crabby state, she was really the last person that I wanted to see come! I tried to make small talk and pretend like everything was okay, but I’m sure she could see right through everything…We made small talk for about 30 awkward minutes and we both came to the realization that it would just be she and I tonight…In my head, I’m screaming and so angry that I just drove an hour and a half and here I have to sit with a person that I really just don’t want to be in the room with…I tried to take a couple deep breaths and figure out what to do with our time when I continued to make small talk with Erin…Kind of half paying attention, I asked her how classes were going…. “Oh, okay…” she said… “Well, not really okay…I don’t think I’m going to pass this class and I have spent hours studying and preparing for it…I’m so tired of studying, but I can’t break away because I really need to pass…” With that, Erin started to cry…She looked at me with tears streaming down her face trying to hold back sobs… “Even if I wanted to break away from studying, I don’t really have any friends…No one wants to spend any time with me…All I want to do is get together with a group of friends and fly a kite or play a game…But, I can’t…” As Erin cried and apologized for her outburst, my heart broke…I met Jesus in an unexpected place…In my own emotions and stresses, I almost missed this opportunity to interact with the risen Christ…I heard Jesus say my name…I handed Erin a box of Kleenex and asked her, “How can I best minister to you today?” She wiped her eyes and sniffled, then a smile crossed her lips… “Do you want to play Scrabble?” Erin and I didn’t open the Bible that night, but it was one of the most spiritual experiences that I have had…I met the risen Christ in one of the most unexpected places…The most unexpected place to see Jesus was where I saw Jesus …In the un-expectation, I heard Jesus call my name…I saw the resurrected Christ…
In between Jesus’ death and resurrection, much had changed…Not just that Jesus had been resurrected…But the whole universe had been changed…The whole universe has changed and will never be the same…Through Jesus’ resurrection, the universe was turned upside-down… Resurrection is new life; the reality of a new creation. We can see glimpses of the power resurrection in creation as the plants that seemed to die in the winter show new life in the spring. The power of the resurrection makes us into a new creation as we die to ourselves and rise in Christ. Jesus’ death isn’t about the devesation…It’s about the hope…
Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are no longer able to be defeated by death. Within the resurrection of Jesus, we have hope in eternal life. In John 3:16 it is written “God so loved the whole world that God sent Jesus Christ, God’s only son, so that whoever believes in Jesus will not perish, but have everlasting life.” That’s the hope that we have in Jesus Christ! Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we have the promise of eternal life. It begins when we live into our resurrection. Eternal life is a present and future reality as it is God’s future and not solely our own. It’s an un-expectation of hope!
Where Jesus’ life had been a series of reversals…On Easter morning the ultimate reversal happened. Jesus defeated death and rose again. What was once dead, was now and forevermore alive.
What was un-expected became the reality…The silence was shattered with shouts of joy, with cries of amazement…With shouts that Christ has risen! Christ has risen in deed!