Read This

Do just the opposite of what the world calls you to do. Dive deep into a community of people who call themselves a church. Expose your best and worst sides to them. Experience their worst and their best. Love them anyway as they love you. Don't go looking for the "best" this or that. Don't go seeking to have your "needs" met. Find an imperfect place filled with imperfect people and spend the rest of your life trying to meet their needs and the needs of the souls God puts into your path.

And if you're in one of those places right now...

treasure it.

Thank God for it.

You may very well find a place that requires far less of you and presents you with that just right music, just right messages, and just right people to share it with.

But in doing so you are walking away from the HEART of what it means to be a Christian. All those passages like "the last will be first" or "take up your cross daily."

It shouldn't be easy.

It should cost you something of your comfortable life.

Resist.

Dive deep.

----------------------

This post is dedicated to the most real, most raw experience of "church" I have ever known, my beloved New Hope Baptist Church in Valparaiso. You guys are heroes to me and an inspiration every moment you come to mind.

Learning

“You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.” 
― Dr. Seuss

We are one month into the great adventure of teaching 18 third AND fourth graders at Eglin Elementary School located on the base. It has been intense. I have put a lot into getting a handle on all the myriad of little things I need to know and DO in order to not just teach but motivate my kids to learn. There are days - like today - where I get up early and work late in order to make darn sure that I am as prepared as anyone teaching tomorrow. There are some things that would make my work easier - a projector, document camera, and a Mimio would change my instruction and make it far more engaging. But here I am.

On days like today I leave school and go directly to church to help with the supper. We are now sending out 70+ meals every Wednesday evening all over Valparaiso. When Pam Roberts came to me with the idea I was concerned that we wouldn't be able to do 30. And yet here we are. Not only that, but we are feeding five families for Thanksgiving and helping with their Christmas. Once supper is loaded and gone, then I go help with music. That used to mean playing guitar but now it's serving as another pair of ears to get the sound right and occasionally filling in for the media guru, Michael Weech. Once that is over I head over to lead prayer meeting and teach.

So yeah, Wednesday is a long day - and it gets extended now so I can get ready for school tomorrow.

It's a balancing act and once I get established in the teaching side of things, I hope to be able to spend more time on the pastoral side again. I've rediscovered the tricks I used to use when I was just starting out as a pastor to get the preparation done when time is available, whether it's planned or not.And I'm praying. praying for me to learn and grow deeper as a Christian and more able as a teacher. I'm praying - for every child every day and for their families, just as I pray for the members of the congregation.

Hardest thing I have ever done. I remember times when I was growing up that my Mother would have me doing something I felt was too much work. She'd tell me that she knew it was a lot of work, but it would make me a better person and she was doing it because she loved me.

God must love me a whole lot. :)

Pastor-ing

From It's Like Herding Cats

One of the big eye-openers for me once I became a pastor was the inside look people gave you into their lives. It's a sacred honor I have never taken lightly. There are times, even in a small congregation that several people are going through so much, and you know it, that it feels like a weight.

The Bible tells us to "bear one another's burdens, for in this way we fulfill the law of Christ."

But it breaks my heart.

And the thing is, I'm not wired for this. In the family I grew up in, we keep everything private. If you are hurt, you're supposed to suck it up and keep going. You're supposed to handle it. Well, over the past 12 years, I've talked with several dying people. I've seen marriages implode. I've preached too many funerals. People have shared so many hurts...sometimes you just ache for them.

Tonight, I had a little girl who has already lost her Mom come and tell me her dog died last night. Her Dad woke her up at three in the morning to see her dog in the throes of seizures. She was almost expressionless when she told me about her step-mom sitting in bed with all the dogs toys around her grieving. She said it with no emotion visible. But her hurt was tangible.

It's just too much...

So Father... Abba...

I know some people who are overdue for some joy.
They've been hurt. Some grievously.
Some are still hurting.

Please mend. Please heal. Please make things right.

Might Have Been A Wee Too Much Content :)

And also today, anyone listening to the message at New Hope received more information and Scripture than was probably possible to digest in that period of time. Mea Culpa guys. I'll post the condensed version tomorrow along with some study questions to help draw it all together in something you can walk away with, understand, and use to help others understand the benefits of Christ's "I am the way..." position as the exclusive way to a relationship with God.

Sunday recap 2/07/2010

What a great joy to hear of the upcoming marriage of two of our folks this morning. Lois Somerville and Mack Kirkland are going to tie the knot in July at New Hope. The congregation broke out into spontaneous applause. We distributed the flyers for the SBC "Buckets of Hope" help for Haiti too. Great idea and I know New Hope will step up to the challenge. We've got the annual New Hope chili cook-off coming up this Wednesday night too.  Should be a great week.

Today's music was marked by the debut of a new song "He Reigns".
Indescribable, Nothing But the Blood, He Reigns, and Grace Flows Down were our music today.

Today's message was based on Philippians 2:5-11 - this passage has been the source of many books. The theology is deep, but it's rare that we look at it from the point of view of the average Philippians at the time. Last week I spent a lot of time reading about the Roman caste system and their ideas about class, status, and honor. Phillipi was one of the cities in Asia that carried the same status as a city in Italy. As far as they were concerned they were Romans. I tried to give enough background for how they got that way.

So the lines between classes were rigid and inflexible. Everyone's goal was to move up the social ladder. It could happen if you completed military service, did something outstanding for the state, or just bought your way up the ladder of success. But it didn't happen often.

Into this walks the apostle Paul and his trusty sidekick Silas. From the beginning of his ministry there, he began to demolish the caste system and replace it with the love of brothers and sisters in Christ. Arrested and beaten for ending the slavery of one prophetess, he refuses to use his status as a Roman citizen, suffering as any common man or slave would have done. And yet when he writes to the church at Philippi he begins it with "slaves of Jesus Christ." Paul co-opted the same language that was used of Caesar and of Roman citizenship to outline a new way to relate to our fellow men and women.

Paul (under the inspiration and authority of the Holy Spirit, don't forget) then systematically demolishes their system by giving the vivid example of just what Jesus Christ did when he left heaven and "was found in fashion as a man." (Sometimes the KJV is just beautiful language.) The example of Christ's humility is a mandate for a different way to live, a different set of values, a different worldview. So how are we doing with that after 2000 years?

Not well.

We still have problems separating ourselves from the same sort of status symbols the Romans fell prey to. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit helped someone be delivered from that trap today.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

In the last few hours of 2009, I am trying to put the year in perspective so I can look forward to what God might do in 2010. So permit me to wax introspective for a moment or two. After all, this is a blog that promises to help people understand "a pastor's life." So I'll share what this year was like personally.

Personally this has been a roller coaster year.

Finishing my Masters was definitely a highlight. Rockbridge Seminary was perhaps the best educational experience I have ever had. If I could figure out a way to pay for another degree there, I'd be after it. Practical but ever challenging is the way I'd describe the experience. I continue to benefit from the tools I acquired there.

The continued decline and eventual passing of Bunny's mother overshadowed almost everything this year. In my heart I had been preparing for the challenge of helping my beloved wife through this for years. I have never known anyone as close in a mother - daughter relationship than Bunny and Dot were. They were like the two sides of a page at times. They really enjoyed each other's company and treasured the time they spent together whether it was in person, on the phone,or via video cam. Dot's illness, confinement to hospitals and nursing homes, and the last few weeks at home were overwhelming. We gave everything we had at every opportunity to try and get her well, then to just be there for her and for Curtis. But in the end, the disease won. Bunny's grief was so deep  for so long - and continues to this day. Yet her faith in the power of the resurrection has given her a source of strength and constant hope that her mother is whole and in the presence of Christ.

There were still many shocks and aftershocks from my own Father's death and the probate battle that I'd just as soon not even mention them. Every time I thought the impact was over, something else happened. The takeaway from all of it for me? I cannot trust in any provider save one - Almighty God. What I had counted as secure was taken again and again. So it goes. Our trust for each day, and for all the days to come has to be in Christ.

Then our great friend and companion Henley the Dane fell ill in May and we almost lost him to an infection. We had known that at 7, he was reaching the end years,but that battle almost cost us his company. We enjoyed a few more months with him, and then in October lost him to bone cancer. It broke my heart. It's hard to adequately describe just how much Henley meant to me and Bunny. He was our stress sponge and our constant source of encouragement and joy. To go through the first trial with him was awful, but then to see him in pain and have to end his life to spare him agony was just heart rending. We still tear up to this day looking at his picture and talk about him every day. He was so much more than a dog.

A few weeks ago we were blessed to adopt two Airedales that we named Mick and Stevie. They are a hoot!  We're adjusting to their odd ways of doing things and their boundless energy. That is, except when they are sleeping, like they are now. :) They are not Henley. But no dog would have been, and they are pretty special. They've come a long way in a short period of time toward becoming our companions and forever friends.

I think I can speak for Bunny too when I say that we have grown in our love for Jesus this year, and in our desire to do more of what makes Him smile. The people we've met, the books we've read, the events we've participated in have all conspired to bring a real sense of anticipation about what God might have for us in 2010.

Well, that's not everything, but I've already imposed too much on you. Shalom and blessings for a Christ filled 2010.

"The Visited Planet" by J.B. Phillips

Once upon a time a very young angel was being shown round the splendours and glories of the universes by a senior and experienced angel. To tell the truth, the little angel was beginning to be tired and a little bored. He had been shown whirling galaxies and blazing suns, infinite distances in the deathly cold of inter-stellar space, and to his mind there seemed to be an awful lot of it all. Finally he was shown the galaxy of which our planetary system is but a small part. As the two of them drew near to the star which we call our sun and to its circling planets, the senior angel pointed to a small and rather insignificant sphere turning very slowly on its axis. It looked as dull as a dirty tennis-ball to the little angel, whose mind was filled with the size and glory of what he had seen.

"I want you to watch that one particularly," said the senior angel, pointing with his finger.

"Well, it looks very small and rather dirty to me," said the little angel. "What's special about that one?"

"That," replied his senior solemnly, "is the Visited Planet."

"Visited?" said the little one. "you don't mean visited by --------?

"Indeed I do. That ball, which I have no doubt looks to you small and insignificant and not perhaps overclean, has been visited by our young Prince of Glory." And at these words he bowed his head reverently.

"But how?" queried the younger one. "Do you mean that our great and glorious Prince, with all these wonders and splendours of His Creation, and millions more that I'm sure I haven't seen yet, went down in Person to this fifth-rate little ball? Why should He do a thing like that?"

"It isn't for us," said his senior a little stiffly, "to question His 'why's', except that I must point out to you that He is not impressed by size and numbers, as you seem to be. But that He really went I know, and all of us in Heaven who know anything know that. As to why He became one of them - how else do you suppose could He visit them?"

The little angels face wrinkled in disgust.

"Do you mean to tell me," he said, "that He stooped so low as to become one of those creeping, crawling creatures of that floating ball?"

"I do, and I don't think He would like you to call them 'creeping, crawling creatures' in that tone of voice. For, strange as it may seem to us, He loves them. He went down to visit them to lift them up to become like Him."

The little angel looked blank. Such a thought was almost beyond his comprehension.

"Close your eyes for a moment," said the senior angel, "and we will go back in what they call Time."

While the little angels eyes were closed and the two of them moved nearer to the spinning ball, it stopped its spinning, spun backwards quite fast for a while, and then slowly resumed its usual rotation.

"Now look!" And as the little angel did as he was told, there appeared here and there on the dull surface of the globe little flashes of light, some merely momentary and some persisting for quite a time.

"Well, what am I seeing now?" queried the little angel.

"You are watching this little world as it was some thousands of years ago," returned his companion. "Every flash and glow of light that you see is something of the Father's knowledge and wisdom breaking into the minds and hearts of people who live upon the earth. Not many people, you see, can hear His Voice or understand what He says, even though He is speaking gently and quietly to them all the time."

"Why are they so blind and deaf and stupid?" asked the junior angel rather crossly.

"It is not for us to judge them. We who live in the Splendour have no idea what it is like to live in the dark. We hear the music and the Voice like the sound of many waters every day of over lives, but to them - well, there is much darkness and much noise and much distraction upon the earth. Only a few who are quiet and humble and wise hear His Voice. But watch, for in a moment you will see something truly wonderful."

The Earth went on turning and circling round the sun, and then quite suddenly, in the upper half of the globe, there appeared a light, tiny but so bright in its intensity that both the angels hid their eyes.

"I think I can guess," said the little angel in a low voice. "That was the Visit, wasn't it?"

"Yes, that was the Visit. The Light Himself went down there and lived among them; but in a moment, and you will be able to tell that even with your eyes closed, the light will go out."

"But why? Could He not bear their darkness and stupidity? Did He have to return here?"

"No, it wasn't that" returned the senior angel. His voice was stern and sad. "They failed to recognise Him for Who He was - or at least only a handful knew Him. For the most part they preferred their darkness to His Light, and in the end they killed Him."

"The fools, the crazy fools! They don't deserve ----"

"Neither you nor I, nor any other angel, knows why they were so foolish and so wicked. Nor can we say what they deserve or don't deserve. But the fact remains, they killed our Prince of Glory while He was Man amongst them."

"And that I suppose was the end? I see the whole Earth has gone black and dark. All right, I won't judge them, but surely that is all they could expect?"

"Wait, we are still far from the end of the story of the Visited Planet. Watch now, but be ready to cover your eyes again."

In utter blackness the earth turned round three times, and then there blazed with unbearable radiance a point of light.

"What now?" asked the little angel, shielding his eyes.

"They killed Him all right, but He conquered death. The thing most of them dread and fear all their lives He broke and conquered. He rose again, and a few of them saw Him and from then on became His utterly devoted slaves."

"Thank God for that," said the little angel.

"Amen. Open your eyes now, the dazzling light has gone. The Prince has returned to His Home of Light. But watch the Earth now."

As they looked, in place of the dazzling light there was a bright glow which throbbed and pulsated. And then as the Earth turned many times little points of light spread out. A few flickered and died; but for the most part the lights burned steadily, and as they continued to watch, in many parts of the globe there was a glow over many areas.

"You see what is happening?" asked the senior angel. "The bright glow is the company of loyal men and women He left behind, and with His help they spread the glow and now lights begin to shine all over the Earth."

"Yes, yes," said the little angel impatiently, "but how does it end? Will the little lights join up with each other? Will it all be light, as it is in Heaven?"

His senior shook his head. "We simply do not know," he replied. "It is in the Father's hands. Sometimes it is agony to watch and sometimes it is joy unspeakable. The end is not yet. But now I am sure you can see why this little ball is so important. He has visited it; He is working out His Plan upon it."

"Yes, I see, though I don't understand. I shall never forget that this is the Visited Planet." - by J.B. Phillips


I love the way Phillips tells the story. You know some times we get so wrapped up in the "why" we forget the focus is on the Who. Jesus. Christmas begins and ends with Jesus.

The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.

John 1:14 (MSG)

Jesus. God's gift to us.

Grace and peace,

David

We Need A Little Christmas

 We were out and about today, actually headed to the mall. It was a dreary December day - rainy and cold. It's that time of year when you can feel the collective angst as people feel like time is running out (along with money). As we rode along, I told Bunny that I felt as though we had lost a lot that was special this year. The crushing loss of her dear sweet Mother combined with having to say goodbye to our friend Henley the Great Dane has been hanging over us like a cloud - a dark one.


"For I've grown a little leaner,
Grown a little colder,
Grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older,..."

...says the song, and it's true. Well, except for the "leaner" part.

I've seen it in others over the years as a pastor and now I'm catching a whiff of it myself. It's the tendency to look back instead of looking forward, of swapping hope for memories, of believing that there's less joy ahead than there has been before. Bunny and I love our family. We love our church family. We love where we live and what we do. But it's been a tough year.

So yes, we need a little Christmas, right this very minute.

Thank God for a chance to worship Christ at New Hope later today.

Christmas - It's For All People

I grew up in the Deep South at a time when there were great differences in our society centered on the color of a person's skin. In restaurants, in schools, and at lunchroom counters, there were lines for white people, and there was a line for colored people. At Macon Georgia's Terminal station signs cover today what was once chiseled in stone - a "White" entrance and a "Colored" one. A person coming to Macon now wouldn't see what in my memory remains so clear - we were a divided people. Some of us were the "haves" and some the "have nots", and it had always been that way. We were so blind.

I cannot understand how a nation so dedicated to freedom for all could have been so wrong about this for so long. But finally, we did change. We struggled with the truth. We refused at times even when confronted with it to acknowledge its claims. I can remember protests against Judge Bootle, conflict at Mercer's campus church, and confusion as the times really were a changing.

But they did change. Voices arose from within the nation. A rediscovery of just why we were here took place. We were exhorted to not judge a person by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. And 40 years later for the most part, Americans do.

I had to turn on the "way-back" machine for you today because I am struggling to help you understand just how the people of Israel, who saw themselves as the "light to the nations", who understood themselves to be "God's chosen people", who had law after law to remind them to treat their fellow Jew fairly - how these godly people treated those who were employed as shepherds.

Shepherds were a permanent underclass in the nation of Israel. They were despised and rejected by their own. Even though they had contributed to the making of Israel - remember at one time literally all of the tribes were nomadic shepherds, and David even rose to be the most famous king of Israel ever - by the time Christ was born all that was ancient and forgotten history. Everyone despised shepherds. They were considered second-class and untrustworthy.

To be a shepherd was to be involved in an activity critical to the worship of the people of Israel. The production of lambs for ritual sacrifices was ongoing, and the standards for those lambs were quite high. No defects, illness, or blemishes would be tolerated. So a successful shepherd delivered lambs as close to perfect as possible, and timed the birth of the newborn lambs so that they would be of sufficient age at the Passover feast, when every family in Israel was supposed to come to Jerusalem and offer sacrifice.

It was hard work- even dangerous at times as lions, wolves and thieves could threaten the sheep. To prevent the sheep from straying, a shepherd would hem the sheep into a natural sheepfold and bar the entrance with fallen logs or sometimes with his body, placing himself at the mouth of the corral. Christ Himself referred to His role as the "Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for the sheep." I'm sure Jesus' audience just chalked those references up as foolishness along with His insane penchant for hanging with tax collectors and prostitutes.

Remember, they called Jesus a friend of "sinners." Shepherds were called "sinners" because they were ceremonially unclean. Jews were told not to trade with them directly on the assumption that whatever they purchased would be stolen property. The Mishnah, a collection of rabbinic sayings, refers to them as "incompetent" and in another place intimates that no one should feel obligated to rescue a shepherd who has fallen into a pit.

They were deprived of civil rights, not being allowed to hold judicial offices or serve as witnesses at trial. People would avoid them, spit at them, chase them away.

Again, I can remember when it wasn't so different here.

If you were a gentile, there was a place for you - the Court of the Gentiles. If you were a woman, there was a place for you - the Court of Women. But if you were a shepherd, though you were where David, the shepherd-king of Israel once reigned, you were relegated to the far courts.

The shepherds brought their flocks to the wall of Jerusalem and watched as gentiles collected the lambs. The shepherds never were able to worship as the "good" people did, being made to stay in the same place as the rest of the "sinners", even though their efforts made it possible for the "good" people to worship freely.

And yet God seems to have a special place in His heart for shepherds. The rabbis marveled at how in light of the despicable reputation of shepherds, God Himself was referred to by the Psalmist in 23:1 as 'my shepherd'.

When it came time to announce the birth of the King, the logical thing to do would have been to have the angels descend on the Temple in Jerusalem. They would be immediately in contact with the learned priests, scribes, and rabbis who could respond in worship and spread the news. The worship could then go on for months - even years. The best and brightest of the people of Israel would know what to do.

But instead, God went to the shepherds.

He ignored those who were sure they were first in His eyes and chose to meet instead with those "everyone" had decided He could never love.

He rushed past all the fine furnishings, the impeccable dress, and the well rehearsed priests and musicians when He chose the people to bless with His news. How odd of God.

The shepherds had no temple, no priest, and no choir. They had nothing and no one on their side. The only reputation they had was uniformly bad. No means of worship, no hope of being heard. They had been banished to the desert plains and given only their sheep as companions. So into this context of societal smugness and prejudice, far from the "right" places and the "right" people, God decided that the first people who needed to hear "It's a boy! Oh and He's Messiah!" were the despised and rejected shepherds.

God's light began to shine clearly into their dark place.

And a worship celebration broke through to earth from heaven.

8 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. 9 Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. 10 The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: 11 A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. 12 This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."
13 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:

14 "Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him."

Luke 2:8-14 (MSG)

So the nobodies who couldn't worship freely since they weren't good enough got to experience worship like no one has ever seen. Those so despised that they were forced to live on the fringes were placed in the center of God's work. The last had become first. When they were shown the side door and relegated to the outskirts of God's neighborhood, the Lord Almighty simply kicked down the doors and redrew the map to include them.

Yeah, I think that qualifies as "great joy."

The news they received let the shepherds know that even if the world's standards for people stayed the same, God's new plan included them.

This good news was "meant for everybody..." for all people.

It still is.

May we walk into the light this Christmas forever remembering just how far we have to go before we see that joy and His peace break out everywhere.

I Can See It From Here

Yesterday was one of those up and down days that seem to characterize the life of a pastor.

Personally, it was great to celebrate Bunny's birthday and look forward to today's celebration of our 35th anniversary. But we also were wading through the process of (along with the rest of Bunny's family) taking a look at what we can do to improve Bunny's Mom's care and eventually see her return home. That pressed us all day long.

Then there was the sadness as we prayed for Harriet Standifer and her family as they laid to rest her sister and her husband who passed away last week. Added to that was the news that one of our elderly members, Evelyn Brown, who was visiting her daughter in Colorado, fell down a flight of stairs and suffered serious injury.

Later in the day I got a notice that the materials I had submitted for my final review for graduation from Rockbridge Seminary were lacking a few pages of work, and that they were needed immediately. The reviewer was one of my favorite professors at Rockbridge, Dr. Dean Finley, and he and I worked out through a series of emails what was needed and I stayed up last night until I was able to get that done.

For me, one of the greatest revelations I received earlier as a pastor was that I was involved in an avocation that guaranteed my frustration unless I came to grips with the fact that my work was never really ever "finished." People don't stay "fixed." Churches don't continue to be healthy, or continue to grow unless the pastor and the people he loves and cares for continue to do the little things to stay in step with the Holy Spirit.

Until you understand that, you will be on the way to going nuts.

So early on I realized I needed something in my life that had a starting point and an ending - a finish line. When we first moved here, it was easy - we had old cars that continually needed work. Fixing them, at least fixing one thing until another happened - filled my need. But we eventually moved upstream from $150 cars and I entered seminary again. While my work at New Orleans still lacks a few credits due to their on campus requirements, my tenure at Rockbridge is in sight of the finish line. I can see it from where I sit today, and if everything goes right, I'll be finished in February and graduate in June.

It is... right... there.

So what's next?

I'm praying about that. I'd definitely like to knock out the 17 hours I need at NOBTS, but time and tides make it difficult. I could roll the credits from there into another Rockbridge program. It really has been a great experience. Initially I plan to write more and listen to the Holy Spirit for my ultimate direction.

But it is so wonderful to be near the finish line.

New Hope - Sunday 18 Nov 2007

New Hope - Sunday 18 Nov 2007

Beginning with Psalm 100

A psalm of thanksgiving.

1 Shout with joy to the LORD, O earth!
2 Worship the LORD with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Psalms 100:1-5 (NLT)

Our worship set

* Amazed
* Forever
* Change My Heart O God
* It Is Well With My Soul

Emily Shermer sang "All Creatures Of Our God and King" before the message.
We used "Have Thine Own Way" as our hymn of commitment.

The idea was to put songs out there that would help people focus on God's faithfulness - even in times of pain and devastation. I took a minute to introduce "It Is Well With My Soul" to the congregation, making the point again that songs are set to music, but the words are the conduit to the heart. Each generation has songs that speak their heart language, and we have 4 generations in worship.

We continued the "Mythbusters" series with a message on the myth that "God Owes Me".

11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

14 He looked at them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, their leprosy disappeared.

15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, "Praise God, I'm healed!" 16 He fell face down on the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?" 19 And Jesus said to the man, "Stand up and go. Your faith has made you well."

Luke 17:11-19 (NLT)

I asked the congregation to live like the 10th leper.