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Dr. Tim’s Encouraging Word
I’m thinking about all that’s happening around the world, in our nation, state, and city.
There is more than enough bad news to go around.
So we don’t eliminate the backdrop of bad news.
So don’t eliminate the Good News of Easter. Let the light of Jesus shine in your Darkness. Let the magnetism of Jesus’ resurrection overcome the pull of bad news. Allow the beauty of spring and the joy of His resurrection be your soul’s anchor.
Tim
Note: Christian seasons give us the opportunity to connect with Christ a bit more often. Here’s your schedule for next week. Add an experience to your week and make it holy.
Holy Week at First Methodist
Sunday, March 20
Palm Sunday Celebration – 8:30 and 10:45 a.m. Worship
Road to Resurrection for Families – 9:30 a.m.
Easter Egg Hunt at Hill Park – 2:00 p.m.
Monday – Friday
Holy Week Prayer in the Sanctuary – noon to 1:00 p.m. (come and go)
Wednesday, March 23
Wednesday Night Live – 5:30 p.m. dinner, 6:30 p.m. programs
Thursday, March 24
Maundy Thursday Music Service in the Sanctuary – 7:00 p.m.
Friday, March 25
Dr. Tim’s Encouraging Word
Dr. Tim’s Encouraging Word
It seems that we may be less certain about our faith than some are about their respective religions. Long ago, I preached a sermon in which I explored some of the values in all religion, but ended up pointing to Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. I did not know a few folks would take me on, but we were all nice and calm about it. Another way to address it is around the question, “Do All Religions Lead to God?” I think my sermon said yes, BUT Christianity teaches that one religion leads to God—and that’s Christianity. This doesn’t mean I need to be mean or hostile to followers of other religions, but it does mean that my faith is anchored in the belief in the God of Christianity.
I was glad to read this by William H. Willimon, an author, and now a retired Bishop of the United Methodist Church.
When I was a college chaplain, whenever the topic of religious differences on campus came up, there was always someone to say, “Well, I’m Methodist, you’re Muslim, she’s Jewish, but after all, we all worship God, don’t we?” Eventually I found it necessary to answer, “No. As Christians we do not believe in some monistic, generic, vague, easily managed, and inoffensive god, we believe that God is Trinity. I suspect that some say, “Christians and Muslims worship the same God,” or some scholars speak of Jews, Muslims, and Christians as members of the “Abrahamic faiths,” transforming Jews and Christians into less offensive “Judeo-Christians” because they are desperate to unite a country with deep divisions. Long ago our government found that if you make God generic, private, and personal (in other words, the antithesis of Trinity) you are free to run the state as you please. Christians are those who believe that we haven’t said “God” until we’ve said “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” As John Wesley put it in his sermon on the Trinity, “these three are one.”I’m not out to attack anyone for their different belief, but I am out to build confidence in those of us who follow Christ and often come up with nothing to say when the subject comes up. I am not a specialist in other religions, but have found more than enough instruction in the scriptures to believe this way.
This Sunday, we’ll be worshipping “the three in one.” It will be a rich experience.
And, it’s Valentine Day—how could you miss?
For Christ,
Tim
Dr. Tim’s Encouraging Word
In my sermon this past Sunday, I prayed a prayer you can use during these interesting and tough economic times, remembering the resources God provides for us.
The late Lloyd John Olgilvie was pastor of Hollywood Presbyterian Church and the Chaplain to the Senate, opening each session of the U.S. Senate with prayer. Perhaps we could use this prayer that he wrote:
Lord, I want to learn how to pray through tough times. Help me to know that You will equip me in advance as well as during the tough times. You will take up residence in me and provide the gift of faith to be applied to the crises I may have to confront. You are the Source of it all! You endow me with primary faith to accept You as Savior and Lord and invite you to make my soul Your home…but You also empower me with faith to accomplish what will be the very best for my life. So I don’t need to thrash about trying to conjure up enough faith to face tough times; rather I can claim Your faith in me and what can be done by You for Your glory in me and around me.
As I pray through tough times You will release in me the aspect of Your character I most need for the circumstances ahead—courage, patience, endurance, discernment, wisdom, tenacity, and hope. I will be faithful because I will be full of Your gift of faith to be expressed through me. You have offered me the abounding, unsearchable riches of Your own limitless resources. Today…for tomorrow! You are my strength in tough times. Amen.
Tim, Senior Pastor