One Life To Live

From the start it was no ordinary Sunday morning service. A surprise event that had been weeks in the making reached its apogee today. This morning we celebrated Pastor Brad's 40th birthday with several surprises which the congregation took great pains to conceal. First off, we were instructed to arrive 15 minutes early. Chuck had arranged a private meeting with the past in his office and with some contrivances managed to keep Brad glued to the room while the congregation gathered outside. The first surprise for Brad was discovering the whole church had gathered 15 minutes early to sing him a happy birthday on the front steps.

Once gathered for the service Brooke thanked all those from out of town who were present then took a few moments to read a tribute and honor Brad who has been at New Life for five years, married to Brooke for seven, and has been ministering to others with passion since he turned fifteen.

Chuck Vanderscheuren then came forward with yet another surprise, saying, "Your church family loves you very, very, very much," presenting Brad a new guitar, which he immediately put to use, leading us in "Create in me a clean heart, O God."

The blended worship team thrilled is with a lively Heaven On My Mind before leading the congregation in worship. (See the YouTube video at the end of this blog entry.)

An offering, Scripture reading, prayers and a hymn Brad challenged us with a message titled...

One Life To Live

Pastor Shannon began by asking us to take a sheet of paper and to write the year of our birth in the upper left. In the upper right we were to put 20__, which would vary for all of us, but essentially referenced our death. Between the two numbers is a dash. Our lives, he noted, are lived in this period of the dash.

For some, that life is wasted with worry about what others think. Others wear blinders that prevent them from seeing the needs around them. Still others spend their whole lives carrying a grudge.

Psalm 90:5 says, "You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning..." Life is fleeting, yet so very precious. And in verse 12 the psalm continues, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

It is tragic that so many people waste this brief span of life.

At this point he asked, "What is the most dangerous piece of furniture in our homes?" One person mentioned rugs that you can trip on and a few other items were proposed. Then some of the youth carried an easy chair/recliner up onto the platform at the front. "Is God's primary concern our comfort?" Brad asked after placing Grant in the chair with slippers on and a remote in his hand. The image was comical but the message serious.

Pointing to Grant Brad said, "Is he ready to spring into action? Is ready to pray with boldness? My guess is that if we leave him there he'll fall asleep before the sermon is over."

Man people think God's primary concern is their comfort. But following God has not always been a comfortable course. Take, for example, this passage from Hebrews 11:32-34...

"And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies."

God continually calls people out of their ordinary lives beyond their comfort zones. In some traditions these stories are labelled "Call Narratives." Citing Noah, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Brad pointed out that these call narratives have several common elements. First, there is a Call, followed by a Response.

How many times is the call easy? "Gideon, I want you to go out an slay 300,000 Midianites." How many times in these stories is the response a cheerful "Yes." The usual response is fear. Fear of failure. Fear of inadequacy. Fear of God.

The third element is God's promise. Look, if you will at Romans 8:37-39.

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The fourth element is risk. There is always risk. It takes courage to step up and accept the call, but we're called upon to make a decision. How will you fill that dash?

The fifth element, Brad said, its a changed life. Here we looked at the book of Acts. "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

We all have birth days and we will each have that last day. What God has given us is the dash, that brief span of time in between. We don't know how long it is.

"I'm committed to taking risks," Brad said.

In his closing prayer he added, "Comfort those who are afflicted, and afflict those who are comfortable."

It was a very special service from start to finish, followed by a picnic at the Solway Town Hall. If you weren't able to be here, it was memorable and God's love shone through.

God's Guidance

On a gorgeous summer morning Pastor Brad welcomed us with an especially joyful, "I'm delighted you're here today." The leaders (including Brooke) and youth were back from their trip to Tennessee where they met with more than 5200 other Covenant young people for the CHIC convention. There was a good energy in the sanctuary as we gathered today. Perhaps, too, the fact that we were having a baptism also had Brad jazzed.

Chuck opened the service with a word of encouragement from Paul's letter to Timothy and then the quintet (quartet plus Levi) led us into a time of worship with some great Gospel songs.

The baptism of Brent Charles Peterson was, as usual, a very special time. The proud parent Brent and Arina, accompanied by son Jordan and daughter Cheyenne, presented their infant son to the Lord. Brad relishes these moments which he then shares with us all.

During the offering which followed our Quintet sang On the Jericho Road, to our great delight.

The youth who went to CHIC, along with Eric and Brooke, shared some of their experience with us, in slides and stories. The theme this year was Undone, with a whole range of applications. Some good quotes were relayed to us, include this one from speaker Shane Clayburn, "If you have two coats and your brother has none, you are stealing." Another insight from one of the speakers was how "Justice is God's love in public." Eric Borndal thanked the congregation for its support which made this life changing trip possible.

Today's Scripture reading was from Ephesians 2:11-22, followed by a time of prayer...

God's Guidance

Brad began with a humorous anecdote about how he (typical of many men) resists asking for directions when seemingly lost while driving. It was, of course, a setup for today's theme, getting guidance from God.

The Holy Spirit really does guide and lead and direct us. Throughout Scripture we see examples beginning with the way God led Israel in the Wilderness to numerous New Testament examples beginning with the commencement of Jesus' ministry to numerous examples from the Book of Acts.

It's interesting that everyone knows people can talk to God. But in our modern world when we say God can speak to us, it's called schizophrenia.

Brad then had us turn to the instructive passage in I Samuel 3:1-10 where the young Samuel first hears God's call.

1 The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.

2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called Samuel.
Samuel answered, "Here I am." 5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.

6 Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
"My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

8 The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!"
Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

Without amplifying the context, Brad pointed specifically to a key principle in this passage: listening to God is a learned behavior.

"What if we all," Brad said, "made this our prayer... 'Speak, Lord, your servant hears."

Next Brad had us look at a rich passage in the book of Numbers, the story of Balaam and his donkey. In Numbers 22:21-31 the prophet Balaam has a problem getting his donkey to go where he wants, but in reality the donkey is not being stubborn for no reason. He sees the Angel of the Lord standing ready to slay his master if he proceeds down this foolish path. Ultimately, God speaks to Balaam through his donkey. But would it not be strange for the donkey to start bragging when he got back to the stable as if he were something wonderful instead of just a... donkey?

Guidance from God is not intended to puff us up, to make us self-important and big-headed. God communicates with us because He desires to have a relationship with us.

Dallas Willard wrote a book called Hearing God in which he tells the story of a little boy whose mother had died. He could not be consoled and did not sleep well at night. He would come into the room where his father slept and ask to sleep with him. Willard said the boy could not relax and be at rest until he was not only with his father, but knew that his father's face was toward him. In the dark he would ask if his father's face was turned toward him and then he could fall asleep.

Willard then writes about how lonely life can be. Some people seem to get by in life with a silent God, but it's not much of a life and certainly not the life God intends for us.

So, how do we recognize the voice of God? How do we keep from confusing it with our own impulses and self-talk? First, through experience. How do we recognize any voice? The tone is consistent, the content likewise is so. Jesus, in John's Gospel (Jn 10:4) said of the Good Shepherd that "His sheep know His voice."

In another passage, Luke writes of the two men who encountered the Lord on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24). As Jesus clarified passages from the Scripture, their hearts burned within them. This, too, is a way in which we recognize His voice, by the effect it has on our hearts.

Brad closed by reminding us that we can't find God by always being in a hurry. We need to slow down. And we need to listen, and pray, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening."