8-31-08-philippians-4_8-9-study-web-sermon.pdf

Philippians 4:8-9 “The Spiritual Discipline of Study”

Rev. Jerry Hoek

DOWNLOAD PDF:       8-31-08-philippians-4_8-9-study-web-sermon.pdf

Introduction:

            Today we continue our study of the spiritual disciplines.  We have been looking at these disciplines in order to help us grow as followers of Jesus Christ. Richard Foster writes, “The purpose of the Spiritual Disciplines is the total transformation of the person.  They aim at replacing old destructive habits of thought with new life-giving habits.”  We are looking at transforming us into stronger followers of Jesus.  Thus far we have looked at meditation, prayer and fasting.  This morning we look at the spiritual discipline of study.

            Now it is important not to confuse study with meditation.  Meditation involves focusing our thoughts and our minds on the things of God in the Scriptures or in nature.  It is clearing our minds so that we can fill our minds with the things of God.  Study, on the other hand, is focusing intently on learning something about God so that it changes and forms our thoughts, behaviors and actions.  Study is the process of intentionally filling our minds with the good things of God so that what we take in is reflected in what we say and do.

            The verses we read talk about how we are to fill our minds with good things.  In fact, the Bible says that we are to fill our minds with so many good things that not only do we think good things, we are doing good things as well as followers of Jesus.  Let’s read Philippians 4:1-9.

I. Some Good Things to Think

II. Some Good Things to Do

III. Studying Today

I. First, verse 8 gives Some Good Things to Think about.

            First, let’s realize what Paul means when he says “think on these things.”  Paul is not just saying that these are nice things to think about.  It’s nice to think about a nice day, like a day at the beach or a family spending time together.  Paul is not just saying, “Imagine these nice things.”

            It’s not like the scene from Peter Pan.  Peter Pan is in the children’s bedroom; they have seen him fly; and they wish to fly too.  They have tried it from the floor and from the beds, but they’ve not been able to fly.  “How do you do it?” John asked.  Peter answered:  “You just think lovely, wonderful thoughts and they lift you up in the air.”

            Paul is not just saying think happy thoughts.  Instead, when Paul says, “Think about these things,” he means to study them and then reflect on them so much that they become part of you.”  We think about these things, study them, so much that we start to do them.  We study something to the point where it becomes part of how we think and live.

            What does Paul say they should be thinking on?  He first says, “Whatever is true.”  True is what God has taught and shown us in the Bible.  True is the message that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son.  True is the message that God out of His grace has saved His chosen people.  We are to think on the wonderful message of the Bible.

            Next Paul says, “Whatever is noble.”  Noble refers to what is morally good.  We are to think about what God wants.  We are to think about what God tells us to do us in His Word.  We are to think about God’s law and know that we are to really obey them in every way.

            Next Paul says, “Whatever is right.”  Right means living righteously before God by obeying what God wants us to do with others.  It means being just and fair with others.  We are to be thinking about the way we treat others in a way that God would be pleased.

            Next Paul says, “Whatever is pure.”  The Christians in Philippi were surrounded by immoral people who did all kinds of things that were wrong and against God’s law.  Pure means we should do what God wants, not what we want or what our culture wants.

            Next Paul says, “Whatever is lovely” or things that are truly beautiful.  We are to appreciate and think on things that are truly beautiful in and of themselves and so prompt us to praise God.  We are to especially think of those things that prompt us to love others and love God.

            Finally, Paul says, “Whatever is admirable.”  These are things that are praiseworthy around us.  Thinking about the good or nice things that people do rather than all the bad things that happen.

            Paul summarizes this by saying, “if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”  Paul’s point here is that whatever is good, moral, positive and from God; these are the things we should be thinking about and studying.  Not things from our own selfishness or things that are only for our own pleasure.  We must think on the things that please God and would praise Him.

            And not just think about them, but put them into practice.  And if we do this, it can have a tremendous impact.

            The children’s book Little Lord Fauntleroy vividly illustrates the positive influence a person can have when he has such good things filling his mind.  The story is about a young boy of 7 who went to stay with his grandfather.  Although the man had a reputation of being extremely mean and selfish, the boy could see nothing but good in him.  He said over and over gain, “Oh, Grandpa, how people must love you!  You’re so good and kind in all you do.”  No matter how disagreeable the elderly man was, the grandson saw the best in everything he did and told him so.  Finally, the boy’s unquestioning love softened the heart of the cantankerous old man.  As a result, he gradually began to change his ways, and in time he became the unselfish and kind person his grandson thought him to be.

            Here was a boy who thought something so much, he put it into action and his grandfather became a changed man.  Becoming changed persons should be the goal of our thinking about these things as well.

II. What are Some Good Things to Do?

            First, notice the interesting role model Paul gives them.  He writes, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me.”  Paul has just given them a extremely demanding list of things to do.  Now he says, “If you want an example of how to do those things, look at me.”

            But it’s important to realize carefully what Paul is saying here.  Paul says that whatever they have “learned, received or heard.”  These are key words that express how the message of Christ was passed along.  In effect, Paul is not saying, “Look at me,” but “Look at God through me or in me.”

            The only way he is able to live the solid Christian life he is leading is because of what God had done and was doing in his life.  He received these things from the other Apostles and from the Lord Himself.  Paul is not boasting but is saying, “If you are willing, Christ can live and work through you as He is working in me.”  But it’s not his ability, but God’s alone.

            It is helpful to have a model for us to follow.  Of course, the best model, the chief example is our Lord Himself.  He is the supreme example of what it means to be a Christian.  But that seems so far out of reach for us.  Yet there are Christians we can model our lives after.

            Children, look to your parents as a model of what it means to live the Christian life.  They are trying to live out what it means to be a Christian  If you want an example, look at them.  Parents, realize that whether I had said that or not, your children are going to look at you as an example of the Christian faith.  They’ve been doing this long before I said that this morning.  Make sure that the life you are living is the kind of life you want to be teaching your children.

            How do you do that?   You too must think on the things that are listed in verse 8.  And you should have your own models of Christians you can follow.  No one is perfect; but there are many things we can learn from others, especially more mature Christians.

            And then Paul simply says, “put it into practice!”  Don’t just think about or reflect on a model.  You can’t just admire truth, you’ve got to live it.  You can’t just admire a person, you’ve got to live it yourself.  You must make the decision that you are going to follow through on what you believe and do it.

            And for that to happen, Paul is saying here we must make sure we put the right stuff into our minds.  Make sure you fill your minds with good things, not bad.  And make sure that your mind is so full of those things, that this is what comes out of you.  Let’s all make sure we study and put the right things in our minds, the good thoughts, thoughts and ideas that will praise God when they come out in our actions.

            Paul concludes by saying,  “The God of peace will be with you.”  If we fill our hearts and minds with good things and do them, then we will also have peace with God.  You see, we can meditate, pray and fast, but if we are filling our minds with wrong things, if we are doing the wrong things, we won’t have peace with God.  We’ll have the feeling that something isn’t right and it won’t be right!

            If you want to have the feeling that God is there with you, caring for you, helping you, loving you, you must follow these words.  We must think and do what God wants us to think and do.  If we ignore this, we will not have peace; it’s that simple.

            The late Johnny Hart, cartoonist and creator of the enormously successful B.C. and Wizard of Id, was angry at God after the death of his mother.  He resorted to drinking to cope with the loss, and he also dabbled in the occult.  But God used other Christians to bring Johnny to Himself.  In his later years, Johnny Hart was at peace with God and with himself.  Many of his panels creatively proclaimed the gospel.  He accepted Christ and found peace and filled his mind with good things.  And he was able to be used by God to share God’s message with others and he did well.

IV. The Discipline of Studying Today

            What do we study?  The most obvious answer to that is the Bible.  If we want to fill our minds with good things, then the best place to begin is with studying the Bible.  However, as Richard Foster writes, “We come to the Scripture to be changed, not to amass information.”  Memorizing verses or learning time lines or dates, or any of those things, are wonderful things to do.  However, if they do not result in a changed life, then we’ve simply amassed information; we have not studied the Scriptures.  We study the Bible to learn and to be changed and transformed.

            Now some will say, “I don’t have time to do all that studying.”  However, here is the problem I have with the “I don’t have enough time” argument.  We will find the time to do things that we believe are important to do.  If we think exercising is important, we find the time to do it.  If reading or watching a TV program is important, we find the time to do it.  The fact of the matter is that many of us do not believe that studying the Bible is that important and so we don’t take the time to do it.  Be honest with yourself and ask if you really want to be a follower of Jesus, then you will take the time to really study and learn what the Bible is all about.

            How can we do this practically?  Richard Foster suggests reading a major book of the Bible like Genesis or Jeremiah in one sitting, letting the flow and message of the book sweep over you and into you.  Or you can take a smaller book like Philippians or Titus and read it every day for a month, using commentaries or study notes to help you.

            You can study other books as well that give us more depth into what we believe and how we are to live.  The Antioch small group is reading through the Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer and while it is often not an easy read, we are hopefully learning what it means to be a disciple and how to live.  You can read the Christian classics or church history as well to help you see what others before us wrestled with and how they lived.

            But there are also non-verbal things for us to study.  The created world around us can speak to us if we are willing to listen an learn from it.  We watch nature and observe things carefully instead of just hurriedly passing by them.  Look at the trees and the insects not as things to overcome, but as things to learn from.  Go to the zoo and observe the animals and learn how they act and behave.  And as you learn from nature, don’t only observe it, but become friends with it.

            In the book The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky writes, “Love all God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it.  Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light.  Love the animals, love the plants, love everything.  If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things.  Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day.”

            We can study other people or cultures.  We can study the relationships of others, not to condemn or judge but to understand the human nature and struggles of others.  While waiting in airports I find it fascinating to watch people and how they interact.  I’ve wondered what it would be like to interview various people and find out their story and what their lives are like.  We can study ourselves as well and learn what moves and motivates us.

            This requires an attitude of humility because we obviously cannot become experts on all we study.  The purpose, however, is not to amass information nor to become scholars, but to learn about God and learn about His world around us.  The more we learn, the more we will realize that we know so little after all and we will be humbled in the presence of a God who does know and understand all things.

            Obviously studying, in whatever form, takes a lot of effort and discipline, but again if we want to become more effective and faithful followers of Jesus, we will take the time and make the effort.  Most of you know I love to read right now I’m reading a book on the time leading up to the nation of Kenya becoming an independent nation.  I wanted to know more about this nation and about the people there and the different tribes.  So I’ve read two books on a brutal and tragic time in their history in the 1950′s.  It’s not pleasant reading at all since the events are often deeply disturbing.  Yet it is important to me so that I can understand my brothers and sisters in Kenya more.

            If we want to know our Lord and want to be faithful followers of Him, we will want to take the time and make the effort to study so that we know Him more.  And here’s the thing: if we do that, we will know God more.  We will follow our Lord more faithfully and live our lives more as how God would have us live.  And God will use us as followers, individually and corporately as a church body to do things we cannot imagine doing otherwise.< -->

Matthew 6:16-18  “The Spiritual Discipline of Fasting”

Rev. Jerry Hoek

Download PDF:   8-24-08-web-sermon-on-fasting.pdf

John 15:1-8 “The Spiritual Discipline of Prayer”

Rev. Jerry Hoek
 
Introduction:
I’m not one of those persons who has a “green thumb.”  The plant I had in my office existed only because Ann Card took pity on it.  I’m also not very good at pruning things.  My philosophy is if it needs to be pruned, do it thoroughly!  I tend to whack them back to nothing. Shortly after we arrived here, I pruned a bush at the church by the kitchen door, much to the dismay of some who saw my work afterwards.   A skilled gardener will know just how much to cut and which branches to cut in order to have a plant or vine that is the best.
In John 15, Jesus takes a picture of one carefully tending a vine to produce fruit and applies it to His relationship with His disciples.  He is the vine, the disciples are the branches and the Father is the gardener.  The point is that we must abide in Christ and only then will we be able to produce the fruit God expects.  More specifically, when we abide in Christ, we can be most effective in our prayers. Richard Foster writes, “Prayer catapults us onto the frontier of the spiritual life. … To pray is to change.  Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us.  If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives.”
Prayer is vital.  We look at John 15 this morning to see the importance of prayer but more importantly how we can develop that critical spiritual discipline in our lives.  Let’s read John 15:1-8.
 
I. Jesus Is the Vine
II. The Process of Pruning
III. The Results of Abiding
IV. Specific Benefits of Abiding
 
 
I. In verse one we read that Jesus Is the Vine and the Father is the Gardener.
What is important to note is the use of the imagery of the vine in the Old Testament.  God’s people Israel are often referred to as a vine by God Himself.
Look at these passages from the Old Testament.  Psalm 80:8-9 says, “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.  You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.”  In Jeremiah 2:21 God says, “I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?”  Ezekiel 10:1 says, “Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones.”  And finally, Isaiah 5:7 says,  “The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.”  Israel was a choice vine, specially tended by God as a vineyard to produce much fruit, but they rebelled, grew wild and bore no good fruit.
With that in mind, Jesus now says that He is the true vine and the Father as the gardener.  Jesus is saying that now He will be the beginning of God’s new people.  God is replacing the unproductive vine of Israel with the new and vibrant vine of Jesus.  The same way that God tended His vine, His people, in the Old Testament is the way that He will now tend His new people through Christ.  Jesus goes on to make the point that one’s relationship to this vine makes all the difference.
 
II. The Process of Pruning is described in verses 2-4.
The process itself is described in verse 2: “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
There is an interesting play on words that occurs in Greek that is easily missed.  Jesus says that the Father cuts off, or “airein”s, the unproductive branches while He “kathairein”s the productive one.  The second word actually means to cleanse which explains what Jesus is going to say in verse 3.  The unproductive branch is cut off and removed; the productive one is cleansed to become better.
The first pruning principle is that if something is unproductive,  it will be cut off.  Sometimes a plant is so completely cut back that one sees only stalks with no branches.  But the point is that if you aren’t producing what you are supposed to be producing, the Gardener has every right to lop you off and throw you aside as unproductive.
The second pruning principle is that even good branches need to be pruned occasionally so that it will become even more fruitful.  The gardener pinches off the new little shoots so that all the nourishment goes to the main stalks.  The branches are not removed but trimmed so that they will be even more productive.
Now in verse 3, Jesus reassures His disciples that they are already clean.  Because they have believed in Jesus they are considered live and healthy branches of the vine.  They may continue to be pruned or cleansed, but they are firmly in the vine.
However, verse 4 states that they must be certain to remain in the vine.  They must first take care that they continue to abide in Christ and  to have a vital connection to Jesus.  Moreover, Christ must also remain in them.  Now what does this mean?
The idea here is that the more a disciple remains in Christ, the more Christ will remain in him.  There is a rabbinical saying, “When ten sit together and occupy themselves with the Torah, the Shekinah, or the glory of God, abides among them;” that is the idea here.
This means that while God determines who is in the vine, if you are attached to the vine, you now must do all you can to remain there.  That doesn’t mean if we mess up or become lazy in our Christian lives, we will be cut off.  But it does mean that if we are Christians, God expects us to be faithful and productive.
And if we aren’t productive, we may need to be pruned.  But pruning may also be God urging us to become even more fruitful and productive.
Donald Grey Barnhouse cites an amazing example of the vine and its fruitful branches.  In Hampton Court near London, there is a grapevine under glass; it is about 1,000 years old and has but one root which is at least two feet thick.  Some of the branches are 200 feet long. Because of skillful pruning, the vine produces several tons of grapes each year.  Even though some of the smaller branches are 200 feet from the main stem, they bear much fruit because they are joined to the vine and allow the life of the vine to flow through them.   Barnhouse writes, “He is the vine, and we are the branches.  And when we need pruning, the goal is always more fruit.”
 
III. The two Results of Abiding are given in verses 5-6.
On the positive side, Jesus says that we must remain in Him and He in us.  There is a clear distinction between vine and branches that we must not miss.  He as God –  the “I am,” is the vine; the disciples are merely the branches.
However, the relationship is very productive for when we remain in Him, we bear much fruit.  The Greek here and in verse 8 is literally “karpos polys”.   A bishop in the early 2^nd century was a disciple of John whose name was Polycarp.   One scholar has suggested that the Polycarp received his name in light of the challenge of these verses.  He was a disciple bearing much fruit.  That is the picture in mind here: a person so in tune with His Lord that He abounds in doing the things that Jesus wants Him to do.
And to remind His disciples that producing fruit is not something they can manufacture on their own, Jesus immediately adds, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”  It may be tempting for a disciple at this point to think that if can just get close enough to Jesus, abide in Him enough, he will be able to produces enough fruit; it is up to the disciple!  Jesus warns them that the only way to produce fruit is to remain in Him.
Not even those who are called Christian can do anything without being in the vine.  An author named Grace Current put it in terms of an automobile recall and wrote this:
Several million members of the church are to be recalled because they are not performing properly.  Symptoms include frequent missing, lack of power and poor adaptation to rough roads.  Regular maintenance should have prevented most of the difficulties.  Sadly, many only come for maintenance when a major breakdown has occurred and, therefore, it is difficult for service personnel to attempt to correct the basic problems at these times.   “So the recall is under way.  Church leaders say that Service Managers are being trained to deal with the problems.  One member who came in for a trial recall a year or so ago was pleased with the results.  “It’s amazing,” she said,  “I’m getting much better mileage now.  I don’t notice the rough spots so much, and I find I have enough power to give others a helping push now and then.”  Spokespersons said retraining is possible.”
How many Christians need to be recalled in this way?  But even if they are weak, they are still on the vine and have the potential for producing fruit!
On the other hand, verse 6 tells what happens to those who do not remain in the vine.  Jesus says, “He is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”  There is no doubt as to what happens to such branches as these.  They are not producing because they are dead, separated from the vine.  The branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
Now that seems so harsh to so many people today, including perhaps us.  But the point is simply this.  We are all condemned to hell because of our sin.  The Bible isn’t picking on anyone unfairly.  God sent Jesus into the world to bring salvation to those who believe.  Those whom God leads to believe in Jesus will be saved.  Those who persist in unbelief have been warned and unless they believe, they will be punished.
That isn’t pleasant to think about, but they are the facts.  We have the obligation to share those facts with anyone and as many as possible.  We don’t want to scare people into the kingdom by threatening them with hell.  But we also don’t want to let people slip their way to hell either and not warn them of the facts and the good news of Jesus Christ.
 
IV. Now to those who remain in Christ, there are Specific Benefits as we see in verses 7-8.
Jesus says, ‘If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you will and it will be given to you.”  Here is a specific application of how we are to remain in Christ.  We remain in Christ through prayer and through His Word.
That means that we must take the time for prayer and prayerful reading of God’s word in our lives.  If your prayer time and Bible reading is found only on Sunday mornings, something is wrong.  If your prayer time and Bible reading is no more than once a week, you are not abiding in Christ the way you could be.  You can do this in family devotions, in personal quiet time, in small groups, but the point is that we must be praying and we must be listening to God’s Word if we hope to remain in Christ.
And Jesus says that if we ask “it will be given to you.”  Now our Lord is not a magic genie in a bottle giving us our little hearts desires.  However, if we are in prayer and Scripture reading, we’ll learn to ask what is most likely what our Lord wants us to ask and Jesus says that God will give that to us.
Too often we think of prayer as us talking to God, but prayer is much deeper than that.  To pray is to be in conversation with God and letting Him speak to us.  Soren Kierkegaard once said, “A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking.  But he became more and more quiet until in the end he realized that prayer is listening.”
Richard Foster writes, “In prayer, real prayer, we begin to think God’s thoughts after him: to desire the things he desires, to love the things he loves, to will the things he wills.  Progressively we are taught to see things from his point of view.”  More than anything we pray not to change God, but so that God can change us to see Him more.
However, our prayers do make a difference.  In fact, as Richard Foster says, “We are working to with God to determine the future!  Certain things will happen in history if we pray rightly.  We are to change the world by prayer.  What more motivation do we need to learn this loftiest human exercise?”  Do we believe that when we pray for others or for things in the world, it makes a difference?  The Bible teaches that our prayers do make a difference and so we should pray boldly!
One of the best examples of prayer in this regard comes from Thurman Rivers who 6 years ago asked at the beginning of 2002 that we pray that this be the year for a new kidney.   And so we started praying and praying and in that fall, he received a new kidney.   We prayed boldly and specifically for our brother and God answered graciously.
We need to be praying boldly, earnestly and specifically for each other’s needs.  We need to be praying for someone to lead a ministry for the women and children of this church.  We need to be praying boldly that God would provide for us so that we can be out from underneath the burden of debt.  We need to be praying boldly and earnestly that God bring more people to our church.  We need to be praying that we become more and more followers of Jesus Christ, seeking to grow closer to Him, supporting and encouraging one another as we reach out to the world around us.
Prayer, being in the presence of God so that we can hear Him is vitally important to us.  We may struggle at first but God takes us where we are and helps us to grow in that.
Richard Foster uses an example of the Olympic marathon.   “Occasional joggers do not suddenly enter an Olympic marathon.  They prepare and train themselves over a period of time, and so should we.  When such a progression is followed, we can expect to pray a year from now with greater authority and spiritual success than at present.”  If we want the benefit of prayer, we will have to pray even when we don’t feel like it.
And if we are afraid that it will take too much time, we need not be afraid for prayer because as Thomas Kelly says, “Prayer takes no time but occupies all our time.”
Jesus concludes:  “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  The Father will be glorified when the disciples bear fruit.  Jesus had already taught that the Father is glorified when Jesus fulfills His mission on earth.  Now Jesus includes His disciples into that mission.  In continuing the mission Jesus begins by producing much fruit, God will also be glorified.  God’s name will be recognized and praised for who He is when the disciples are doing what they should be doing.
If they do this, they will then prove or show that they are Christ’s disciples.  A group of Christians involved in missionary work approached a small village near an Amish settlement. Seeking a possible convert, they confronted an Amish farmer and asked him, “Brother, are you a Christian?”  The farmer thought for a moment and then said, “Wait just a few minutes.” He wrote down a list of names on a tablet and handed it to the lay evangelist. “Here is a list of people who know me best. Please ask them if I am a Christian.”  The evidence of faith is fruit and the way to produce such fruit is through prayer.
The question for us this morning is are we remaining in the vine?  If you are here this morning, you likely are connected, you are clean because you believe in Jesus.  That’s great!  Praise God for that!  But are you producing much fruit?  Is God’s name being glorified through the fruit you are producing?  Prayer keeps us connected so that we can be disciples bearing fruit for our Lord.

Psalm 145:7 “The Spiritual Discipline of Meditation”
Rev. Jerry Hoek

Introduction:
My church in Iowa used to have a time just prior to the worship service called, “Music for Meditation.” It was some quiet music played by the organist during which the congregation was to sit quietly and meditate. I was never sure what others in the congregation were thinking about, but I know what I was thinking about. I was praying and thinking about the service. My mind was racing, not meditating.
Meditation is something that Christians have been doing for centuries. But it is something that seems a bit foreign or unusual to us. In fact, it may make us a bit uncomfortable. However, I think that this discomfort may stem from us not really understanding what meditation really is.
First of all, let’s be clear that meditation is not the kind of meditation of Eastern religions. Eastern meditation is an attempt to empty the mind; Christian meditation is an attempt to fill the mind with God. Eastern religions stress become detached from the world and joining in some way with a Cosmic force. It is an escape from the terrible real experiences of the world. Christian meditation has the element of detachment so that we separate ourselves from the things of this world, but then the goal is to be filled with the presence of God through His Spirit so that we can live in the world. The goal is to be filled with the Spirit of God.
In Psalm 145, David talks about God, but He also says what our attitude should be towards God. We want to look at this Psalm because one of the things the Psalmist does with respect to God is to meditate as he considers who God is. Let’s read Psalm 145:1-21.


I. A Call to Praise
II. Who are we Praising?
III. How Do We Praise?
IV. How Do We Meditate?

I. A Call to Praise
David begins this Psalm with a call to all the people to worship God, the King. Verse 1 says, “I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.”
He says because God is King, he wants to praise God’s name. In fact, he wants to do this every day, every minute, every second forever! I read once that a devout Jew will say this prayer three times a day. – That is his way to praising God forever. No matter where David is or what he is doing, he wants what he is saying or doing to praise God.
And at the very end of the Psalm, in verse 21, he invites others to praise God’s name or God himself. In fact, David invites all of God’s creatures to praise God’s name forever. Not just David, not just the people of Israel are to praise. Not even just people, but all creatures are to praise God’s name.
David must have felt very strongly about this to begin and end his psalm this way. God was very, very special to David.
In his book Good Morning, Merry Sunshine, Bob Greene shares journal entries from the first year of his daughter’s life. At a marked transition in her social development, Bob wrote:
“This is something I’m having trouble getting used to. I will be in bed and there will be Amanda’s head staring back at me. Apparently I’ve become one of the objects that fascinate her. It’s so strange. After months of having to go to her, now she is choosing to come to me. I don’t know quite how to react. All I can figure is that she likes the idea of coming in and looking at me. She doesn’t expect anything in return. I’ll return her gaze, and in a few minutes she wants to be back in the living room and off she’ll crawl again.”
A mark of development for the believer is when we choose to come to the Father and find delight in the Lord’s presence. David delights in God and now begins to show how wonderful and how great God is.

II. Who Are We Praising? We are praising the King!
First, in verses 4-7, David says that God is the One who does wondrous acts. Look at the words used here: works, mighty acts, wonderful works, great deeds, abundant goodness. All these are used to describe what God has done to save His people. God saved his people many times and in wonderful ways. As a result, verse 7 says that the people are to joyfully sing as they think of God’s abundant goodness.
Verses 8-9 show just how wonderful God is. “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” How do we feel when we think about God saving us? When David thinks about how God has saved him, he bursts into song!
That is what we are to do as well. When we think of what God has done for us in his grace, we should be bursting with joy. We should say, “I want to praise him day and after day forever and ever!” But that isn’t the only reason for David to want to praise God.
In verses 10-13, David says he wants to praise God because God is the King. God is not just our God, but He is God and King over all people everywhere. David says, “All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you.” In David’s day, people thought that each group of people had their own god. Each nation believed in their god, but believed their god was only their god, no one else’s.
David is saying that God is King over not just the people of Israel, but everyone. God is the Maker of everything and everyone and so everyone should worship God as their King. You know people who don’t believe in God. Does that mean that they don’t have to do what God says in the Bible? No, even if they don’t believe in God, God is still their God. Even if they don’t believe in Him, He still made them. God is still God and King, no matter what they may think or say about Him.
Mircea Pavel, 40, is serving 20 years in prison in Romania for murder. But that didn’t keep him from filing suit in a Timisoara court accusing “the defendant God, who lives in the heavens and is represented in Romania by the Orthodox Church,” of “fraud, betrayal of trust, corruption and influence peddling.” Pavel claimed, “At my christening, I made a deal with the defendant aimed at freeing me from evil. But the latter has not respected that agreement until now, although he received from me various assets and numerous prayers.” But the court threw out the suit, noting that “God is not subject to law and does not have an address.” God is King over all times, places and people!
Verses 13b-20 give one more reason David wants to praise God: Not only does God save us and rule over us, God also takes care of us. Verses 13-14 says that He provides help for the weak and those who fall. Verses 15-16 says that He provides food for all creatures. Some have more food than others, but God gives food to all. We should thank God for the good food we have to eat.
Moreover verses 17-19 say that God answers those who pray. When we pray to God, God always answers our prayers.
Finally, verse 20 says that God protects those who are his. That doesn’t mean that God will always prevent bad things from happening. But we can know that no matter what happens, God will take care of the people He loves.
David invites his readers to praise God because He is Savior and King and because God takes care of us.

III. How Do We Praise?
David gives several aspects as to how we are to praise. In verses 4-6, David says that we are to tell another generation. That means that parents must tell their children about God and what He has done. But it also means that we are to tell others about how God has saved us through Jesus.
Verse 7 says that we are to celebrate and joyfully sing. Remember who God is and all He has done. He saved us from death! He is our King! He takes care of us! When we remember these things, then we should joyfully sing praise to God, even in sadness.
Finally, in verses 18-19, David says that we are to pray. If you have a good friend, you want to be with that person and spend time with that person. God wants us to be talking with him in prayer all throughout the day.
Some people think that prayer is bothering God. A fisherman who had drifted away from God was at sea with his friends when a storm came up and threatened to sink their ship. His friends begged him to pray; but he resisted, saying, “It’s been a long time since I’ve done that or even entered a church.” At their insistence, however, he finally cried out, “O Lord, I haven’t asked anything of You in 15 years, and if You help us now and bring us safely to land, I promise I won’t bother You again for another 15!” David says that we are to pray all the time.
And David says that when we pray, this is what God does: “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.” God will give us what we need. That may not always be what we ask for God also shows his love to us by saying no to the things that aren’t good for us. But He always gives us what we really need and what is good for us.
And so as a result David says verse 21: “My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.” We are to praise God always and always in every part of our lives. And we should be working so that every creature, everything God has made will praise God too.
However, I want to draw your attention back to verse 5 for just a moment. “They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.” David looks at all the things about God and he says he will meditate on those things. David doesn’t just receive them for information or file them away for future reference. He desires to meditate on them.
We tend to hear about all the wonderful things God has done and how majestic and glorious God is and we say, “Ok. That’s nice.” God’s Word calls us to meditate on those things. That is what we want to think about finally.

IV. How to Meditate
First of all, what is meditation? In his book Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster gives a simple definition of meditation. He writes, “Christian meditation is the ability to hear God’s voice and obey his word… The truth of the matter is that the great God of the universe, the Creator of all things desires our fellowship.” The purpose of meditation is simply to create in our hearts and minds a place where God can speak through times of prayer and Scripture reading.
As I said earlier, some Christians might balk at this particular discipline. However, let’s be clear that this is not psychological manipulation. Some might think meditation is a way to reduce stress or lower blood pressure. Or some might think it will enable us to come to some deep understanding of ourselves. But again the purpose is to open our minds to the things of God. Very practically, it is a preparation to Scripture reading and prayer so that we might respond in obedience and faith to what God is saying to us.
Some might say that doing this is too hard or complicated. Some might say this is something best left to scholars or pastors who have time for such things. The thing is if you were to have said this to the ancient Christians, they would have laughed. For them such meditation was as normal and common as breathing.
It is just something a Christian does as part of his or her walk with God. When asked why he meditated Dietrich Bonhoeffer replied, “Because I am a Christian.” It is not something that is beyond our capability or reserved for others.
So if you believe that this is something we should consider doing, how do we do this? First give some thought as to how we might prepare to meditate. Let’s realize that this does not necessarily involve setting aside a specific time to meditate. Some might think you need to have a quiet time to do this, but this is really a full time job that involves every part of our day.
It is a mind set in which we see all that God has done and is doing all around us. It is the ability to rest confidently in the Lord, knowing that He holds all things in His hands, including our Blackberries and calendars. It may, however, be helpful to have a specific place where you can go to gather your thoughts. We will talk more about that under the discipline of solitude.
Once we have this mind set and determination, how then do we meditate? I think the best place to begin is to meditate on Scripture itself. This is different from studying the Scriptures, which is something else we’ll be looking at later. Meditating on the Scriptures means we reflect on it, internalize it and make it personal. We ask what the Scriptures teach has to do with me. Perhaps a good way of doing that is to take a few verses per week and really let them soak into your mind and soul so that they become a part of you.
Or you may simply be quiet before God and let the richness and fullness of God’s Word reorient your thoughts. You may sit quietly before God, reflecting on Him, letting Him quiet your thoughts. Just be open to what God may have for you.
Another way of meditation is to meditate on creation. That may be done more easily when in the mountains of Colorado or the Smokey Mountains, but it really can be done anywhere. Look at the trees or a flower or listen to the birds or watch the insects in all their diversity. They are all part of God’s marvelous creation and they all point to the majesty and glory of God. Then realize that the God who created all this wants to be with you and walk with you.
Finally, it is possible to also meditate on events of our time. This is perhaps a bit harder to do, but still very valuable. You can read the newspaper or read the news online and view it through the lens of meditation. You can ask where God is in the events of the world. And instead of being only horrified or depressed by the things of this world, you can be comforted knowing that God is fully in control even of such things as you read and hear of.
It may be hard to start for this is only a beginning but the question is are we willing. John Stott once admitted the truth that many of us have felt but failed to confess: “The thing I know will give me the deepest joy __ namely, to be alone and unhurried in the presence of God, aware of His presence, my heart open to worship Him __ is often the thing I least want to do.”
Meditation can be a very good way to open our lives and minds to the other disciplines as well. Our goal is to build disciples who love the Lord, who want to serve Him and serve their brothers and sisters in Christ and reach out to the world around us. God can use this to build the disciples He wants to have in Faith Church.

Psalm 42 and 43 “Hungering and Thirsting for God”
Rev. Jerry Hoek
 
 
Introduction:
Last week Claire, Matt and I took a vacation to visit Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.  It is the site where Anasazi Indians lived from around 600-1300 A.D.  Spending a couple of days on that mesa, we not only learned about how the Indians lived there but also the weather. We learned that there is a thunderstorm almost every afternoon, but the rain can be very spotty.  We could imagine the farming Indians looking up at the sky and wondering if their particular spot on that mesa would get rain or not.
Those Indians lived on and in the Mesa Verde for hundreds of years but eventually they left because of one primary reason: there was a 23 year long drought and there was no more water.  You might say that they hungered and thirsted for the rain that would give them what they needed to literally survive.  The other thing that struck me was that every part of their lives was connected to their gods.  Their lives reflected their spirituality in totality.
This morning we begin a series of sermons looking at what are called the “Spiritual Disciplines.”  Specifically, they are:  meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance and celebration.
These are the practices and actions that Christians have engaged in for years and years in order to grow closer to God.  They are not intended to weigh us down with more and more lists of Christian things for us to do, but instead to liberate us to live the kind of life that God calls us to live in relationship with Him.  The problem is that our fast-paced lives often take priority.  We have so many things to do that we push aside communion with God and with each other that God desires us to have.
Learning about and implementing the Spiritual Disciplines can help us develop a spiritual hunger and thirst for God.  The author of Psalms 42 and 43, which should be taken as one poem, knew the feeling of such hunger and thirst.  These Psalms reflect what he learned as he dealt with this hunger and thirst.  Let’s read Psalms 42 and 43.
 
I. A Longing for God           
II. A Separation From God                       
III. The Deliverance
 
I. Psalm 42:1-5 describe an intense longing for God
The picture that the Psalmist uses is that of a deer desperately seeking water.  The picture likely in mind is that of a deer in the midst of a drought where there is little water around.  Survival course teachers warn their students that while they can exist for weeks, even a month, without food, unless they find water in four or five days, they are doomed.  This deer will die if it does not get water soon.  Its survival depends on that water.
Notice how much the Psalmist longs for God  “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”  As the deer needs the water to survive, the author needs God in order to survive.  As desperate as a dying animal is for water, that is how desperate the author is for God.
Longing for the closeness of being with God again He cries out, “When can I go and meet with God?”  This is the first question that often comes from those in despair: “When will there be relief?”  When a person is in despair, time seems to crawl by and hope seems like it will never come.  Moreover, as verse 3 vividly states, the only thing he has had to drink are his own tears.
The other issue is that all around him are his enemies who are taunting him, “Where is your God?”  The specific circumstances which surround these particular Psalms are not known.  Some believe that he may have been cut off from his homeland and thus alone.  Others believe this may have been written by someone while the people were in exile.  Others speculate that this was written by one who was oppressed by enemies or by illness.
Whatever the circumstances, he was surrounded by people who looked at this faithful God-fearer in his time of despair and mocked him by saying, “Where is your God now?”  This was likely not the first time that he had heard this.  When a person goes through very difficult times, the same question echoes through his mind.  When times of trouble and particularly despair come, God seems to leave.
So the Psalmist tries his first technique of dealing with despair: He tries to remember the past good times.  “These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.”  He remembers the rousing times of worship with other believers.  He remembers his place of leadership among his fellow-believers as they praised God.
What he is remembering is not only the joy of being with the others and worshiping, but also the saving acts of God on which the worship focused.  Things with God used to be great and it was real; God had saved them in the past!  But now things are hard and overwhelming for him, and he is not alone.
Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Fits of depression come over most of us.  Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down.  The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy.  There may be here and there men of iron, but surely the rust frets even these.”
All of us struggle with times of depression from time to time, even the most upbeat person.  The Psalmist  hopes that remembering the past will give him encouragement now and so he speaks the refrain the first time, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”  However, the emphasis is more on being downcast than having the real hope.  The hope for praising God again is a distant hope that he hopes will return again someday, but it seems very distant and elusive.
What the Psalmist is doing is really talking to himself, trying to rally himself.  He forces himself to remember the times of worship.  He forces himself to remember that God had saved in the past and was there with them in the past.
But the conversation is with himself and his challenge to himself is rather weak.  Why are you moping around?  Remember who God is and what He has done!  Snap out of it!  But the internal pep talk isn’t very effective.
 
II. He realizes what he really misses is God Himself and his Separation From God is the real issue.
In verses 6 and 7, we have two powerful pictures of water used to describe God.  In verse 6, the Psalmist remembers certain geographic places which may have been his homeland or at least places where he had visited.  Mt. Hermon is where the Jordan River begins and where the water rushes over boulders and down waterfalls.  The Psalmist is thinking of those places in which he had experienced the presence of God.  His hope is that these memories should dispel the sense of dryness portrayed in verses 2-3.
However, this picture of the refreshing water associated with God is overtaken by yet another picture of water used to describe God.  Now God is pictured as waterfalls, waves and breakers which are not refreshing at all, but overwhelming.  He longed for water in thirst, but thinking of the waters of the ocean and of the river, it is their waves and waterfalls that dominate his mind, like one chaotic deep calling to another.  The focus on God brings to mind a God who is sweeping him away with tremendous force.
And so, in verses 8-10, he forces himself again to focus on the good and kind nature of God.  He remembers the tender love and compassion of God in verse 8.  During the day, God covered him with his love; at night, God’s personal song was with him.   He remembers the wonderfully close relationship he had with his loving God.
That, in turn, brings forth an almost visceral cry to God, his “Rock,” as the words pour out.  He still calls God his “Rock,” but the words come tumbling out in anguish in prayer to God.  “Why have you forgotten me? Why am I oppressed by the enemy?  Why are my enemies taunting me, asking me ‘Where is your God?’”  He is in agony and God is nowhere to be found!  Thus as he remembers God personally, he could only conclude that God had forgotten.
His faith is in his “Rock,” but the reality of the situation is that he is still in torment.  For though he used to know God’s loving-kindness, now he knew only the taunting of enemies. B. The repeated question, “Where is your God?” only reinforces the present depth of his distress.   So the Psalm concludes again with the same refrain offering only a hope that was as elusive as before.
Notice again that this discussion has been within himself as well.  How often do we not do something similar when in despair.  We long for the days when things were good when we could worship in joy and gladness.  We long for the times when God was amazingly close and so powerful.  We long for the times when we were walking close with God.
But when a person is in despair all those times are almost bitter to the taste.  They highlight even more that things are not that way now.  And all the inner reflections stir around inside us and make us more and more thirsty for God.
Greg Asimakoupoulos gives the example of Seattle Seahawks football coach, Mike Holmgren.  When Coach Mike Holmgren was a kid, Sunday worship was important to his whole family. As he grew, however, he became “more interested in pickup games of touch football.”  His senior year in high school, Mike was an all-American quarterback. He tried out to become back-up quarterback to Joe Namath of the New York Jets. Mike gave it his best shot, but the Jets decided to go with a more experienced player. He was crushed.
“All that had mattered to me was playing pro football,” Holmgren recalls; “now that would never happen. In pursuing a name for myself, I had left God on my bedroom shelf — right next to my dust covered Bible.”  That experience led Mike to open his Bible and find new direction.  Mike began acknowledging God in all areas. The Lord led him into coaching. In 1997, he won the Super Bowl.  The worship hour is again the most important hour in Holmgren’s week. “I now realize what really matters: It’s not Super Bowl rings –  it’s the crown of eternal life.”
The Psalmist discovers in Psalm 43 that communion with God is critical for him.
 
III. The Deliverance is seen in Psalm 43:1-5.
In this Psalm, the Psalmist shifts from inner reflections to direct prayer.  In verse 1, he asks God to vindicate him and rescue him.  He asks God to show him and his enemies that God is indeed God and that God is in full and complete control.  And notice as well, that he asks God directly and plainly to rescue him.  He admits freely that he wants his dire circumstances removed.
In verse 2, he asks direct and hard questions to the God who is his stronghold.  Since God is his stronghold, his rock, why is God rejecting him?  In other words, “It doesn’t make sense, God!  Why are You letting this happen to me?”
Here is an encouragement for us to be boldly frank in our prayers to God when we are in despair.  God knows everything about us including the thoughts we are having.  If we are questioning the wisdom of what God is doing, we might as well be bold and direct and tell God that we think this is wrong!  But even that is not the final solution to the Psalmist’s problem; that comes in the rest of Psalm 43.
In verse 3, the Psalmist says, “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.”  Now he is no longer questioning or challenging God, but submitting to Him.  He is asking that God’s light and truth will now guide him to God’s holy mountain.  He still wants to be rescued, but more than anything, he wants to be in God’s presence again.
When that happens, he will have what he was longing for at the beginning of Psalm 42.  He will go to the altar of God who will again be his joy and delight.  God will once again be not only his Rock, but his personal God.
The answer to despair for the Psalmist was to submit fully and completely to God’s leading.  That is the only way to have the joy and gladness return, even if the circumstances remain the same or become even worse.  He recognizes that what really matters when it all comes down to it is the presence and peace of God in his life, and that is what he longs for.
That is why now in verse 5, he gives the refrain once again, but with increased depth and confidence.  “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”  Now the tone is confident, not just dogged defiance or determination.  He will again praise Him, no matter what the circumstances because he is confident and sure in his submission to his God, his Rock and his Salvation.
That is why we are going to be looking at the Spiritual Disciplines over the next several weeks.  As we live in this complicated world, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the things of this world.  There are schedules to keep, meetings to attend and many other demands on our time.  We have things in our lives that demand our attention, the stuff of this world.  All of these things pull us away from the One who can give us the joy, the wholeness and peace that we long for so much.
I hope that when we are overwhelmed we can come to the point where we, even with the tears that are our food, can  humbly pray, “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy hill” as we submit fully to our Father in heaven.  We don’t know where the trying circumstances of our lives may lead us.  But if we submit to God’s leading and guiding us, we can be certain that our destination will be the presence of God.
There is an ancient tale from India about a young man who was seeking God.  He went to a wise old sage for help.  “How can I find God?” he asked the old man.  The old man took him to a river.  They waded out into the deep water.  Soon the water was up just under their chins.  Suddenly the old man seized the young man by the neck and pushed him under  the water.  He held the young man down until the young man was flailing the water. Another minute and he may well have drowned.  The two of them came up out of the water. The young man was coughing water from his lungs and still gasping for air.
Reaching the bank he asked the man indignantly, “What did that have to do with my finding God?”  The old man asked him quietly, “While you were under the water, what did you want more than anything else?”  The young man thought for a minute and then answered, “I wanted air.  I wanted air more than anything else.”  The old man replied, “When you want God as much as you wanted air, you will find him.”  Are you thirsting for God as you struggle with the things in your life?
My hope is that as we hunger and thirst for God, the Spiritual Disciplines can be a means through which God can fill us with His presence and leading.  These are not just more obligations that we should undertake as Christians.  Nor are they means to show God how good we can be so that He can love or forgive us more.  They are tools used by Christians through the centuries to help them develop the joy and peace that a person who is walking close with God can have.
As a church, we want to become not just Christians who subscribe to a set of beliefs, but disciples.  We want to be building disciples, followers of Jesus Christ who want that close relationship with God, who want to help others grow in their faith and who want to reach out beyond ourselves to others who need help or who need the gospel.
We want Faith Church to be a place where we grow and develop disciples from cradle to grave.  Looking at and considering how we may embrace all or some of these disciplines are one way we can grow in our striving to become more faithful disciples of our Lord.

Snapshots from Kenya – Eldoret
 
            The last stop on our tour of Western Kenya was in Eldoret.  For those of you who are familiar with the Christian Reformed Church as a denomination, this would be the equivalent of Grand Rapids, Michigan.  This is the city where the Bible School, hospital and denominational headquarters are all located.  In fact, Claire and I stayed at the retreat center which is located on the grounds of the Reformed Church of East Africa’s headquarters.

            We arrived late Saturday evening and enjoyed hot water (sort of) and a real bed for the first time in several days.  The next morning, Rev. Murupus picked us up and we went to the Eldoret RCEA.
            In many respects this too was like visiting a Grand Rapids Christian Reformed Church, at least as I remember it from when I was younger.  The regular pastor was gone that Sunday and they had a Bible school professor preaching and it felt like it used to when we would have Calvin Seminary professors come to preach in the church where I grew up.             However, what struck me the most was the completely different style of the worship service.  Everywhere else we had been, the worship had been alive and vibrant.  There had been dancing, tambourines, drums, loud exuberant joyful worship.  But here it was rather subdued with just a keyboard playing traditional hymns with little emotion or life.             In the other churches where Claire and I had spoken, the people were engaged listening very closely to what we had to say as we brought our greetings to them.  Here they looked bored and were politely listening and waiting for the end of the service.
            After the service, they lined up so that everyone’s hand would be shaken by everyone else.  At first I thought that this was a rather nice way to greet one another; however, after I watched it for a bit, I realized that this was a rather rote exercise and afterwards, the people simply walked back to their homes.  There was not the joyful and enthusiastic fellowship of believers that we had seen so many times before in the other churches.
            Later we met with the General Secretary of the RCEA and had coffee (the first coffee ever had by Claire was in Kenya!).  We chatted a bit and then I asked him how the people in this particular church viewed their brothers and sisters in the remote areas.  I expected him to say that they were deeply concerned and were actively involved in helping their fellow believers who were facing so much poverty and hardship.
            His answer surprised me.  He said that most of the people in this church knew a bit about the other believers further north, but most didn’t consider it to be their problem.  They had their own issues and needs, and that took precedence.  They were locked in their contented state and felt no great urgency to help the others further away.
            During the rest of the afternoon we toured the Bible College and the local hospital.  I found myself thinking that of all the places we had visited, this place had the most.  The best facilities, the best education, the best medical care, and yet they were not terribly concerned about those who were in need.  Everything seemed to be very comfortable and nice for them.
            So you can imagine my shock when I heard on January 1 of this year that a church in Eldoret  had been burned down with dozens of men, women and children locked inside as part of the unrest that was sweeping through that part of Kenya.  I thought of the people dressed in their fine clothes and their proper behavior.  I wondered if the tribal differences had worked their poisonous venom into that congregation as well.  The effects of sin are ongoing and can be awful.
            The church must always be a place of grace and healing, of confession of sin and reassurance that if not for Jesus, we would be utterly and hopelessly lost.  Whether we are comfortable in our church chairs or dancing with the tambourine, we all need grace.
            The church is the place for us to celebrate grace, to grow in that grace and to help each other grow in that grace.  We are to be building disciples for our Lord.
 
Pastor Jerry                                                                                                      
August 2008