First Fruits

This is the first year in many that the Brewster Family has had a garden. Now, it's pretty small (5 ft. x 10 ft.), but it has generated really big excitement with the kids. A little over two weeks ago, we saw our first banana pepper make it to picking stage. I thought this would be a great teaching moment. So, I took my two out to the backyard and I told the story from Leviticus 23:9-11, 14

Then the Lord said to Moses,“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you enter the land I am giving you and you harvest its first crops, bring the priest a bundle of grain from the first cutting of your grain harvest. On the day after the Sabbath, the priest will lift it up before the Lord so it may be accepted on your behalf.
Do not eat any bread or roasted grain or fresh kernels on that day until you bring this offering to your God. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.

[Yes, I know, I left out the part about offering a one-year old lamb. I just didn't think the folks of Farragut (or my subdivision) would appreciate me burning a lamb on an altar in my back yard (besides, I'm pretty sure there's a permit form for that). I know, I also left out the part about bringing a quart of wine to church as a liquid offering, but we have rules about that at First Farragut (though I may try that offering in my back yard later, I think it will fit nicely with the Farragut milieu)] Of course if you don't read your Bible, you wouldn't have known I left out that valuable info ...

... but back to the story. I told my two we would take our first fruit, the banana pepper, to church on Sunday. And we did. I had a teaching moment with the congregation right before the offering about first fruits. We laid the pepper on the altar with the offerings.

BIT: The problem came the next week when the squash I'd been eyeing ripened. My mouth was watering for some fried squash and onions ... I came home from work to find that it had been picked, so I told the family we should fry that puppy up. To my horror, my two theologians told me that since it was the "first" squash, it too would have to go to church. And so it has progressed. The first cucumber came last Sunday and the first bell pepper is on it's way.

BITTER: You know, I think my garden is growing faster since giving the first fruits. I wonder if that's in that Bible? Let me know if you find it.

Comfort

Yesterday in worship we celebrated VBS Sunday with "God's Word is ... Comforting." To be honest it was a struggle for me. The question I shared toward the beginning of the sermon was my question, "How can he [the psalmist] say that?" (the "that" being "Thy Word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path," and our scripture phrase from the same psalm 119, "Your promise revives me; it COMFORTS me in all my troubles.") How can we, who are not unlike the psalmist who says he is "suffering much" and is asking God to "restore my life again as you promised ... my life constantly hangs in the balance ... the wicked have set their traps for me", find comfort in God's Word.

Knowing that so many in our congregation are struggling with some huge issues (divorce, cancer, long-term job loss, financial burdens, addictions), I was concerned about sharing that God's Word is Comforting. I personally know it to be true, but I knew I was going to have to be able to answer the question, "How is God's Word comforting?"

Well, I hope you were here for the sermon to find the answer.

How interesting it was to find that Monday's "The Refrain for the Morning Lessons" in my devotional/centering prayer time was from Psalm 71:21, "You strengthen me more and more; you enfold me and comfort me." I took it as a "God Thing" that perhaps God thought the sermon on Sunday was helpful (perhaps even on target). It was also interesting to find that today is an opportunity to remember Barnabas (whose name means "son of encouragement", one of the circle of seventy who founded the Church. He was martyred for his faith, at Salamis, June 61 a.d. Part of the Morning Lesson was from Acts 11:

"They sent Barnabas out to Antioch. There he was glad to see for himself that God had given grace, and he urged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with heartfelt devotion; for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were won over to the Lord."

Perhaps Encouragement and Comfort are not too far apart. Perhaps God's Word is Comforting because God uses people like Barnabas to live out God's Comforting Word through Encouragement.

BIT: No, I won't leave you hanging if you missed the sermon on Sunday. My thoughts on "God's Word is Comforting" is that scripture (God's Word) is more about a personal encounter with God, than just impersonal words of information. God is more interested in having a relationship, a connection that is deep and strong. A relationship with God through Jesus Christ brings Comfort out of God's Word.

BITTER: Who will you encourage today? Perhaps it will bring someone God's Word of Comfort. "You strengthen me more and more; you enfold me and comfort me."

VBS Fun!

Tomorrow is the last day of VBS at First Farragut. It has been fantastic! Here's Wednesday's Video. We'll have another video at Worship on Sunday!

VBS is Going Strong!

Enjoy Day 1 Highlights! Don't forget VBS Sunday is at 11:00 a.m. this Sunday. Children will be leading the music for the worship service.

Shocked and Proud

Today was the beginning of Vacation Bible School. Yes, I know it is a Tuesday. Who begins VBS on a Tuesday? Well, First Farragut does. Really, how many people would have shown up on Memorial Day ... really? We kicked off our new worship series "God's Word Is ..." this past Sunday. It is inspired by VBS. The VBS theme this year is "High Seas Expedition", but because we've already had worship series like "Expedition Bethlehem", "Get on the Boat: Adventures with Jesus", and "The Unexpected Adventure", I thought we might be traveled out. So ... God's Word Is ... .


Any way. We put everything away after the 11 am service on Sunday so that the VBS crew could begin decorating. The decorations stay up for this coming Sunday because it is VBS Sunday at 11 am (so don't miss it). So this morning was the first I saw of this year's theme decorations.

I was shocked! There it was -- the sacred prayer rails configured into the shape of a boat and the Holy Altar with a ship's wheel coming out of one side -- not to mention the enormous mast looming over top, with nautical flags! What were they thinking?!

And then I answered it. What were they thinking? What does it say to have an altar with a steering wheel. It means your outside the box for sure. It means your altar can go places. What about the Body and Blood of Christ that we will break and share on Sunday? Can you picture me in a robe, standing behind the altar with a steering wheel coming out of it, surrounded by prayer rails in the shape of the hull to a ship? Stop Laughing.

Yes, I know, I can picture it, too. Which makes me proud. Proud to be the pastor of such an incredibly talented and creative congregation. A group willing to except change (as long as it makes sense). A congregation that is out of the box and into the world. Sharing God's Word -- it's true ... it's comforting ... it's life-changing.


BIT: Yes, I know someone will probably say something on Sunday ... but I'll just smile and say, "I was shocked, too."

There's Something Wrong with Scooter

I was absolutely in hysterics when I saw this commercial. Then I looked over and saw my "The Unexpected Adventure" book lying on the end table, and it hit me. Not the book, but the thought that so often we go through life -- our Christian Life -- with the attitude of Mr. Hill. "Oh well, I've got my receipt. Surely someone else will come along and save Scooter. Don't worry about it."

First Farragut has started their new worship series "The Unexpected Adventure" where we will be looking at tools that will help us to be used by Christ to "save Scooter." I hope we do get worried about people and become intentional about sharing the Good News and the hope of Easter.

BIT: Oops! Someone forgot to Boost! See ya Sunday for a REAL Boost. Remember, "Put Good In ... Get Good Out!"

Burden

Ever since last Sunday's Sermon on Psalm 55 ("Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." v.22), where I shared the story of the Strawberry Plains Lenten Burden Cross, I've been burdened by something. I shared that Gincy and I cast our burden, prayed, and in a couple weeks time our prayer had been answered. What I only shared briefly was that this had been a burden we had carried for two years (longer if you count the discernment process on whether God wanted us to adopt at all). I also shared three points: 1) Cast your burden (based on the Psalm 55); 2) Change your burden (based on "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28); and, 3) Carry each other's burden (based on "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2). Anytime you try to organize something (even a sermon) you run the risk of coming across as, "If you follow these 3 steps ... or these 4 points ... God will do this ... or your life will turn out like ... or money will reign down on you from God. It doesn't happen that way. God cannot be limited to 3 steps or 4 points.

I've not received any negative feed back from my sermon to cause my reflection. It just hit me that with a topic like burdens, which we all have and struggle with, I might come across as overly simple. It has also hit me in a couple of other ways (the way God usually works in my life). This week our staff is studying "Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God" by Francis Chan. There it was, he states on page 41:

When I am consumed by my problems -- stressed out about my life, my family, my job -- I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God's command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a "right" to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities.
Worry implies that we don't quite trust God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.
Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, or lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.
Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that ... in the context of God's strength, our problems are small, indeed.

Wow, I'm glad I didn't say that on Sunday morning! And, then again this morning during my Centering Prayer Time -- big shout out to my Centering Prayer Buddies at First Broad Street and my Centering Prayer Buddies at First Farragut (yes we have an underground movement) -- from The Morning Psalm from The Morning Office:

O God, when you went forth before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, The earth shook, and the skies poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel. You sent a gracious rain, O God, upon your inheritance; you refreshed the land when it was weary. Your people found their home in it; in your goodness, O God, you have made provision for the poor. The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
even thousands of thousands; the Lord comes in holiness from Sinai. You have gone up on high and led captivity captive; you have received gifts even from your enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Blessed be the Lord day by day, the God of our salvation, who bears our burdens. He is our God, the God of our salvation; God is the Lord, by whom we escape death. (Psalm 68:7-10, 17-20)

BIT: I know, this has been a blog on the burden of preaching a sermon on burdens. It is no easy thing. But, I stand behind Cast, Change, Carry. We'll take up Lenten Psalms Part II this Sunday, "Amazing Love" -- hey, maybe that has something to do with burdens ...