Be Curious, Not Judgmental
Haters gonna hate.
But do they have to do it so publicly? I’m not convinced social media is a good thing. I love how I can connect with friends and family across the country and even across the world instantaneously. Sharing pics, telling stories, sending links to things I find interesting is so convenient. But along with it came cyber bullying, data leaks, and the widespread misinformation and disinformation that floods our feeds. And if you happen to be unlucky enough to become a target? It can make your life a living disaster. When I was on staff at Roswell UMC, we sponsored an event with Kate Gosselin from Jon & Kate Plus 8. At the time, they were using their celebrity to share their love of Christ with the world, which I thought was pretty cool. But even then, Kate was a polarizing figure. People loved her or hated her. And since I was in charge of the event, I received hate mail from all over the country, telling me I was a horrible person and how could I call myself a pastor? Some threatened to get me removed as a clergyperson and claimed I was supporting child abuse. One person went so far as to accuse me of being a horrible parent and how could I live with myself? I must be an abusive parent, too. And that was it for me. You can say a lot of things about me that I will ignore, but you cannot attack my family and especially my children. It was the one email I responded to, and even though the person was rude and hateful, I tempered my response. Still, that person cut my email up, misquoted me and took my words out of context, and then blasted it to her Kate Gosselin hate group. I got even more hate emails after that. It was awful. I did learn something valuable from the experience. Haters gonna hate, but you don’t have to play the game.
What bothered me so much was being judged by people who didn’t know me at all.
They were willing to slander me, to threaten my job, to try and get me removed as a pastor without knowing anything at all about who I was, what I stood for, or what I believed. Ironically, I wasn’t even the person who booked the event or decided on it. I just inherited it from the last pastor, but that didn’t matter. These attackers lived in their own little world and just made stuff up about me to suit their own narrow point of view and didn’t care about the consequences on my life or how it might affect me. I had never received hate mail in my life and I’ll tell you, it was a horrible experience. But how easy is it for us to sit on high and make judgements about other people behind the safety of our phones and computers? Without ever getting to know the people we are critical about or find out their motivations, we pretend to be God and pass judgment on them. Don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of people who deserve scrutiny and who do things that are wrong or abhorrent and when those things come to light, we should know about it. Public figures who put themselves out there at least know this kind of scrutiny comes with the job. But we all need to take a deep breath before hitting return on our keyboard because once it’s out there, it’s impossible to take back.
Ted Lasso has some thoughts on the subject.
So does the Bible which we will read in a bit. In the scene below, Ted is competing with Rupert at a local pub in a game of darts. Rupert, who has already called him a hillbilly to his face, obviously thinks Ted is some hick from America who is gullible and stupid. As they play the final round, Ted is down by 160 points, a near impossible score to beat, and Rupert is sure he has the game in the bag when Ted tells him this story:
“Be curious, not judgmental.”
I love Ted’s quote. Or more accurately, Ted’s quote of Walt Whitman. It’s a great reminder to us all not to jump to conclusions and to seek out the truth. God asks us to do the same thing. If you would please rise as you are able, we will read from Proverbs this morning to listen to what God has to say. Hear now the Word of the Lord.
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. (Proverbs 18:8)
To answer before listening—that is folly and shame. (Proverbs 18:13)
The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out. (Proverbs 18:15)
My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God. – Proverbs 2:1-5
Such beautiful poetry with deep words of wisdom.
King Solomon may be writing this to his literal son, Rehoboam but as with all of the books in the Bible, we can hear for ourselves God’s wisdom being passed down to us. Reading these words, “…turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,” is God’s way of imploring us to turn away from gossip and click bait and being discerning about what we hear. With a loving heart, we should apply Stephen Covey’s fifth habit of highly effective people, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”[1] I love the next part, “indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” Here, God is calling us to be as earnest and as diligent in searching for truth as we do for treasure because to God the truth IS our greatest treasure. The truth is what brings us closer to God. When we do that, we avoid the sensationalism of the moment and instead come to a deeper understanding of what is actually going on. We avoid getting caught up in our emotions and instead can act with wisdom and compassion.
We need to be a lot more curious and a lot less judgmental.
Our polarized society needs cooler heads to prevail and if we just followed God’s prescription for the answer (or even Ted’s) we would be a lot better off. When we make assumptions without knowledge, we make faulty decisions that can hurt and harm others. Maybe we should take the advice of one more sage philosopher who also happens to be an actor, Will Rogers. Will was incredibly famous in his time, making 71 films, writing more than 4000 columns in national newspapers, and performed in the famous Ziegfeld Follies.[2] In the musical based on his life and words, he shared these thoughts, “I guess I met a whole lotta people in my lifetime. I always try to approach ’em the same way my …ancestors would. … you must never judge a man when you’re facing him. You’ve got to go around behind him, …and look at what he’s looking at and then go back and face him and you’ll have a totally different idea of who he is. You’ll be surprised how much easier it is to get along with everybody.”[3] When you hear something bad or something too good to be true, don’t accept it blindly. Instead take John’s advice as he wrote to the church in his first letter: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)” In the past, they may have spoken from the temple or in the streets or in community gathering places. Today, they speak to you from Instagram and YouTube and Facebook. That doesn’t mean everyone is lying, but rather we need to be discerning before accepting things as the truth. Especially things that are sensational and attention grabbing. Try to be kind. Try to be forgiving. And seek the truth.
[1] https://www.franklincovey.com/courses/the-7-habits/habit-5/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Rogers
[3] https://agoodreedreview.com/2019/08/12/the-will-rogers-follies-has-staying-power/
Be A Goldfish
Sometimes the worst prisons are the ones we make for ourselves.
Have you ever been stuck? Just completely stuck. Unable to get past something or someone in your life. Maybe you flunked that test you studied so hard for. Or had someone completely stab you in the back at your job. Or fell in love with someone only to have them break up with you. Happened to me. All three of them. One time I was studying for a chemistry exam, stayed up late to make sure I understood the material, only to find out when I sat down for the test that nothing I studied was on the exam. Nothing. Needless to say, I failed. Another time, I was working at SunTrust banks in Georgia and had a completely incompetent boss. His friend was the head of the department, and he needed a job, so they let him be my boss. It was like the blind leading the blind. They let me go after two years saying they didn’t think it was a good fit. On my very last day, one of my co-workers came up to me and said she thought I should know that at every meeting, my boss would throw me under the bus and blame me for everything he didn’t do right. Made me feel both better and worse. And one time I was so over the moon over this girl who was equally over the moon for me. First time that ever happened. I knew she was the one. Even though her mom did not like me. I was her first serious boyfriend, and her mom did not like how much time she was spending with me – for what reasons, I don’t know. But it got so bad she had to decide between me and her family. I couldn’t really fault her, but it devastated me. I was walking around in a haze for three months. But fortunately, I was able to shake off those tough moments in my life. Not everyone is able to. I was in a good place emotionally and mentally when those things happened and I have always had good friends and family who were there to help me out. Again, so fortunate.
It’s okay to get stuck.
We all do from time to time. And hopefully, you surround yourself with good people who can help get you out of it. Because it’s always easier when someone’s got your back. The only real danger is when those bad moments turn into prisons of the mind. It’s a process called rumination which is a cycle of negative thinking. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “[r]umination involves repetitive thinking or dwelling on negative feelings and distress… The repetitive, negative aspect of rumination can contribute to the development of depression or anxiety and can worsen existing conditions.”[1] And again, we all do it from time to time. Most of us worry or ruminate daily or at least three to four times a week.[2] But it becomes bad for us when we can’t let it go; when it begins to rewrite the script of who we are and who we are meant to be. Dr. Elizabeth Scott says rumination can lead to stress, a negative frame of mind, a downward spiral of negativity, self-sabotage, and hypertension.[3]
Interestingly, it matters less why you are ruminating, and more on being able to stop.
And for this we turn to our friend, Ted Lasso, who offers a young up and coming star some advice. We’re also going to read a story this morning about Paul, the disciple who was determined to bring Jesus followers to justice until he became one himself. And we’re going to read his story from his letter to the church in Philippi, so if you would please turn to Philippians 3 beginning with verses 5 to 7 and then we’re going to skip down to verses 10-14. Again, that’s Philippians 3 beginning with verse 5. In Ted’s case, he just started his tenure as AFC Richmond’s head coach, and he notices one of his players down in the dumps after messing up a play. Ted asks around and finds out that Sam’s been struggling since leaving home and isn’t the player they know he can be so Ted takes him aside and gives him a piece of advice. He asks him, “You know what the happiest animal on earth is? It’s a goldfish. You know why? It’s got a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish, Sam.” Be a goldfish. It’s good for us to learn from our mistakes, but we’ve got to do a better job of forgiving ourselves to give us the space to move forward. Often ruminating on our mistakes, on the things we’ve done wrong, or the ways we’ve been wronged, can hold us back. And that’s what Paul talks about in our passage. Normally, I read from the New International Version or NIV, but today we’re going to read from the New Living Translation. It just felt clearer and easier to understand.
5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.
10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! 12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,[d] but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. – Philippians 3:5-7, 10-14
If anybody deserved to ruminate, it would be Paul.
Or Saul as he was known before God anointed him with a new name. Because when Paul was Saul, he was one of the meanest and nastiest hunters of Jesus followers around. He was there when they stoned Stephen to death and did nothing to stop them. In fact, the Bible tells us he “approved of their killing him (Acts 8:1).” He admits to the people of Jerusalem that he hunted down the followers of the Way, which is what they called Christians in Paul’s time, to purposely “imprison and beat (Acts 22:19)” those who believed in Jesus. So, it must have come as a shock when Jesus came to him and made him a disciple. Imagine realizing that your life work was hollow and meaningless! That you were on the wrong side of history the whole time. But Paul realizes there is a better life and a better way awaiting him and instead of dwelling on the past, he says “I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” That’s what God wants for you. He doesn’t want you to ignore your past or continue to make the same mistakes. God always wants us to grow and learn to be better people. But he doesn’t want you to dwell on it either.
At the end of the day, you never know where life is going to take you.
But if you are trapped in a prison of your own making, you might miss the opportunities that walk right by you. Which is what God was trying to say to us in Isaiah 43. He says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” When we dwell too much on the past, we might be missing opportunities that could make a difference in our lives. Fortunately, these prisons are not inescapable. And you can do something about it. Part of the answer is right there in Ted’s little quote. The 10-second memory. Dr. Avigail Lev suggests we set a time limit on our ruminating (she actually recommends 3 minutes).[4] Give ourselves some grace and spend time in reflection but then do something to either leave it in the past or take action to correct whatever is bothering you. Neither action is wrong, but both help you to put it behind you. Because you never know what God has in store for you. It could be something amazing. As for those moments that got me stuck, I barely passed that Chemistry class, but it helped me to realize that being a doctor wasn’t my calling after all. And losing that job turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It set me on a path that would take me here today. And as for that mom who didn’t like me, I probably should thank her. If not for her, I might never have met Cassie, and then I really would have missed out on something special. It’s okay to ruminate once in a while, but don’t wait too long. God has more in store for you. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] The APA provided this definition and warned that “The preoccupation with problems also makes it difficult to move beyond to allow for a focus on problem solving.”
[2] According to the National Institute of Health, 64.7% of people worry or ruminate daily or “more than half the days of the week.” Usually, it’s for less than 30 minutes at a time (60.9%) but 11% of respondents were caught for more than 2 hours.
[3] Dr. Scott’s article can be found on the verywellmind website.
[4] Dr. Avigail Lev is from the Bay Area and practices up here. She also had more to say about solutions to rumination. I encourage you to read about it.
Believe
Ted Lasso.
The mustached coach of the fictional football club, AFC Richmond is beloved by fans worldwide. It’s not because of his knowledge of the sport. And it’s not because his team goes from bottom dweller to Premier League champion (although they come close). It’s because people love Ted. Ted is a good guy. He believes in forgiveness. He believes in second chances. He believes in the best inside each and every person. And we all need to be reminded from time to time that we have this capacity within us; to behave in kind and loving ways to one another that inspires instead of degrades; that uplifts instead of tears down. When the show came out in the height of the pandemic, it was a salve everybody needed. Things seemed so bleak. On top of the millions of people dying, the worst in people seemed to come out. The guy in Tennessee who bought over 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer and sold them for up to $70 a piece while people were scrambling to find ways to protect themselves.[1] The attacks on people of color including Asian hate crimes in the Bay Area (the Bay Area of all places!) and who could forget the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police which sparked protests all across America.[2] Jason Sudekis, who plays Ted Lasso on the Apple+ show and created the character, says it was because of all of these divisions between people that inspired him to give Ted the outlook on life that he has.[3] And it seems we need those “Lasso-isms” once again.
For the next few weeks, we are going to dive into the world of Ted Lasso.
We’re going to revisit some of his famous lines and speeches. And we’re going to talk about what they mean for us today. One of the reasons people are so drawn to Ted is because the things he talks about are universal truths that resonate with who we are. They also happen to be the same things Christ taught centuries ago. Kindness, humility, and respect for one another are the same things we need now as we did then, and as we always have needed. It’s good to be reminded of them; in fact, it’s necessary. I think that’s why many of us come to church, because when the world gets tough, we need to be reminded of a better way. The Lasso Way. But really, it’s about the life God wants for all of us to have.
Our Ted quote for the week is from Season 3, Episode 5 – Signs.
The club is stuck in a losing streak. They’re once hopeful season is mired in failure despite their talent and best effort, and then they hear the news – through social media of all things – that their best player has chosen to leave the team and retire. On the wall of the locker room is a hand drawn yellow poster Ted made that has one word – “believe.” It’s been a reminder to them through his three years of coaching the team to believe that anything is possible. Suddenly, the poster splits in two and falls off the wall. The players are shocked. They think it’s a sign they are destined to fail, and they start losing their heads over it. And that’s when Ted steps in. He tells them it is a sign. But it’s JUST a sign. And it’s not what will dictate the team’s success. He says, “Belief doesn’t just happen ‘cause you hang somethin’ up on a wall. It comes from in here (points to his heart). And up here (points to his head). And down here (points to his gut). The only problem is we all got so much junk flooding through us, a lot of times we end up getting in our own way. You know, [stuff] like envy or fear or shame. I don’t want to mess around with that [stuff] anymore. Do you?… You know what I want to mess around with? The belief that I matter, regardless of what I do or don’t achieve. Or the belief that we all deserve to be loved whether we’ve been hurt or maybe we’ve hurt somebody else. Or what about the belief of hope? Yeah? That’s what I want to mess with. Believing that things can get better. That I can get better. That WE will get better…To believe in yourself. To believe in one another. That’s fundamental to being alive. If you can do that, if you can truly do that, can’t nobody rip that apart.”
Let’s break it down with some God speak.
When Ted says, “Belief doesn’t just happen ‘cause you hang somethin’ up on a wall,” he’s driving home the idea that faith comes from within. Whether it’s on the pitch or in a church. THINGS do not define our faith. They might remind us of it. They might inspire us. But they are not the heart of it. The cross that hangs from our ceiling does not define our faith either. It represents what we believe but it is not the foundation of our belief. Jesus is the foundation of our belief, and sometimes we forget that. We start investing hope in things instead of Christ within us and Christ amongst us. Remember the story I shared with you about the church that split up over a couch? If Christ were there amongst them, do you think a simple couch could split them apart? Of course not. But we let so much stuff get in the way of Jesus and Ted talks about that next. He says, “The only problem is we all got so much junk flooding through us a lot of times we end up getting in our own way. You know, [stuff] like envy or fear or shame.” All those things come from our insecurities about life. And they stop us from being the people God wants us to be. They stop us from being our very best. They trigger something nasty within us that deep down we must know is wrong. But we give in to it don’t we? Here’s another example. People love their seats at church. I can tell almost instantly who is and who isn’t here based on which seats are empty. I had a pastor friend who was telling me about a church member who was so attached to her seat that it stopped her from being a Christian. A newcomer had entered the sanctuary and not knowing anyone or where they liked to sit, found a place with her kids and sat down. This church member came up to her and said, “You’re in my seat.” Imagine being that visitor. I’m guessing you’d think twice before coming back to that church…and maybe ANY church after that. Sometimes we just need to get out of our own way and let our faith guide us.
But what is it we need to focus on?
Ted says, “You know what I want to mess around with? The belief that I matter, regardless of what I do or don’t achieve. Or the belief that we all deserve to be loved whether we’ve been hurt or maybe we’ve hurt somebody else. Or what about the belief of hope?” What about hope? When things get tough it’s hard not to lose hope or to have faith in ourselves. When we make mistakes or we’ve been hurt, sometimes it’s hard to believe we deserve good things in our lives. But you matter. God didn’t send his son into the world because he doubted you. Christ came because God believes you are worth it. Do you remember the story about the prophet Samuel? He’s looking for someone worthy because God has rejected Saul the King, so he goes over to Jesse’s house and asks him to bring his sons forward. First comes his eldest Eliab and Samuel thinks, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord (1 Samuel 16:6).” And God says, “Nope.” Actually, God tells Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1Samuel 16:7)” We get so caught up in things that are ultimately unimportant and we lose focus on what counts. We need to hold onto our faith because we know there is a God who loves us and values us for who we are.
Ted closes with a simple message.
And it’s what leads into our reading today. Ted says to the team, “To believe in yourself. To believe in one another. That’s fundamental to being alive. If you can do that, if you can truly do that, can’t nobody rip that apart.” When I heard that, it had echoes for me of our reading this morning.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 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. – Romans 8:31-39
Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
When we believe in the God who loves us and who gave his Son for us, there is nothing that can take away his love for us. We can face the day ahead unafraid because God is there for us. That’s the power of belief. I know it’s easy for me to say all of this to you and another thing to really believe it for yourself. But that’s why we need one another. To hold each other up when doubt creeps in. To be there for each other when times are tough. That’s what Ted Lasso did for so many of us both during the pandemic and afterward. He reminded us of a truth God has been sharing with us for centuries – that belief in ourselves, in who God created us to be, can be powerful. And because our belief can be rocked by doubt creeping in, we need to be reminded of it every once in a while so our faith remains strong. You matter. You are loved.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/technology/coronavirus-purell-wipes-amazon-sellers.html
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52861726
[3] https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/entertainment/jason-sudeikis-ted-lasso/index.html
Transubstantiation – What?
I feel like a liar when we do communion.
When I read aloud the part of our liturgy that says, “Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine,” I cringe inside because I know it’s not wine. The first time I came to worship at a Methodist church, I heard these words and was quite surprised when I dipped my bread and it tasted like grape juice. Because it was. Up until then, the only communion I had ever received was at a Catholic church (which I found out later I wasn’t supposed to do) and they always had wine. Honestly, it tasted better with the bread. Every Methodist church I’ve been to in America uses grape juice – the “unfermented juice of the grape.” So why do we say “bread and wine?” At first, I thought it was because it sounded cooler than “bread and grape juice.” Which it does. But there is actually a very rich history about using grape juice that is particularly thoughtful AND particularly Methodist. In the late 19th century, a Methodist dentist who took communion didn’t think using wine was such a good idea in worship. Methodists have always been temperance-minded and he wanted to uphold this idea even in Holy Communion. He found a way to pasteurize grape juice and began using it at his church where he was a communion steward. His name? Thomas Bramwell Welch – yes, that Welch. His son, Charles, also a dentist, eventually decided to bottle this new juice and market it to other temperance-minded churches – Methodist and otherwise – and it caught on.[1] He brought it to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and Welch’s Grape Juice was officially born. Today, Welch’s serves over 400 different products in 35 different countries including their famous grape jelly.[2] Our Book of Worship states that the use of grape juice “expresses pastoral concern for recovering alcoholics, enables the participation of children and youth, and supports the church’s witness of abstinence.”[3] But it’s also nice to support a family of Methodists who in their efforts to honor God created something that became world famous.
Holy Communion is one of only two sacraments we recognize in our church.
And as we shared last week, a sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. The other one of course is baptism. We celebrate those two because they were the two rites Jesus himself took part in. Another word for communion is “Eucharist” and it comes from the Greek meaning “to thank” or “thankfulness.” And for us, the heart of communion is about this thankfulness. We come to the table to offer our thanks for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and to remember how significant that sacrifice was. When we take the elements, the bread and the juice, we remember, we give thanks, and we experience Christ within us. Through the elements, we believe in the “real presence” of Jesus. And because we believe Christ is truly present communion for us is more than simply a remembrance. It’s where we encounter Christ. How this is done is a mystery, but we have faith that Christ is there. Our understanding of Holy Communion is different from our Catholic friends who believe the bread and wine ACTUALLY become the body and blood of Christ when it is consumed. They literally ingest God. The process is called “transubstantiation.” “Transubstantiation” – the transformation of the bread and wine into the real body and blood of Christ. For us it’s more than a remembrance, but not quite a literal encounter with God in the physical sense. Instead, we simply refer to it as a mystery. We know we encounter God in the elements and in the sacrament of Holy Communion, but we can’t define exactly how that happens. We just know that it happens and for us it is enough to know that God is here. After all, isn’t that what faith is all about? Believing in what we cannot see? It makes sense that faith is an element of communion.
But the most important part of communion is what we are going to share from Scripture.
In our reading Paul talks specifically about communion and he gives us an interesting perspective on our attitude as we approach the table. In this letter to the church at Corinth, Paul is really worried about the spiritual health of the congregation.[4] The people in Corinth are becoming divided. There are factions within the church, conflict over spiritual gifts, elitism of some of the members, immoral behavior and so on. And Paul writes this letter to help straighten them out. So today we’re going to read from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians beginning with verse 17 and ending with verse 34.
17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. – 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
The most important part of communion is not the bread and the juice.
And it’s not the words we use in worship. The most important part is our attitude as we approach the table. We should come to the table in joy, love, and thanksgiving. We should come with the full understanding that this table God sets for us is given because of what Jesus did on the cross. In the church at Corinth, some of the worshippers were turning Holy Communion into a potluck of Biblical proportions. I love potlucks, but the intent of the folks Paul was writing about was far short of holy remembrance. Some people were coming to gorge themselves on food. Some were coming in drunk. They were not coming to worship God or to remember what Christ had done for them on the cross. And Paul was saying this was a sure way to stay separated from God. When Paul says in verse 28 that “everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup,” he’s saying they need to remind themselves before they take the elements how much in need they are of God’s grace and forgiveness. This is what it means to “do this in remembrance of me.” Paul follows up in verse 29, “For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.” What does it say about us as followers of Christ if we have no respect for Christ and the great sacrifice he made on our behalf? How can we draw closer to God when we behave like God doesn’t matter?
One of the greatest honors for me is to serve communion.
To me, it’s definitely one of the perks of being a pastor. When I was attending my home church in Alpharetta, GA, my pastor asked me one day if I would like to be one of the communion stewards and I quickly agreed. As the time came for us to offer communion, we were standing up in the front and we each received the elements to share. I was in charge of the bread in my section and this little boy came up to me. And as I offered him the bread, he GRABBED it with all his might and took out a chunk that clearly could not fit inside his mouth and he turned toward his father with joy on his face and said in a loud voice in the middle of worship, “Look what I got, Dad!” Everyone laughed, but we can all learn something from this little boy’s enthusiasm. Is this the kind of hunger you have? Do you have the joy of a child when you come to the table? The next time you come to communion, I hope you take it and enjoy it with all the enthusiasm of that little boy and embrace the love God has for you.
[1] http://www.gbod.org/lead-your-church/holy-communion/resource/changing-wine-into-grape-juice-thomas-and-charles-welch-and-the-transition-
[2] Welch’s no longer posts this story on their webpage, but that’s initially where I got the information. Today they use a more interactive website but it doesn’t go into this kind of detail. However the UMC does have a version of this story from the Methodist POV.
[3] http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=1339
[4] Information about the state of Corinth comes from the Archaelogical Study Bible (NIV), p.1863.
Dunking Donuts
How do you like to eat your donuts?
Are you a dunker? Do you like it with milk or coffee? Me, I’m an “as is” kind of guy. I like to experience my donuts without other flavors impacting the “donut experience.” I know some people like to dunk their donuts especially if they’re a few days old, but I can’t bring myself to do that. Personally, I’m a donut purist and even though I love milk, I wouldn’t want to blend the tastes together. It’s the same reason I eat cereal the way I do. I’m on a timer as soon as the milk hits the bowl. It just makes me cringe to think about eating soggy cereal and I feel the same way about donuts. Who wants a soggy donut? It would be like putting sugar on grits, butter on rice, ketchup on eggs! Wait, I do that. The point is we each have our own way of doing things that WE think is RIGHT and we can’t IMAGINE doing it differently. Ironically, the same is true for some of the things we do in our Christian faith. Different denominations and even different churches have different ways of observing certain rituals that are central to what we believe. Baptism is one of those rituals. The people of God have very different viewpoints on what constitutes a “proper” baptism. To dunk or not to dunk? That is the question. And the attempt to answer it has driven right thinking people in different directions. How you dunk your donut doesn’t seem to upset anybody, but for some reason, how you dunk people does.
There are basically four methods of baptism – aspersion, affusion, immersion, and submersion.
Say it with me. Aspersion, affusion, immersion, submersion. Aspersion, affusion, immersion, submersion.[1] It’s a tongue twister. Sounds like that Gene Kelly song from Singing in the Rain. “Moses supposes his toes-es are roses, but Moses supposes erroneously.” Anyway, aspersion is a fancy way of saying sprinkling with water, that’s what we do most commonly. You take a palm full of water and just run it gently over the person’s head. Affusion is the pouring of water over the head, usually from a jug or pitcher of water with a bowl underneath to catch it as it drips off. The advantage of these two types is you stay dry. Immersion is literally standing or kneeling in a body of water and using a jug or bowl or something where you can scoop up a lot of water, and having it poured on top of you. Sort of like the Gatorade soak at the end of a football game. And then there is complete immersion or submersion, which is the mother of ALL baptisms. It’s the one we most commonly think of when we think of someone being “dunked.” In our church, ALL of these are acceptable forms of baptism, but not every church sees it that way.
In fact, some are very rigid in their beliefs.
I had a friend named Susan who belonged to the International Church of Christ. I remember talking to her one day after I had moved to Atlanta. We had lost touch for a couple of years, and I decided to reconnect with her, see how she was doing, and she told me about this church she joined. It seemed strange right from the beginning. She was telling me about this intense discipleship training they had to go through before they were allowed to be baptized. ALLOWED! They had very strict ideas about baptism and the saddest one to me was that she believed only those baptized in this particular way were going to be saved. It literally made me sad. Incidentally, only her church baptized people in this particular way – which she never gave me the details. She said there was only one true baptism and if you didn’t take part in it, you couldn’t be saved. I wish I had known then what I know now. This was the passage I wish I had read to her. Luke 23:33-43. Because this one passage would prove that belief wrong. It shows all you need to receive salvation in Christ. This is the reading from Luke of the crucifixion of Christ. We begin the reading with Christ at the top of Golgotha along with the two criminals and this part of Scripture describes what happens next. But pay attention not only to what happens but to what DOESN’T happen.
33When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” 36The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
40But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” – Luke 23:33-43
Nowhere in the Bible does it say you HAVE to be dunked.
I’ve looked and I’ve looked, and it just doesn’t say that anywhere. People who believe that dunking is the only way will argue, “That’s how Jesus did it.” Again, though, if you read the Bible, it doesn’t say anything about HOW Jesus got baptized, just that he did. Even Jesus himself never says anything about it except to say we should do it, too. Dunkers will argue the word “baptism” MEANS to “dip” or “immerse,” but they conveniently ignore its other definitions, to “wash” or to “pour water over.”[2] Dunkers even ignore the historical and archaeological evidence that even in the early church people often had water poured over them instead of being dunked. Instead, what we see in our reading this morning is the only thing essential for a person to receive salvation – faith in Jesus Christ.
The people watching ridiculed and mocked Jesus.
Even one of the criminals as he is hanging there in pain insulted him and shouts at him “Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal scolds the first one, admits to his crimes, and proclaims that Jesus has done nothing wrong. Then he says to Jesus, “…remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus says these words, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Today you will be with me in paradise. The man repented, moments before his death with a sincere and honest heart, and Jesus forgave him. It’s as simple as that. And that thief? He never got baptized. His sins were never washed away in a river. He never went underwater. There isn’t some hidden gospel account that shows the thief being taken down to receive the ritual cleansing. Instead, with a love of God and repentance in his heart, the criminal asks for forgiveness and Christ forgives.
But that doesn’t mean baptism isn’t important.
In fact, for anyone who knows Christ it is essential. Jesus commanded us to baptize all nations in his name. And if salvation is based on our faith in Christ, what does it say about us if we refuse to be baptized? As one of only two sacraments in our faith, we believe baptism like communion is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. When we are baptized we are acknowledging our faith in Christ and we do it in the community of believers because baptism is about joining the family of God; becoming a true child of Christ. There are no secret baptisms. And in the Methodist tradition, we accept the baptisms of any Christ-centered church. I know in some traditions, it’s customary to be “rebaptized.” But we have a different perspective.
I had a friend who asked our pastor to be rebaptized.
She had been baptized as a child and at the time it didn’t have the meaning it did for her now. She had been away from the church for a long while and when she came back, she really felt that her life had been transformed. She wasn’t the same person she was before, and she felt like she needed to rededicate her life to God. And our pastor told her we didn’t do rebaptisms and the reason she gave has always stuck with me. She told her, “We believe God got it right the first time.” We believe God got it right the first time. That’s why we don’t rebaptize people from other denominations or rebaptize adults who left and came back. Because baptism, isn’t like a video game where you start over if you don’t get it right. Baptism is a covenant between you and God. And just like your parents will always be your parents, once you become a child of God, you are ALWAYS a child of God and God loves you whether you love him back or not.
Baptism is the first MILESTONE in our faith journey, but it’s not the first STEP.
The difference is that a milestone is a reference point. It’s a marker along a road that already exists to show us where we’ve been and how far there is to go. In the Christian faith, our life is filled with these milestones and from the moment we are born to the moment we die, we are continually walking along that road. If we say it’s the first STEP, then we’re saying that our faith, our journey only begins HERE – at this point, when we’re baptized. But the truth is God is constantly working in and through our lives. It just takes us awhile to recognize that sometimes. But God is always active. If you’ve never been baptized or know someone who hasn’t been baptized, encourage them to come join the family. It’s never too late. Just remember whether we are baptized by sprinkling, pouring, or dunking doesn’t matter to God. What matters are your faith and your heart. That’s always been enough for him. Now I need to go and eat a donut. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Not By Bread Alone…
Why do we preach?
Why is there a message every Sunday? From the earliest days of worship, God gathered his people for the purpose of receiving his Word and God used ordinary, everyday people to deliver it. In the passage we just read in Deuteronomy we were reminded that it was God who gathered his people before Mt. Horeb[1] and in that gathering delivered to them the Word, literally. He gave Moses the Ten Commandments and appointed Moses to teach them to the people. It was also God who appointed Solomon, David, the prophets, and of course, Jesus. All great leaders, but also great teachers who shared the lessons of God. When Jesus left to return to God, he appointed the disciples to continue his work and imbued them with the Holy Spirit so they could go forth and proclaim God’s Word. In the passage we’ll be reading from this morning, Paul explains the importance of this task to Timothy. If you have a Bible or a Bible app on your phone, please go to 2 Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 4:1. These are Paul’s final instructions to Timothy. He says in verse 6 of that passage that he knows he is soon about to die, but he wants to leave these words as encouragement. He doesn’t start out in the best way. He tells him to expect hardship. He tells him to expect persecution. That having the protection of the Lord is a promise of salvation, but not freedom from the troubles of THIS place. And he tells Timothy something very important. He says to him in this letter that all he needs is imbedded in Scripture. That all Scripture is God-breathed, and that will be enough to teach, rebuke, correct, and train God’s people. Then he gives him these following words.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. – 2 Timothy 4: 1-5
We hear from Paul the vital role sharing God’s Word plays in the life of his people.
It is used to correct, rebuke, and encourage – but I really like and appreciate what he adds right there at the end of verse 2. After a pause, he writes, “with great patience and careful instruction.” With great patience and careful instruction – as if to heighten the importance of those words. Preaching isn’t something you do at the last minute – although there are times when I feel like I’m reworking and refining up to the last minute. Preaching isn’t something you do extemporaneously. Preaching is a craft done with great patience and care because it’s that important. On average a good sermon takes about an hour to prepare for each minute preached. From experience that seems about right. It should take time to pray over the sermon, discern what God wants to be said, research to make sure what you’re sharing is accurate, and then writing it out. So much goes into a sermon because of what might become of those words. It can be the difference between turning people away from God or helping them hold fast to his Word in difficult and challenging circumstances. Paul writes there will come a time when people turn away from the truth and instead turn to myths. Today, that might mean other religions, or it might mean relying on money, wealth, or power. It might mean turning to false beliefs. What we share and how we share it can influence the power of these “myths” over people’s lives.
But this isn’t just for preachers.
It’s a lesson for all of us. All of us have the capacity and the duty to share God’s Word. Whether you’re standing in the pulpit or sharing what the Bible says with a friend. God wants us to find our own ways of sharing God’s Word, so it’s important we share what God wants us to say instead of injecting our own words into it. It’s a danger we always have when using the Bible to tell people what God wants. Are we saying what God wants us to say or are we saying what we want the Bible to say? This is what scholars call exegesis and eisegesis. Exegesis is deriving meaning FROM God’s Word as opposed to eisegesis, which is reading meaning INTO God’s Word. Now eisegesis is probably easiest to see when you hear people quoting Scripture to justify outrageous or horrible things done in the name of God – bombing abortion clinics or killing members of the LGBTQ+ community. But those are extremes. It’s the subtle ways we misinterpret the Bible that are sometimes the most dangerous of all. One that is always troubling is when people say, “It’s all part of God’s plan.” When people say it, they are trying to offer hope, but when you pull on that string it all starts to unravel. Pretty soon, we start to wonder if all the horrible things of the world are also “part of God’s plan.” Was the Holocaust “part of God’s plan?” Was my divorce and everything that led up to it “part of God’s plan?” Was getting a disease “part of God’s plan?” Of course not. And that’s why it’s so important to be careful how we talk about God and it’s why Paul encourages us to be patient and careful.
But the most amazing thing about preaching is that it has very little to do with us.
Like everything else in worship, preaching is about God. Before I became a pastor, Cassie and I were attending Alpharetta First United Methodist Church near our home in Georgia. We had decided we wanted to attend a Methodist church and a friend of Cassie invited us and said she thought we would like it. So Cassie convinced me to go with her, and we attended the contemporary worship service her friend went to. It was led by a female pastor named Jane and Jane was around our age. She wore normal clothes, didn’t wear a robe or a stole, and seemed like someone you might bump into in the grocery store. But we both really liked her sermons. They were relevant, they told interesting stories we could connect to, and her messages always revealed something new about the Bible. After going for about a couple of months, I went up to her one day and said “thank you” for the wonderful message and I’ll never forget her response. She said, “It wasn’t me. It was God.” Here I am relatively new to church and I’m thinking, “What was THAT about? Doesn’t she know how to take a compliment?” It wasn’t me; it was God? To me it sounded a bit disingenuous. I mean did she expect me to believe God wrote the sermon and God spoke the words as if she were possessed? Was it false humility? I mean I know it was her speaking. But that statement always stuck with me, and I remembered it especially one day when I was preaching in my first appointment. I had written about 35 sermons in a row, and I was really struggling with number 36. Just absolutely NOTHING was coming to me. After a lot of prayer and…well a LOT more prayer, I finally finished the sermon, but it was FAR from my best. I was thinking in my head, “Okay, just get through this week and you’ll do better next Sunday.” But after worship, I had two different people come up to me and tell me it was exactly what they needed to hear. I was shocked and amazed. What did they hear? Because I heard a lot of drivel. And then another person came up and said the same thing and then proceeded to tell me what it was she heard me saying that touched her heart so much and I just stood there with the most loving smile I could possibly muster on my face because what she was saying was NOTHING like what I had written down. It was like I gave a sermon on loving your dog and she heard me say you should go buy a cat. And at that moment, my pastor’s words rang so true in my head. It wasn’t me. It was God.
We share a message from God in worship every week because it’s important.
It’s important to hear what God wants from us. It’s important to be reminded who we belong to and why we are here. But sharing his Word isn’t reserved for only worship. It’s about living out God’s Word in the world today. And you never know just how God might use you. We need the Word of God in our lives. As Jesus said in the desert, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God.” Presenting God’s Word is a humbling and honoring experience, but as in all things the Holy Spirit is at work in this place so that we can hear what God needs us to hear. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] Most scholars believe Mt. Horeb is another name for Mt. Sinai.
Who Invited Whom?
Going to a Japanese wedding sounds a lot like being on Oprah.
Remember those episodes of Oprah when she would just giveaway stuff to everyone? When I was in high school, we watched this video about wedding traditions in Japan, and they do something very different than we do in America. It’s the guests who go home with the gifts![1] In the video we watched, the couple gave every attendee a new color television. YOU get a TV! And YOU get a TV! Everyone gets a TV! Apparently, I need to get invited to some Japanese weddings. Most of the time, the gifts are not that extravagant, but it is a different mindset. When we come together to celebrate in my family, it’s often the guests who bring the gifts and not the other way around. It’s enough that you’re hosting it. But we all have something in common when it comes to celebrations. We gather to bask in the moment. We gather to spend time with one another. We gather to give thanks and praise for those being celebrated. And doesn’t that sound a lot like worship? Worship is God’s party. God calls and we respond.
Every Sunday is a mini-Easter.
It is a time to celebrate God for all that he has done for us; to recognize he is the source for the blessings of life, to be reminded of how great our God truly is. When we come to worship it is about our response to what God is doing in our life and our passage today reflects that thought. There is so much to be thankful for. For life, for love, for community. God has stood by us through so many trials and tribulations. In the Bible we read about some of those stories. In the beginning God created us. God gave us life. God spared us time and time again despite our many failures and misgivings. And most of all, God sent his Son on our behalf to atone for our sins. Worship is not about what we do FOR God, but rather our RESPONSE to God’s love for us.
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. – 1 John 4:7-12
When we gather together for worship, it is a response to God’s invitation.
God has invited us into his house, and we gather by his grace. Throughout this passage, we witness God’s initiative, God’s first movement on our behalf. Verse 7, “Everyone who loves has been born of God.” He is the creator. He is the one who made us. We didn’t make God. It was the other way around. Verse 9, “He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” Sending Jesus was God’s idea, not ours. We asked God for a King, but God sent us a Savior. And then in verse 10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” God loved us FIRST! And in response we gather together as his people to praise and worship him.
We call it “the gathering” because it’s the time when we come together.
That might seem pretty obvious, but we don’t come together just in the physical sense but in the spiritual as well. Each part of the gathering is designed to prepare us for receiving and responding to God. The prelude, opening song, welcome and announcements set the stage for what’s to come. It’s like the opening band at a concert or the comedian who comes out to warm up the audience before the headliner appears on stage. The gathering helps us to see God more clearly and to place our head and hearts in the right frame of mind so we can concentrate on what God is saying to us. As one writer put it, “God does not simply invite us to a party of friends, or a lecture on religion, or a concert of sacred music – he invites us into the presence of the King of the Universe…”[2] When you put it like that it gives worship a completely different framework.
We kick off worship with music and singing.
But why do we sing? Especially for those of us who sing best in the shower. We sing because it is a gift from God; this ability to lift up praise through music, but we also sing because it is an expression of joy and gratitude. And sometimes it’s an expression of sadness and longing. But we also sing because it connects us more closely to God. In both the Old and the New Testament there are MANY verses about singing. Psalm 95 says in the very first verse, “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.” And it’s not just in the Old Testament either. In Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus he encourages them, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:18-21).” We’re don’t need to get drunk or filled up on liquor. Instead, Paul encourages us to get intoxicated with the Spirit through song! We are encouraged to let go and sing loudly and boldly. When we release our inhibitions in worship this way, it fills us with the Spirit and prepares our heart for God. God doesn’t care if we sing on key or have perfect pitch because that’s not what makes it beautiful to God. It’s the very act of singing and lifting up praise that makes God happy. Psalm 100 says, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! (ESV)” A joyful noise. Thank God we don’t have to be perfect. It is in the singing itself God is invited into our lives to fill us with the Spirit.
Prayer is another key component to prepare us for God.
It’s why we do the Unison Prayer. Our prayer always points to God as creator and redeemer whether we pray to the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit. The Unison prayer reminds us of who we belong to. We do prayers of the people to lay down our burdens before God, so we are free to hear him more clearly. We get rid of the distractions, and we lift up our concerns. We empty ourselves to prepare our hearts for what God wants to pour into us. When we are filled with all the distractions and worries of life, there isn’t room for God. Our minds are too preoccupied with all of this STUFF. And we pray out loud and we pray together because prayer is also an act of worship. Just the very nature of prayer – bowing before God, kneeling before God, praying in unison to God – these acts point us to the one who calls us to worship. They create an attitude of submission, a realization that we are not in control. When we pray together, we are reminded that none of us can do it alone. We are reminded that Christ died for ALL of us. Prayer reminds us we are all equally sinners before God. And when we come before him with that kind of humility, we are ready to hear his Word for us. Prayer prepares us to receive what God is about to offer us through his message.
The time of gathering all leads us to this point where we are prepared for God’s Word.
Through the call to worship we acknowledge that God is the one who calls us. We are reminded that our presence isn’t something we did on our own initiative, but rather that we are responding to God’s will. And as we go deeper into this gathering time, we continue on this journey of recognizing and relying on God. We confess our beliefs. We confess our sins. We sing praise for the one who created us. And ultimately, we lay down and empty ourselves before God. So as we journey together through worship, let us remember that we didn’t invite God. He invited us. How will you respond?
[1] Guests usually give cash gifts to the couple instead of physical gifts and the couple gives physical gifts to the guests
[2] Bryan Chapell, “Called to Worship: Giving God the First Word,” from Worship Notes Vol 3, 3, March 2008.
The “Order” of Worship
What is “proper” worship?
Over the years, I’ve read a LOT about the subject. I’ve read books and articles, listened to sermons and the only thing I can tell you for sure is everyone has an opinion about it. And nobody has a definitive answer. But they sure have strong feelings about it. Very strong. The spectrum of comments range from “contemporary worship is empty and devoid of meaning” to “traditional worship is old and outdated.” I was at a workshop about emergent worship (and if you don’t know what that is, don’t worry. I don’t know if THEY know what it is either) and the person there was saying that if you worship in a church, you’re not really worshipping. She said worship is singing spontaneously in a coffee shop with three of your friends. She said worship was having someone just shout out a verse from Scripture and someone else tell everyone what it means. She said worship was not caring about an offering but just being in the moment. And after each of these statements, she said, “Now THAT’S worship.” I found it ironic that she was saying this in a gathering of church leaders who all led churches that “didn’t know what worship was,” and she was sharing this in a church that apparently didn’t know it either. Certainly there are a lot of different opinions, which begs the question then, what is “proper” worship?
We can find the answer to THAT question in Scripture.
Our answer lies in a reading from Psalm 100. In it we read that worship is shouting to the Lord with joy! Worship is coming to the Lord with gladness and with a joyful song. Worship is knowing the Lord is God and we belong to him. Worship is coming before God with praise and thanksgiving in our hearts, knowing we can count on him always. Those are the components of worship. Whether it’s contemporary, traditional, emergent, praise, or whatever you want to call it, worship is comprised of those elements – gathering, knowing God, responding with praise and thanksgiving. Worship isn’t a style, it’s an attitude. Matt Redman sings this song called “The Heart of Worship” and in a few simple words he gets to the deeper meaning of worship – it’s all about you, Jesus. If there’s such a thing as “proper” worship then it is one focused on God, Son, and Holy Spirit. Another pastor told me this funny story. She was listening to a youth praise band, and they were covering Matt Redman’s song in worship. The lead singer changed one word, but that one word changed the entire meaning of the song. Instead of singing “it’s all about you, Jesus,” she said instead, “it’s all about me…it’s all about me, Jesus.” One simple word and the entire meaning of the song changed. And that’s important because when we come to worship we need to remember it really is all about God.
Believe it or not, the way we worship today has its roots in a surprising story of the Bible.
There actually IS an order to worship if you will. There actually is an order to worship and in preparing for this sermon, I was surprised at finding out what that story is. I hope you find it as interesting as I did. If you have a Bible or a Bible app, go ahead and turn to Luke 24:13-35. Luke 24:13-35. You’ve probably heard this story before of the two men who encounter Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Usually, we hear this story as an account of coming to faith, specifically juxtaposed to that of Paul. Sometimes, you’ll hear people refer to their journey of faith as an Emmaus or Damascus experience, meaning either they came to faith over a period of time, or suddenly because of some event in their life. But this passage is more than just another Easter story about an encounter with Jesus. It’s a story about worship.
Scholars call this the “four-fold pattern of worship” – gather, receive, respond, and go.[1]
Gather, receive, respond, and go. We see how this unfolds in our story this morning. And because our passage today tells a story I’m going to share from it a little differently. Instead of asking you to stand and read the entire passage, I’ll break it up into chunks so we can explore for ourselves this four-fold pattern of worship. The first part of course is the gathering of God’s people and we begin our reading by joining the two men on their walk to Emmaus. Beginning with verse 13:
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
We join these two men walking along the road together. They’re catching up and it sounds like from this reading they are talking about Jesus being crucified. Just from context, this is something important to both of them. In our study of worship, we recognize this is the gathering of God’s people. In Matthew’s version of the Gospel he writes, “For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.” Except in this case, it is VERY literal. Verse 17:
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
Here we visit with the two men as they bring their fears and concerns to God. They don’t know it at the time, but they are laying them down before him just like we do in prayer. And this is part of our preparation for hearing God’s Word. A confession. A plea. A praise. This is what we do in our unison prayer as we get our hearts ready to hear God’s message. Here, the two men begin by praising Jesus, saying he was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God.” But then we hear in verse 21 how the men “had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” And now they can’t even find his body and they don’t know what’s happened. They raise their concerns before God and Jesus responds through the Word. Verse 25:
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Just a few short verses, but we can imagine the sermon was long because they were able to finish their seven-mile journey during the time Jesus told them his story. But through it all they listened intently. Jesus begins with Moses and explains all of the prophecies of Scripture that predicted every event in Jesus’ life. He uses Scripture to illustrate and connect to current events how this all fits into God’s greater plan for the world. Much like we try to do every Sunday, Jesus makes the words of Scripture relevant to the lives of these two men. And when he’s done, the two men cannot let him leave without offering him something. Verse 28:
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Of course you probably recognize this image as the men did at the table. Jesus breaks bread with them. They heard all Jesus had to say and out of gratitude for hearing the Word, they invited him in. In fact, Scripture tells us they “urged him strongly.” This was their response to God, and Jesus stayed as he does with us whenever we join him at the table. When he breaks the bread, their eyes are opened and they experience the living God. When we share together in Holy Communion that’s the experience we hope for each and every time. That through the elements we come face-to-face with Christ. Verse 33:
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. The final part of our worship is the call to “go.” Go into the world as they two men from Emmaus did and share with everyone the Good News. Worship should compel us to take what we experience and what we learn and apply it to our daily lives so that we might be a living witness for God in the world. Gather together, receive God’s Word, respond to his call, and go into the world with what you’ve learned. Gather, receive, respond, and go. This is why we worship, to remind ourselves of the love of Christ that we will go out into the world and tell everyone about him.
[1] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/book-of-worship/the-basic-pattern-of-worship
These are the Times That Try Men’s Souls
Do you have a dark side?
One of my all-time favorite movies is When Harry Met Sally… And in the beginning when Harry and Sally are driving to New York, Sally asks Harry how he and his girlfriend Amanda got together and Harry says it’s because of his “dark side.” Sally looks at him incredulously and says, “Your dark side.” Harry explains, “When I buy a book, I always read the last page first. That way in case I die I know how it ends. THAT my friend is a dark side.” When I was growing up, I used to do that, too. After reading a couple of chapters, if I thought the book was good, I’d go to the end to see how it turns out. It’s because I read a story about some little kid who never got to hear the end of some bedtime story and his soul was trapped on Earth until someone finally read it to him. That freaked me out! And then I read that ghosts are people with unfinished business and I didn’t want that to be me, so I’d flip to the end. Just. In. Case. Now, I don’t believe I’m going to come back and haunt anybody, but once in a while I still flip to the end of the book. It gives me peace of mind knowing how it ends up. I don’t read it in detail. I still want to be surprised, but when you know where you’re heading, you don’t mind the twists and turns you encounter along the way. It’s the things you don’t know that cause you the most anxiety.
Not knowing makes people do the strangest things.
Researchers did a study where they tested if people preferred getting an electric shock immediately or maybe getting an electric shock later and they found people preferred getting the shock now rather than go through the anxiety of waiting to see if they would get one.[1] Sounds crazy, right? Get a guaranteed electric shock early rather than maybe not get one at all? But as human beings, we do not like the unknown. Sure, for things that are fun, we tolerate it and sometimes even like it. Movies, books, surprise parties; those we tolerate the anxiety, hoping the payoff is worth it. Professor Fishbach from the University of Chicago said, “it’s exciting when the stakes are not huge.”[2] But for other things like test results, applying for college or a job interview, those things make us more on edge because more is at stake and the end is unknown. People can go one of two ways when the stress of not knowing starts to become too much – they either work hard toward ending the stress or ignore it altogether, both of which can have disastrous results. Not going to the doctor because you’re afraid of the result won’t cure whatever you might have and bugging someone constantly to get the results you want might push them the other way. There was an episode of The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon went up to his childhood idol, Professor Proton and wanted to collaborate with him, but Professor Proton turned him down. Sheldon said, “It’s because I’m annoying, isn’t it? Just say it. I’m annoying. Just say it. I’m annoying.” Sheldon kept going on and on until finally Professor Proton said, “You’re annoying!” and closed the door on him. Sheldon looking sheepish said, “Wow, that hurt.”
The future seems uncertain for us.
It seems like a storm cloud has surrounded us and we are caught in the middle of it all. Just look around at all the things happening in the world today and in our own country and you can tell people are freaking out. Not just because they agree or disagree with what is happening but because they have no idea where it will all end up. If you KNEW everything would end up okay, it would be easier to tolerate. You might even be more gracious, more understanding of other people who are also freaking out. You might react in kindness instead of in kind, but we are in such uncertain times, it is driving up the anxiety all around us. Israel and the Palestinian people. Israel and Iran. Ukraine and Russia. Not to mention the National Guard being sent into California and basically occupying DC. Rigging elections. With so much uncertainty everyone has in their own lives already, this extra level of stress makes it that much worse. As Thomas Paine once wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”[3] How we react will say a lot about who we are.
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him, saying,“Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25“Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another,“Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” – Luke 8:22-25
That must have been one BIG storm.
It also must have been one BIG lake.[4] I’ve gone lake fishing a BUNCH of times growing up and I can’t imagine a storm so violent that I would ever be in danger. Especially not in a boat with a bunch of fishermen.[5] And these would have been seasoned fishermen who have been out to sea, who understood if not experienced what storms were like already. The fact they were scared enough to believe they might drown means it must have been a massive storm. Not being a seasoned fisherman myself, I had to look up a couple of the terms, and a squall is “a sudden violent gust of wind or localized storm, especially one bringing rain, snow, or sleet”[6] so this would have taken them by surprise, especially if they were in the middle of the lake. There would be nowhere for them to go. And when the Bible says the boat was being swamped, that’s not just waves of water crashing down on it. It means that the boat was being drenched or submerged.[7] That’s how much water was rushing into it. They were literally fearing for their lives. These kinds of storms can become extremely violent. Back in 1961, there was a 92-foot ship called the Albatross which sank suddenly when it encountered a “white squall” where winds whipped up to 150 miles per hour.[8] Six people died as a result including four teenagers. And the boat the disciples were on likely wasn’t that big. We don’t know how bad the squall was, but it was enough to panic the disciples. When they woke Jesus, he calmly stood up and quelled the storm and he asked them “Where is your faith?” In the middle of the storms of our life we need to put our trust in Jesus. When we focus on him, he will calm the storm raging around us and quell our anxiety. In the story, the disciples literally focused on the person of Jesus, but today we need to focus on the promises of Jesus and the lessons he taught us. When people did things Jesus didn’t agree with, he didn’t condemn them or curse them. He ate with them. He got to know them. He invited them into a relationship with him. And Jesus asks us to do the same.
We don’t need to turn to the end of the book because we already know how it turns out.
God wins. God’s goodness will overcome the evil around us. God’s will is stronger than our best efforts to sabotage it. And God’s love will win out over hatred and indifference. But that doesn’t mean we should sit around and do nothing. God always calls on us to be proactive in the world. When God presents an opportunity, we need to step through the door and pursue it. But when we are filled with fear and anxiety, it’s hard to see those opportunities. They block us from noticing where God is leading. We need to quiet the storms within us. Moses’ crossing the Red Sea speaks to this exactly. The escaping Israelites are in complete panic, yelling at Moses that he should have left them in Egypt. “Better to die a slave and live out your life than to die on the run!” But Moses tells the people, “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” We can’t listen for God’s direction when we are caught in the middle of our anxiety. We must allow God to quiet the storm inside us, then and only then can we go where God is leading us.
There are still times when I let the storms of life get the better of me.
But through experience and my own stubbornness, I have learned the best way to handle them is to have faith in God and allow him to guide me. It has led me to have a peace about life that I know I didn’t have before. You’ll often hear me say I don’t know how things will work out, but I know they will, and I believe that. I trust in God to guide me through. But I’m still working on it. One day I hope to have a peace about myself like Cassie’s grandparents who remain for me a model of Christ’s love in the world. Or like some of you. In each place I’ve served there have always been people who have what Paul calls the “peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).” I pray we all can share in that peace. I pray for our country and I pray for our church, but I know God will be there no matter whatever else happens. And I still flip to the end of books sometimes, but I don’t worry anymore about dying and coming back as a ghost. Instead I am learning to enjoy the journey and turn to Christ in the storm.
[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/how-uncertainty-fuels-anxiety/388066/
[2] Ibid
[3] http://www.ushistory.org/paine/crisis/c-01.htm
[4] The lake Jesus was on with the disciples was the Sea of Galilee and according to Bible Hub was a lake about 13 miles long and 8 miles wide – so pretty big.
[5] It’s possible none of the disciples on that particular voyage were fishermen, but since Luke simply said “the disciples” it’s more than likely that at least some if not all of them were there.
[6] https://www.google.com/search?q=squall&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
[7] https://www.google.com/search?q=swamped+boat+meaning&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
[8] http://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/10/nyregion/the-day-the-albatross-went-down.html
The Hardest Word
There was no way I was going to apologize.
I was in 10th grade and it was right before my English class was about to start. That year we had Mr. Cox for a teacher. A great guy with a reputation for being nice. Not a pushover, but the kind of teacher you could talk to about anything. Maybe that’s why I felt freer to speak my mind. Mr. Cox had arranged the chairs in our classroom in a semi-circle, three rows deep. I sat in the front row with Quincy, Bryan, and five other students. A few of us were talking before the bell rang and I was resting my foot on Bryan’s chair. Out of nowhere, Bryan comes rushing up to me and with a snarl in his voice tells me to get my foot off…or else! You’d probably never guess Bryan was one of my best friends. Especially not if you saw that exchange. I was pretty taken aback, but my foot stayed right where it was. “Are you kidding me?” I said incredulously. “You put your foot on my chair all the time!” He stood toe-to-toe with me and just said, “Well, I don’t want your dirty foot on my chair.” So now, I definitely wasn’t going to move it. Not if you paid me. But then Mr. Cox called me over to his desk. Taking my foot off the chair wasn’t submission, it was a necessity, so I went over to Mr. Cox’s desk as instructed. He said, “I want you to apologize.” For the second time in about two minutes, I was shocked (as only a teenager can be). “No way!” I told him. “He does that to me all the time and I never go crazy like he did.” After going back and forth, Mr. Cox finally just looked at me and said, “Apologize or I’ll have to send you to the office.” To say I was headstrong as a teenager is probably an understatement, so it came as no surprise (to myself anyway) when I said, “Fine, send me to the office.” I don’t know if thought I was being some kind of hero, but I wasn’t about to cave when I sat in the seat of righteousness! Mr. Cox just gave in. He shook his head in frustration (apparently, he was bluffing) and he said, “Craig, would you please just go and apologize? Sometimes you just have to be the bigger man.” I hate when teachers do that. Appeal to my vanity. I guess he figured if I was sitting in the seat of righteousness, he should take full advantage of it. I mumbled, “I hate being the bigger man.” And I went over and apologized to Bryan. I never did find out what in the world got into him that day, but I did learn an important lesson. Apologies don’t make you weak. They make you strong.
Our pride is what makes us weak.
I’m not talking about the kind of pride you have when achieve a personal milestone or the kind of pride you have for your children. I’m talking about the kind of pride that elevates us at the cost of others. And it’s certainly not the kind of life God wants us to live. God not only wants us to have a relationship with him, but with one another, too. That’s why Jesus told us the greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God, but the second was like it – to love our neighbor. Jesus goes out of his way to bring together those who society had largely ignored – women, children, foreigners, and Gentiles. He even reached out to those reviled by the rest like tax collectors and prostitutes. Jesus wanted his love to reach everyone, but he knew our pride would get in the way. Our inability to humble ourselves, our unwillingness to compromise, our lack of empathy or compassion stops us from repairing our broken relationships or starting them in the first place. I believe that’s why he said what he did in our passage this morning.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. – Matthew 5:23-26
Don’t even bother coming to worship.
I’m not saying that. God’s saying that. If we can’t settle our conflicts, we shouldn’t come to church. It’s not a punishment or judgment; that’s just how important reconciliation is to God. Especially in Jewish society at the time, worship was the most important part of both our faith and society. But God would rather we skip worship if it means we could mend fences with someone. This idea of repentance and reconciliation was so important that God sent Jesus into the world. When Jesus talks about us needing to settle matters quickly or we may be thrown into prison, he doesn’t mean a literal prison (although I guess that is a possibility). He’s talking about a prison of our own making. We become trapped by bitterness, anger, hurt and all sorts of negative emotions and it gets in the way of us becoming our best selves and gets in the way of our relationship with God. We build our own prisons from these feelings and emotions that trap us.
What’s insidious is we often think we’re okay, but eventually these prisons hurt us.
When people have a broken relationship, it affects everyone around them. I was listening to the podcast, This American Life and they told a story about two brothers who hadn’t seen each other in decades. Literally decades. It had been 20 years since their mother’s death, and even then they got into an argument over funeral arrangements. They were so out of touch that the wife of one of the brothers died and the other didn’t find out for years after it happened. It had been nearly 40 years they had anything resembling a relationship, but listening to their story, they both craved one. Their anger and their pride got in way and they missed out on so much time they could have had together. When one of their sons was finally able to get these two brothers together, they found out they had been mad for all the wrong reasons. The assumptions they made during those 40 years were based on fiction instead of fact. To think they missed out on so much time together because of a false assumption. If they had only made steps to apologize to one another, maybe this all could have been avoided.
But we are taught that apologies make us weak.
Reconciliation is not as important as being RIGHT! Even if we’re not right. I don’t know about you, but one of the first things my dad taught me when he was teaching me how to drive was to never say you were sorry. If you got in an accident, you needed to be careful NOT to apologize because it was the same as saying you were wrong and even if you WERE wrong, you shouldn’t say it. He was worried (and rightly so at the time) that saying “sorry” was the equivalent as admitting guilt and if the other person decided to sue you for injury or damages to the car or whatever, you would automatically lose. But that’s no longer true. In the year 2000, the state of California introduced Evidence Code 1160 which says, “The portion of statements, writings or benevolent gestures expressing sympathy or a general sense of benevolence… shall be inadmissible as evidence of an admission of liability in a civil action.”[1] What studies have shown is when people sincerely apologize to someone else, it results in “faster settlements and lower demand for damages.”[2] Which flies in the face of what you would think would happen. If someone was accepting responsibility, doesn’t that mean they are admitting guilt? Wouldn’t that make them targets for bigger settlements? But most people are not looking for money. They are looking for reconciliation. They take money and property out of anger and a sense of justice, but when the other person seeks to make things right, that often softens our hearts and we are much more willing to let our anger go. Because of such research 38 states (as of 2021) introduced some form of “apology law” into their statutes.[3]
Of course, there are right ways and wrong ways of offering an apology.
Nobody wants the “sorry, not sorry” approach. “I’m sorry you’re such a loser” is obviously a bad way to begin. “I’m sorry you can’t take a joke,” is another. But it doesn’t even have to be that blatant. “I’m sorry you took it the wrong way,” SEEMS like an apology but it’s not because it puts the blame squarely on the other person. The best way to offer a sincere apology is following these three steps: Regret, Responsibility, Remedy.[4] Offer regret for causing harm. Accept responsibility for what happened. And then offer a remedy. Whether it’s your fault or not is sometimes unimportant. Acknowledging someone’s pain and hurt though is very important. It shows empathy. And when you apologize, be specific about it when you can. It again shows empathy and understanding at the same time. Then accept responsibility. Dr. Liane Davey suggested erring on the side of MORE responsibility instead of less. She gave a workplace example of saying, “I’m sorry the traffic was bad. I probably shouldn’t have scheduled a meeting for this time.”[5] Like YOU caused the traffic. But there’s truth in her statement. Had the meeting been scheduled at a different time, maybe there would have been less traffic. More importantly, it lets the other person know you understand. Finally, offer a remedy. “I’ll be more aware of your feelings.” “I will take that into account next time.” “I’ll be more careful.” Even simple remedies are meaningful. Dr. Davey even suggests that we should at times apologize even if it isn’t our fault. She even gave an example, “[I]f a teammate walks over to you in the cafeteria, flops himself down and regales you with a story about a really rough meeting that morning, it can be very valuable to take a moment to say ‘I’m sorry you had such a tough meeting.’ The research shows that this superfluous apology triggers something different and more beneficial than if you simply acknowledge the adverse event with a comment like ‘Wow. You had a tough meeting.’”[6]
We are creatures of community.
So, when there’s a rift in that community, it hurts all of us in one way or another. That’s why it’s so important for us to find ways to fix those rifts. To find a way to reconcile as soon as possible. Is there anyone in your life you need to reconcile with? Are there people you have caused harm to? Pray about it this week. Think about those you may have hurt and pray about offering them an apology. Apologies don’t make us weak, they make us strong because they repair the rifts in our lives that cause us pain. Repentance leads to reconciliation, redemption, and renewal. A simple apology can lead to healing, which can lead to redemption of our relationships and a renewal of faith in God and in one another. Whether or not they accept your apology is another thing, but one that is completely out of your hands. Don’t let that get in the way of doing what YOU need to do. God thinks it’s so important he would rather you skip worship to make this happen. If I don’t see you next week, I’ll know why.
[1] http://www.neildymott.com/apologizeor-not
[2] https://www.strategy-business.com/article/10411a?gko=07cd6
[3] “When and Where to Say “I’m Sorry,” February 16, 2021.
[4] https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200207/the-power-apology
[5] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/making-your-team-work/201403/the-value-saying-im-sorry
[6] Ibid
Craig's Corner 