+ The Good Life

Who is in Charge?

You usually know who is boss by those who are being served.  Countries have their kings, and they have their servants.  So too, do businesses, even churches.  For years I was the Sr. Pastor in a church with staff members and volunteers responding to my directions and doing what I asked of them.  “I can’t say no to the pastor,” people would tell me as they responded to my requests for service in the church.  One man said, “A ‘no’ to my pastor might place me in spiritual peril.” 

Those who work for us know they can’t say no to us.  It could get them fired. Everyone knows who is boss by who is being served.  

Yet Jesus turned this way of thinking on its ear.  He was a servant king.  He showed his kingship through service.  He said “yes” to our great need for salvation by giving of himself.  I am most like Jesus when I give and serve, when service flows purely from my personality, and when I do this naturally and without conscious thought.  On the other hand, I am most spiritually poor when I feel entitled to be king, top dog at work, or king of my castle.

When I feel like a big shot, I know I’m in dangerous spiritual territory. I am always blessed when I reorient my life to King Jesus and live more like him, a servant- always a servant with Jesus as my forever King.

At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus as Messiah. We sing and worship saying he is King of King and Lord of Lord. When he's on the throne of my life, I'm in a good place.

Moneywise

Remember the Y2K concerns with the coming of the new millennium?  I was acquainted with some Christians who were concerned about the disaster with the millennium switch over on computer systems. They believed that on Jan 1 2000, there would be drastic disruptions to the economic markets, food distribution systems, and transportation networks.  They felt that Y2K would bring chaos to many sectors.

These people believed the new millennium would usher in 7 years of tribulation and then the return of Christ and the end of the world. They moved to the hills of Oregon, stockpiled food, and bought guns and ammunition to shot anyone who might want them to share.

The whole idea of killing people while your waiting for Christ to come back seems rather antithetical to Christ’s whole message. 

A Happier Thanksgiving

Thanks to Kari Morgan, helpers Berangere and Sophia Tucker, and the members of First Congregational Church!!!  Now many people will have a happier Thanksgiving!!!

The Problem with Religion

This week I explore the problem with religion, as expressed in the second chapter of James.  The problem with religion it hit hard with these words in verse 19: 

You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

Here is the Message translation of James words starting in verse 14:

Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.”  Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?

 

The Congregational Tradition

Our church is a part of a rich and dynamic Congregational tradition that stretches back to the Pilgrims and Puritans. Our founders considered their work and faith a Holy Experiment. Although each Congregational church was its own unique entity with separate governance, the churches worked together in mutual support to advance the Christian faith in the American Colonies. Congregational churches provided a seedbed for the advancement of democracy in America. Many Congregationalists were also at the heart of dynamic discussions on the role of reason and emotion in the experience of faith. Congregationalists worked very closely with Presbyterians to support the western expansion of the Christian faith, and a Congregational minister in the mid 1800’s was the “The Most Famous Man in American.”

I share more about our Congregational history on the links I highlight throughout this article. Expanded information can also be found on my pastor’s corner our church website at www.redlands.church.

Congregationalists have a wonderful legacy of caring compassion that has shaped American society. For the last century, various Congregational churches have cooperated with one another in shared faith and mission. In our church constitution we affirm a faith statement developed by a forerunner to our present national association. Weekly in worship we declare the first part of this faith statement in modern language. The beginning of the statement proclaims what we believe. The second half of the statement in our constitution declares what we then do, based on our faith. You may like to take some time and read this statement in our constitution.

People in our Redlands community may like to grow in active faith by joining an adult class this fall on Wednesday nights. Dr. Lowell Linden will be offering the second-half of the Bethel Series, beginning an eight-month survey of the New Testament. If you are not taking Dr. Linden’s class, I encourage you to come to Alpha on Wednesday Nights—and invite a friend. This is a ten-week series on what the Bible says about our Purpose for life. Inviting others to come learn with you can be a wonderful way to advance the ministry of our Church into the next generation.