I have been reading through a wonderful book lately aptly titled, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”. It was written by Pastor John Mark Comer. The premise of the book is to urge followers of Christ to—well—ruthlessly eliminate hurry from their lives. I couldn’t even count the number of times in my life that my hurried state has prevented me from living the way I have been called to live.
So often, we talk about following Christ as his followers. We claim that the best way to live is in Jesus’ footsteps, learning from the master and doing what He did—but how many of us actually want the lifestyle that Jesus had? My mind is brought to the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19: Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. For the rich young ruler, monetary possessions are what prevented him from following Jesus. I am willing to assume that many of us are like him—we want to follow Jesus…but something is in the way. Something is stopping us from assuming the lifestyle of the master. Jesus lived a slow-paced life. He wasn’t in a hurry. He was certainly busy, but not in a hurry. He took his time and spoke with people, walking from town to town and healing the sick, calling on sinners to repent—and He asks that we do the same. For many of us, the summer (especially July and August) are the busiest times of the year. I would like to encourage all of you (myself included) to remember to slow down and actually spend time with God. Don’t live your life in a rush, and if you get the chance, pick up the book “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.” It will change how you follow Jesus for the better. In Christ, Pastor Andrew
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In Deuteronomy 34 we read this statement about the death of Moses. "Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He (God) buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is."
If you are a fan of Elvis, you might make a trek to Graceland. If someone is Catholic, they might go see the tombs of former Popes at the Vatican. And if you wanted to honor our fallen soldiers, you might make a pilgrimage to Normandy. This is a way we honor our dead; we visit their tombs. We do this with loved ones and maybe even to revere great men and women or celebrities we admire. In extreme cases, people even go to such places and turn those tombs into idols, turning reverence for the dead into godlike worship. Moses was a great man. He had faithfully led the people of Israel well for many years and, as a result, many might have been tempted to visit his tomb to honor him; and honor might have turned into reverence and reverence might turn into idolatry. So God buried Moses. God alone knows where Moses was buried. In truth, Moses wouldn't have wanted anyone to worship him anyway. His whole life was pointed toward the God he served; so why in death would he want people to honor him? He was just a man, just a servant. Nikolaus Zinzendorf once said "Preach Christ, die, and be forgotten" and while that seems overly harsh; it is truth. Our life here is fleeting and the point of it is to point others to Christ so that our (and their) eternity may be forever with Christ. So Moses lay in an unmarked tomb. Unknown to all but God. All glory to God, as it should be. Honor not men, but God alone. In Christ, Pastor Scott In the book of Exodus, God leads his people by several ways as they head toward the promised land. Two that are amazing are the pillars of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13). The people are supposed to follow these two pillars wherever they go. It's pretty simple actually. If the pillar moves, we move. If the pillar stops, we stop. There is a part of me that envies the simplicity of this kind of straightforward communication from God. I mean, one of the most common questions people ask me as a Pastor is "what is God's will for my life" and a pillar of fire telling you where to go is pretty clear...right?
But, it must also have been frustrating. There was no predictable pattern to the pillars. Sometimes they would stay in place for a long time. Other times they would move after just a few days in camp. Those of us who like to be able to plan our routines and schedules would find it VERY frustrating. But the point isn't if we like the leading of God or not...the point is that we follow the leading of God. In truth, sometimes we DON'T like the leading of God. Sometimes he takes us places we don't want to go. Sometimes he makes us stay in places we would rather not stay. Sometimes he leads us out of places where we wish we could linger. But we go where he leads. I don't have a pillar of fire to lead me, but I do have the word of God (a light to my feet), the example of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to guide me...and that's plenty. Now, I just have to follow Him. Onward, Pastor Scott Over the next few weeks here at Six Points, we have several major events happening that could have eternal ramifications.
First, 20 students and 4 adults from our church will head to Oklahoma Wesleyan University for a week of church camp where they will have a chance to grow in their faith (and have a lot of fun too!). Last summer, 4 of the students who went were baptized while at camp and we are praying that God will once again do a mighty work in their lives. Will you join me in not just praying for safety (but please do) but also for salvations, calls to ministry, commitments to sanctification and other moves of the Spirit in their lives? Then, District Conference is coming up and our church will be sending 3 delegates to represent us as a church. Pray that they will help our District and Denomination make wise choices as we seek to be faithful to our call. That weekend is also VERY special as our own Andrew Colaw has completed his ordination requirements and been approved to become an ordained minister in the Wesleyan Church. We will have a special celebration for him on Sunday, June 26, after church and hope you will join us to congratulate him on that day for fulfilling the call God put on his heart! Finally, our VBS is coming up fast as well. This year's MEGA Sports Camp will be a lot different, but looks to be a lot of fun. We already have over 80 volunteers and 85 kids signed up with several weeks to go...we are praying that God will use this 4-day experience to reach kids with the good news of Jesus' love for them. Last summer, over 20 kids accepted salvation! Will you pray that, once again, God would do a great work at Six Points? We are working hard as a staff and team of volunteers to get ready, lots of preparation is going on...but it's all done with a great purpose in mind; a kingdom purpose. God is on the move and we are going to be ready! John 4:35 "I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest!" In Christ, Pastor Scott Back in 8th grade I was in a terrible Christian garage band with several of my friends from youth group. My buddy John played guitar, Ryan played drums and I was on vocals. We didn't have anyone on bass, so sometimes John's dad played in the band with us (embarrassing). We did a bunch of covers and a few original songs...mostly just 80's and 90's worship stuff. Really we sat around a lot when we were supposed to be practicing and came up with cool band names. We had way more names for our band than songs or gigs. At one point we were called "Straight up Sideways" "The Squared off Circles" "Hey that's My Mailbox" and "Definitely Maybe"...but our normal name for our Youth Group band was "The Ed's" (short for Everyday Disciples). Most of those were just silly, but everyday disciples is actually pretty good. I don't know who came up with that one; but I think it's powerful.
We tend to think of the Disciples (Capital D) as the 12 guys that Jesus handpicked and hung around with. But a disciple is just a student or learner. Anyone who learns from a teacher (a coach, a professor, a pastor, a rabbi) is a disciple of that person. They seek to learn from them and to be "like" them in some ways. We are all, as followers of Jesus, everyday disciples. In our everyday lives, at work, at home, in school, at the store, at the movies...we represent and follow the example and teachings of Jesus. Everyday is another opportunity to follow Him and his way. Be a disciple. Be one every day. Today, tomorrow and each day you have life. If you mess up, that's ok; that's what grace is for. Try again tomorrow. We are all "The Ed's" In Christ, Pastor Scott It's important to say thank you in life. I try, whenever someone does something nice for me, to say or write thank you. I was taught as a child (and teach my own children) this rule. If I get a gift, I try to write a thank you note. If someone opens a door for me, I say thank you. I believe appreciation is important. That's part of the reason that we observe days like Mother's Day, Father's Day and Veteran's Day here at Six Points...to say thanks to those who have made a difference in our lives.
I am glad for Pastor Appreciation month (not sure I deserve a whole month) in October and for those of you who choose to show your appreciation for me and for Pastor Andrew and Pastor Lisa that month...it does help us feel loved! But, I want you to know that I am thankful for you, especially those of you who volunteer in the MANY important roles around our church. While our staff work hard, we absolutely could not do the work of this church without the countless hours put in by our volunteers and our volunteer leaders. I want to echo the words of the Apostle Paul who often took time in his letters (which we call Epistles) to thank the people in his churches who he didn't see as his audience or his fans...but his co-laborers in the Kingdom of God. In 1 Corinthians 1:4 he said, "I always thank my God for you" and I feel the same way about my church here at Six Points. I am so thankful to God for you. Your faith, passion, love and service are an example to me. Your dedication to your church and to Jesus are an inspiration to me. Thank you for your love, your prayers, your commitment and your kindness. I am proud to serve Jesus with you. Thank you! In Christ, Pastor Scott This past week I broke my laptop charging cord. Turns out that without the cord, your laptop battery starts to die pretty quick. And with all the electronic stores that have closed over the past decade (Radio Shack, Circuit City, Fryes), I realized my only option was Amazon to get a new one...so I didn't have a way to charge my laptop for a WHOLE day. Actually, I enjoyed the day. I did some sermon prep reading, made some phone calls and worked on a few small projects around the church that I had been putting off. But, there were things I couldn't do because I just didn't have the power. I couldn't connect my laptop to a power source. I could see the power source; but I had no way to plug in to it.
The Christian life isn't much different. We need to be regularly connected to the power source (God) and without him we fade pretty fast. We can try to run on our own power for a while, but we will wear out. And just being near the power source won't cut it...we have to connect to it. Jesus didn't have a laptop, so he used the idea of a vine and branches. He said if you disconnect you won't be fruitful. You have to stay connected to the source of life. John 15:4 "No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." Dear sisters and brothers, let us connect to the true source of life...Jesus! In Christ, Pastor Scott In Genesis 12, God calls a man named Abram (later God changes his name to Abraham which is how most of us know him) and promises him amazing things. God tells this man, a wandering shepherd, that he will give him a new and wonderful land and that he will give him many children and make his family into a great nation! It's almost too good to be true (in fact Abram's wife Sara laughs at the very idea when she hears it because it's so outrageous).
But, Abram isn't blessed just because God likes him or because he did something deserving of all these gifts...God blesses him for a reason. In verse 2, God says that Abram is blessed to "be a blessing." You see Abram isn't supposed to keep these blessings to himself, he is supposed to share them (and this relationship he has found with God) with others; that's actually the whole point. Abram is a conduit of God's blessing. He is blessed, but only so that he can be a blessing to others and so that the blessings of God will continue to grow onward and upward to all people of the earth. In fact, you and I are part of that line of blessing that started with this very promise to Abram. This week we will start a new sermon series called #blessed based off Jesus teachings in Matthew 5 where we find that the people Jesus calls blessed don't look like the people we might quickly consider to be blessed by our standards. But as we learn what it means to be blessed in the way Jesus teaches, remember that God's blessings are always meant to be shared...that we are to be conduits of God's blessings to others; just like Abram. We are blessed to "be a blessing." In Christ, Pastor Scott This week we have something wonderful to celebrate, we have three people ready to get baptized and one other who is rededicating her baptismal vows. Baptism Sundays are some of my favorite Sundays at Six Points. I love getting the chance to see all the family and friends who come to support the persons being baptized. I love the hugs and high fives and smiles both before and after the baptism. I especially love seeing the wet footprints in the carpet as the person leaves the baptism tank...those are such a powerful testimony of the life changing work of Jesus who has washed away our sins and left us overflowing with his love.
But there is one part I love that none of you get to see. In my office I meet with each and every person who wants to get baptized before they decide to take that public step. We sit and talk about baptism. We discuss what it is, what it means and why it matters. I get to ask them questions and allow them to ask me questions. I get to hear their stories about why they want to be baptized and what God has done in their lives. It's a beautiful moment and one I cherish. And in that conversation, I remind them that the water in the tank isn't special...it's just regular old water. The water doesn't save them or wash away their sins; Jesus does. The water is only a physical symbol that reminds us of the work that Jesus has already done in our hearts when he forgave us and set us free. So this Sunday we will celebrate with those who are baptized...and I hope we go nuts. I hope we clap, whistle, high five, fist bump, hug and enjoy this special day; but let us remember the true miracle isn't really about water; it's about the grace that Jesus poured out on us and in us when we accepted his free gift of salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." In Christ, Pastor Scott The other day I was holding the door for someone at the church when someone came up and made a joke saying "Don't you have something better to do than hold the door Pastor?" Now, I know it was a joke. They were teasing me, I get it; but often there is a little bit of truth mixed in to every joke and so I want to take a quick second to address it.
No, I don't. Don't misunderstand me. I have plenty to do. There is always one more hospital visit I could do or one more phone call I could make. There is always one more meeting I could schedule or commentary I could read. I could always use more time to prepare or practice my sermon. I am busy just like the rest of you. But, I deeply believe, based on the example of Jesus, that people matter more than tasks. Jesus was always ready to drop his busy schedule at a moment's notice when someone needed him. Jesus was a BUSY guy, but he was NEVER too busy for people. He made time to help. He made time to heal. He made time to talk. He made time to weep. He made time. So no, I don't have anything BETTER to do than hold the door for a lady so that she can come into the church and worship Jesus. I have other things I could do, but nothing better. She matters. And for me to take two minutes to show her kindness by holding the door for her, well that is a small price to pay. Let us all seek to follow the example of Jesus, in big and small ways, as we always value people over tasks in our everyday lives. In Christ, Pastor Scott |
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