The Great Value of a Good Name

Proverbs 22:1 says, "A good reputation and the respect of others is more
desirable than great riches." Every week the Revised Common Lectionary
offers four texts of scripture for our consideration. When I saw this
text I was struck by the fact that, after twenty-five years and more
than five-thousand sermons and lessons, to the best of my recollection,
I have never spoken directly on the topic of reputation.

So, I am excited that this Sunday morning we will focus our attention on
the great value found in having a good name. The Bible is filled with
anecdotes and principles which speak to this very relevant matter. How
do we build a positive reputation? How do we rebuild one that has been
damaged? What are the benefits of a good name? What is the difference
in being concerned about your reputation and being a people-pleaser?
Etc.

I look forward to another great Sunday morning spent celebrating our faith and
worshipping our God together.

See you in church,
Stan

Strength - Introduction

Tomorrow our central scripture text will be Second Peter 1:1-9. Last week I spoke about the strength of God which is accessible to humans; a strength which affords us the potential to do great things - even more than we would suppose.

In the morning we will carry that theme a little farther, addressing some of the more practical implications such as: When is that strength imparted? Is it innate in the human frame or does it come when we make our decision to follow Christ? How do we access it? Can it grow? Does it come and go? etc.

What a wonderful privilege it is to be a part of a church community like ours. I look forward to seeing you in the morning at 9:00 or 10:45 to celebrate life, our faith and the gift of God's Son.

Peace of Christ to you,
Stan

A Day of Strength - Introduction

As the Apostle Paul concluded his famed epistle to the church at Ephesus, he encouraged the Christians there with these words, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His great power." (Ephesians 6:10)

What did Paul mean by "be strong in the Lord?" To be sure, it sounds like a condition to be desired, one that certainly beats the alternative. All of us want to be strong people, able to endure pressure and forge ahead in the face of resistance. No one wants to be weak, collapsing under life's load, unable to finish. 

Through the years, a lot of people have asked me to pray for them that they would be strong or that they would be strengthened. And, through those same years, I have met a lot of strong people who have shown incredible grace under fire; inspirational people who seem to have tapped into a source or a capacity unknown to others. What is their secret, these strong ones? 

I propose that their impressive strength actually has nothing to do with a secret; rather, they have simply found some key truths which are available to all of us.

It is obvious that God is creating a very special community out of us. He is truly making us strong in the Lord.

Peace

Stan Mitchell

The Serenity Prayer - Leftovers

Sunday we merged two of my favorite spiritual tools - the twelfth chapter of Second Corinthians and the renowned Serenity Prayer. The pair intersected at the great theme of acceptance; Paul wrestling with an intractable pain he referred to as a thorn in the flesh and the Serenity Prayer's appeal for the calmness of soul to accept those things we can not change.

The original version of the Serenity Prayer, popularized by the recovery movement, has been attributed to the twentieth century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr and began circulating widely by the late 1930s. At some point an anonymous author added a section leaving the full version:

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him forever and ever in the next.

That, my friends, is worthy of frequent usage.

My prayer for you today is that your life will be filled with serenity, courage and wisdom. And may we all truly rest in the hand of the One Who holds the universe and Who will finally make all things well.

Peace to you,

Stan

Generosity - Sunday Leftovers

June 28th's theme was drawn from Second Corinthians, chapters eight and nine in which Paul appealed to the Christians at Corinth to be generous in a collection for their hurting brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. I could, and many have, fill a lot of pages with commentary on this incredible text. Instead, allow me to share my single, favorite verse from these highly insightful chapters.

As Paul concluded his appeal he obviously recognized the possibility that the Corinthians could feel a pressure to give that, by his estimation, would not be in anyone's best interest. So in verse seven of the ninth chapter he said, "I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving." (The Message)

I love the language and spirit of that verse. Giving is, and should be, a deeply personal thing. While we must never judge another person's giving, or lack thereof, we CAN learn a lot about ourselves by where, how and why we give of the substance of our lives. If you don't like some of the ways you feel or the patterns you see in relation to giving/generosity my best advice is to ask God for better perspective - His perspective. Inner transformation, as opposed to guilt, manipulation or glory-seeking, is the only healthy impetus for the truly generous life.

Let me leave you with the Dorothy Day quote I referenced Sunday: "Give only if you have something you must give. Give only if you are someone for whom giving is its own reward."

To the generous life,
Stan

Grace Maximized - Sunday Leftovers

I actually made it to the end of my sermon notes which is a bit of a rarity for me but I suppose that's a good thing. The only downside is it cuts into potential Leftover's content. So, in the absence of remnants, I'm left to consider what parts of the lesson I would like to have a do-over on and what I've thought of after-the-fact that I wish I would have thought of last week while preparing the sermon.

The gist of the message was the age-old theme of learning to live in the moment; to seize the day; to recognize the only place life is actually lived is in the present. At the present, I am sitting in a midnight showing of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, with Stan Jr and I am multi-tasking which might not be the most effective way of fulfilling the aforementioned goal.

So... I will cease and desist and get back to, what promises to be, a rip-roaring conclusion to this movie. And my best "leftover" advice is - avoid multi-tasking if you can and don't miss the gift of every moment.

Stan

The Maximized Life - Introduction

Have you ever had someone give you a break, a gift of mercy, let you off the hook, or otherwise just grace you with an unexpected gift? Whenever that happens to me I usually remind myself to make good use of the gift; to not waste it in other words. Not infrequently, I hear myself reminding my kids to do this with the breaks and advantages Nancy and I give them.

Our scripture text for tomorrow (which happens to be Father's Day!) is 2 Corinthians 6:1 which reads, "As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain." (New International Version) The Contemporary English Version has it, "We work together with God, and we beg you to make good use of God's kindness to you." And finally, Eugene Peterson's The Message captures that verse this way, "Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don't squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us."

Tomorrow, from this verse, we are going to discuss what Jesus called "life more abundant" or "eternal life." I call it a maximized life or a life fully lived. We are going to focus on ways to take full advantage of this gift we have been given as well as note five life wasters that we should avoid at all costs. I trust this very practical theme is going to be highly relevant to all of us, so I hope you will join your church family at one of our worship services (9:00 & 10:45).

Looking forward to the Lord's Day.