To my brothers and sisters at Neffsville Mennonite Church:

After considerable thought, prayer, and soul-searching, I have decided to resign from my position as Lead Pastor at Neffsville Mennonite Church. I assure you that it was not an easy decision to make.

I have enjoyed my time of service to this congregation since my installation in August of 2006. We have accomplished many positive things together for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom. I feel very good about our ability together to: ratify the Constitution, amplifying the elder board to 6 members, fill all the needed positions on staff, support Linda and Dwight in their licensing and ordination, install an elevator, build a Journey House, articulate a core purpose and 5 core values in a vision framework, build a partnership with Hiwet Legata Ethiopian church plant, extend the work in missions both international and local and participate in the process that led to a five-year action plan for our 6 commissions and elder board. These are just a few of your wonderful accomplishments that have positioned Neffsville Mennonite church to continue to move forward in extending the Kingdom of God. I am also grateful for the opportunity I had to share the Word of God with you on a regular basis and in so many creative ways because of the collaborative efforts of the worship planning team, church council, elders and staff. Through my teaching times in Sunday school classes and preaching, we have gone deeper into God’s Word together. I have seen you grow in your spiritual commitments to Jesus.

It has been hard to participate in so many funerals of dear members of this congregation. However, it has been a joy to journey with you as family and friends as we celebrated the lives of these dear persons and blessed them as they went home to be with the Lord. Celebrating your weddings and baby dedications has been a special privilege. It has also been a joy to see so many new persons join Neffsville Mennonite church over the last years. A special memory will be this last Easter Sunday when we received 12 new members, 6 through adult baptism. These are just a few of the many fond memories that I will take with me from my time of service as your Lead Pastor.

I will always be grateful to Neffsville Mennonite Church for the opportunity that the congregation gave me to serve as Lead Pastor. I am a better leader because of my time of service with you as together we continued the ministry of Jesus. My prayer is that God will bring to completion the good work that Christ began as we served together.

I look forward as well to the new season that God is providing for Beth and I. She will serve as lead pastor of a congregation in Harrisonburg, VA. I look forward to supporting her in her new role as she has supported me in my various ministry roles over the years. I look forward, as well, to being nearer to family, especially my grandson Caiden. At the present time, I am not sure what, if any, ministry opportunities I will pursue. I do plan on starting a small business on my family farm in Harrisonburg, VA. I will allow God to lead me to other opportunities as He sees fit.

Based on my memo of understanding, I am giving you three months notice of my departure from my office as lead pastor on July 9, 2013. My prayer is that I am able to end my service to Neffsville Mennonite Church well and that the congregation can move forward into all that God desires.

In Christ’s and your service,

Harry Jarrett, Jr.

Lead Pastor, Neffsville Mennonite Church

Our common prayer is that we would understand God’s heart, will, word and plans for our lives. We all want to experience God’s blessings in our lives; and in the lives of the ones we love. It is God’s prayer. It is Paul’s prayer. It is our common prayer that we would ALL be:

1. Strengthened with might through God’s Spirit
2. Rooted and grounded in love
3. Knowing Christ’s love
4. Filled up to God’s fullness

Paul understood that the gospel that he was called to proclaim was granted to him as a gift from God; not because of who he was – but in spite of it. “I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace,” he claims in verse 8, with what might seem as self debasing language; proclaiming that he was the least of all, a little man, that was given a huge opportunity. Just as a point of interest, Paul’s Roman surname “Paulus” is Latin for “little” or “small” and tradition says that Paul was actually “a man of small stature.” So, maybe he was playing on the meaning of his name. He was, for sure, deeply conscious of his own unworthiness because of how he personally persecuted Christ and the church; torturing and killing many of his soon to be brothers and sisters in the faith.

However, though he was humble about himself, he was quite bold in his authority as an apostle to the church. He felt that he had been given a mandate by God to announce “good news,” that is what gospel means, to the Gentiles. These Gentiles were the marginalized in the faith community of Paul’s time. And the good news he was announcing consisted of “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Since the beginning time, the Jews had told the Gentiles that they could never experience the riches of Yahweh because of who they were. But now, because of the cross of Jesus Christ, they are being told that those riches are now freely available to anyone who desires them; Jew or Gentile. Persons were now being told by Paul that, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 (similar 1 Cor. 12:13, Eph 6:8, Col 3:11). Have you ever thought about inviting someone to church and asked, “I wonder if they would be welcome?” Paul would tell you, “Of course, everyone is welcome! Invite anyone you want.”

And what do these “riches of Christ” include? John Stott says that they include, “resurrection from death, victorious enthronement with Christ in the heavenly places, reconciliation with God, incorporation with Jewish believers in Christ’s new society – the church, the end of hostility and the beginning of peace between nations, access to the Father through Christ and by the Spirit, membership of God’s kingdom and household, participation as an integral part of his dwelling place among people in this world, and all of that is only a foretaste of the riches yet to come, namely the riches of the glory of the inheritance which God will give to all his people on the last day.”

Paul saw his role as apostle to be twofold. First, it was to preach, to evangelize, to announce good news. And secondly, it was to “make all men see,” or to enlighten people about the new things of God that he had learned through direct revelation from God. He was to bring light into the darkness. Jesus himself gave this commission to Paul on the road to Damascus when he said that he was sending him to the Gentiles “to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light.” Acts 26:18

And where will this mystery of joint reconciliation and membership, this mystery that Paul tells us has been hidden from everyone else since the beginning of time, become evident for the world to see? Verse 10 proclaims that it will be “through the church that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” It is through us, the church, that this truth must be seen. Notice that Paul does not say that the ministry is made known to the church. No, what he says is that the mystery is made known through the church. Paul is highlighting that just as his revelation was new in his day, new, ongoing and deeper understandings of God would continually come through the church as together we walk through the old creation into the new. As Anabaptists we have long embraced this understanding that it is through the community of believers that we discern the Spirit of God. It is part of our confession of faith and can be found in Article 4. In part it says. “We participate in the church’s task of interpreting the Bible and of discerning what God is saying in our time by examining all things in the light of Scripture.” Embracing Paul’s teaching has given Anabaptists the ability to remain relevant and vital in every age since the 16^th century. We have called this the priesthood of all believers.

We must remember that the church is God’s chosen place where the good news of Christ’s reconciling resurrection power can be seen through the loving relationships of differing peoples who consider themselves brothers and sisters in Christ. We are the vessels were the miracle of God is to be embodied. We are the foretaste. We are the light that illuminates the darkness. Verse 11 says that “this was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So what we are experiencing today as the church is not an error, it is not a problem, it is not an accident. It is exactly what God planned. Regardless of how little, or small, or broken the church seems, it is God’s chosen vessel to bring healing and hope to the world. And it is only by God’s grace that we experience this ministry of reconciliation and forgiveness.

A recent Barna study focused on determining the most post-Christian cities in the United States. I found it interesting that Lancaster Pennsylvania was named. Lancaster (teamed up with Harrisburg, York and Lebanon) made the list at number 38. What was surprising was that Lancaster was above Austin, TX, Salt Lake City, UT, and Detroit, MI. So maybe our light is not shining as brightly as it might as the church. Maybe we are not as tasty as we once were. Maybe we have been too quiet in the land. Or maybe we have just fought among ourselves so much that no one can really see that we are the embodiment of Paul’s vision where Jews and Gentiles come together as one.

Paul was very aware that his gospel was something new. It was different than what was preached or even known before. Luke records in Acts that Paul stirred up crowds of Jews when he was “teaching men everywhere against the people and the law in this place” vis-à-vis the temple. How is it possible that the Paul whom we proclaim as authoritative apostle and Scripture writer was seen in such a way? Well, it was precisely for what he is teaching here in Ephesians, namely, that by abolishing the divisive elements of the law Jesus was creating a new people and building a new temple. Paul was proclaiming a vision of a new and undivided humanity, in and through faith in Jesus. He says it was given to him directly from God and that no one before him knew about it. “The mystery was made known to me by revelation… By the working of his power….Not made known to the sons of men in other generations.” What an incredibly bold proclamation, new revelation is possible in the age of the church.

What Paul is proclaiming is radically new. Most people believe that God’s blessing upon people groups is an either – or. Instead Paul is proclaiming a both – and. There is a Ford commercial that gets at what Paul is trying to help his readers understand.

So, “and” is better than “or.” Jews and Gentiles experiencing God’s blessing is better than Jews or Gentiles experiencing God’s blessing, leaving the other out. And that is God’s idea it seems. So Paul proclaims that both Jews and Gentiles are co-heirs, co-sharers, co-everything in God’s kingdom. There is now equality. Everyone has an equal voice in the church and that is better. I feel I have a similar calling as Paul. That is why I am doing what I am doing with the streaming video for the MCUSA Convention in Phoenix, Arizona. I am doing what I can do to make it possible for all voices to be heard on the floor of the delegate assembly in Phoenix. Elizabeth Soto, moderator elect of MCUSA is here today. I will be traveling with her and two other persons from Pennsylvania to Arizona in July. We will be meeting with the church that is not going to Phoenix, some of them are immigrants and some are just standing with them. We will be gathering up their stories and streaming them through the internet to the world. It reminds me of Isaiah’s vision where the nations stream through the desert to the throne of God. You see, four years ago, when I heard about the immigrant laws of Arizona and then the choice of our denomination to meet as MCUSA in Phoenix, I knew that something needed to be done. I felt a strong and clear call from God to bring the marginalized voices of the kingdom onto the floor of the MCUSA National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona. It was a Damascus road experience. My eyes were opened.

In Paul’s day there were Jews and there were Gentiles. It was either-or. In our day there are nationals and immigrants. Paul is saying that in Jesus Christ everyone is part of the same blessing, the same body and the same promises regardless of status or nationality. There is no partiality with God!

What promises is Paul referring to? Likely, it is the promises of the old covenants, in particular Abraham’s promise of prosperity; that all the families of the earth would be blessed through the Messiah.

I believe we can safely say that God has not abandoned his church, however displeased with it he may be. He is still building and refining it. And if God has not abandoned it, how can we? It has a central place in his plan. What then does this passage teach us about the biblical centrality of the church?

1. The church is central to history. It is part of God’s plan.
2. The church is central to the gospel. It is where the new society the gospel creates is practiced.
3. The church is central to Christian living. It is how we do not lose heart in the midst of suffering. It is where we get the support we need.

Paul concludes this portion of Ephesians with a prayer. It is our common prayer. He has been explaining Christ’s peacemaking work which results in the creation of a new society he calls the church. It is a society grounded in love and reconciliation between nations. Now he prays that God’s wonderful plan, which he has been elaborating, may be completely fulfilled in his reader’s lives. It is my prayer for you as well. He prays that his beloved disciples would be:

1. Strengthened with might through God’s Spirit
2. Rooted and grounded in love
3. Knowing Christ’s love
4. Filled up to God’s fullness

Watch the Video

The resurrection of Jesus Christ proclaims to us as believers that Jesus’ life should not and cannot be limited to one generation. The things that Jesus said and did were too awesome, too incredible, too transformational, and too important to be lost. The resurrection proclaims, by the very hand of God, this truth. His life, death and resurrection initiates a new day for creation. It invites us into a new kind of life. His commands and instructions are to be a guide for every generation as a new way of being humanity together.

Resurrection is God’s power to create a new day for all creation. Just as in 6 days God created the heavens and the earth so too, promises Isaiah, will God in one day create a new heaven and a new earth. God is not saying that the old was bad in the creation of a new heaven and earth. In fact, in the creation of the old, God stated clearly in Genesis that it was all good; even very good. But through sin and corruption things did get bad. So the proclamation of God creating a new heaven and a new earth is one that proclaims that this new creation will be so spectacular that people of God will no longer remember “the former” things. It is a proclamation that heaven and earth will be as they were intended new. For us as Christians it reminds us of the move from focus on the Law to focus on the Spirit. The invitation as believers is allow the first to fade into memory while embracing the new. We know that this new creation was initiated by Jesus. Relationships change because of this new creation. This new day of creation generates a good life for all. No more will there be weeping and no longer will be heard the cry of distress. As believers this does not necessarily mean that we won’t experience difficult times. We will. Yet living into the new life and the new way of Jesus Christ means we no longer need to worry because we have hope; we no longer need to cry out in distress for help. Why? Because our help has already come in Christ Jesus.

Resurrection is God’s power to create new life. Jesus is the power to offer us life in abundance, eternal life we call it in the New Testament. In verse 19 and 20 Isaiah laments about unnecessary dying and a shortened life and proclaims a day coming when life is long and full for all. These verses remind the reader of the long life that our ancestors lived before the flood; many living as much as 800+ years. But things changed. Now fear of death and shortened life can control us. Yet when we know that even in death we will have life it changes how we live. Isaiah 65:23 is alluding to a new creation in which the curse of the fall is reversed. That seems to be the invitation of Jesus Christ to Nicodemus as he proclaims that one must be born anew into a new creation. Once we believe, we can live abundantly. Etty Hillesum wrote in An Interrupted Life: the Journal of a Young Jewish Woman “The reality of death has become a definite part of my life; my life has, so to speak, been extended by death, by looking death in the eye and accepting it, by accepting destruction as part of life and no longer wasting my energies on fear of death or the refusal to acknowledge its inevitability. It sounds paradoxical: by excluding death from our life, we cannot live a full life, and by admitting death into our life we can enlarge and enrich it.” And Jesus talking about life and death said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. We must remember that even Jesus himself did not skip over death. He accepted it in the garden and in accepting it overcame it. Not only for himself but for us as well. He showed us a way to live, through death, into a new day, a new life, and a way. As believers we come to accept these things as truth. And in believing we are saved.

Resurrection is God’s power to create a new way. Verses 21 through 25 speak of a way of life guided by justice and equality. A reality where evil is no longer the controlling power in the lives of individuals, families or society. In living in this new way all will be allowed to experience the goodness of what they build and it will not be stolen from them. And no longer will we need to wonder whether God understands us. As a result of humanity living into this new way of God, peace will reign in the animal world and in the human. Predator and prey will eat together, not one another. The 2 will be reconciled. These are the promises of resurrection and new creation. And they are the promises that Jesus Christ himself fulfills for us. Carlos F. Cardoza–Orlandi wrote of the resurrection in this way, “Jesus Christ lived among us, suffered among us, celebrated among us and died among us. Jesus’ resurrection is not only a witness to the promise of life after death. It is also a testament to the promise of resurrection grounded in a life given to others against all manifestations.”

The difficulty in preaching from passages such as this, especially on Easter morning is that some may be so bold as to ask, “If Christ is raised from the dead, then why are these promises in Isaiah not found among the benefits of the resurrection here and now?” Oddly, the burden and glory of preaching consists in proclaiming things that are not yet fully realized, but that at the same time hold a powerful grip upon our faithful imaginations. By following where the risen Christ leads, some of the faithful have realized portions of Isaiah’s vision in some measure, in some places of our lives. This congregation has many stories like that. So we know in part, we see in part, we experience in part; believing that the fullness of all that Christ’s resurrection will bring is sure to come. It is here and not yet. I believe that because of faithful Christians following Jesus throughout the ages that more children live longer and are freer of disease, that more people have useful, creative work and because of the advances achieved in places where the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed and received there is more justice and more peace. I believe it and I have seen it.

Today we receive 12 new members of this congregation; 6 through adult believers’ baptism and 6 through the transfer of membership from another congregation. This truly is a new day, a new life and a new way for Neffsville Mennonite church. It is rare to receive this many persons into membership on one day. It is exciting. These persons are joining our congregation because of their commitment to Jesus Christ and their desire to continue the ministry of Jesus’ resurrection with and through Neffsville Mennonite church. And that ministry of Jesus, in light of the resurrection, is a ministry that proclaims that the poor, weak and innocent, once crushed by the powerful, will forevermore be the chosen of God. We will be the ones like Jesus to experience resurrection life. God threw the cosmos off balance by raising Jesus Christ from the death. The world was turned upside down. And things have never been the same sense. The promise of the resurrection is that God overcame the world order defined by meanness, crying and limitation. In the resurrection God offers us a new day, a new life and a new way.

I ask you this morning what difference will the Easter message make to in your life tomorrow? Will those of you who are convinced of the resurrection of Jesus Christ understand that it has affects far beyond the gift of life in the world for the individual? Resurrection faith sends those who believe towards work and witness here and now, in service of Isaiah’s vision of the redeemed life found in a new earth and a new heaven. May God give us the strength to live into that new day, that new life and that new way of the risen Christ.

Read 1 Corinthians 10:1 – 13

Paul continues his conversation with the newly formed Corinthian church. In verse one he tells them they are at risk and that he does not want them to be unaware of this. What are they risking? They, like their adoptive ancestors the Israelites, are at risk of losing the honor of their faith. He uses analogy and allegory to help these Christians in Corinth understand two things.

In verses 1-4 He tells them that Christ’s presence was with the Israelites just as Christ’s presence is with the church. The Red Sea was Israel’s baptism, the manna was the body of Christ, the water that gushed from the side of the rock was the blood of Christ and the rock that Moses struck was no other than Christ himself! The Spirit as well was with them in the day-cloud and in the night-fire. Thus for Paul, we Christians are none other than the original Israel in contemporary form as the ecclesial people of God.

The Israelites believed that blessings from God were their right and privilege because God freed them from Egypt, taking them through the desert and into the Promised Land. Since God had brought them out, they thought, God had better protect and provide for them in the desert and beyond. As a result they quickly looked after themselves rather than the journey they were on with God. They focused on what they wanted and needed rather than asking why God was leading them and how they might follow Him.

We see similar things in the church. I ran across this quote from the 1960 ecumenical Institute. I was encouraged this week on Facebook to read it to you from a member of this congregation. “For too long the church has been becalmed in the backwaters of a dying age, frightened by the swift waters of the new age coming into being. The church has for too long structured its life for survival rather than mission. The church must set its sail and move into the mainstream of life in the revolutionary world where every structure and form is called into question. The church must pattern its life in ways designed to make possible obedience to Christ regardless of institutional survival.”

Paul concludes this storytelling intro in verse 5 by telling the church that even though Christ was with Israel in all these things, God was not pleased with most of them. Paul highlights that the same could be true for the church if the church is not daily attentive to Christ.

Paul encourages the Christians to consider a life that goes beyond their personal individual need. He encourages the community of faith to go beyond its self centered focus and to return to the love of God and the love of neighbor. For this to occur Paul is clear; the community of faith must step away from being enamored by its own history of blessedness and vitality. Such communities become closed to the world by their own desire to preserve their identity, blessing and life.

Thinking ourselves as sufficient to stand alone because of our faith history is the greatest temptation that exists for Christians; the faithfulness of God is sparing us such egotism replacing it with humility.

Paul tells us that Complete, ongoing openness and fidelity to Christ alone will keep us safe against the temptations of self absorption. Just as Christ is the center of our faith so too community must be the center of our lives and reconciliation the center of our ministries.

Look at verses 7-11. It would be easy, I imagine, assigning modern-day parallels between our own situation and Paul’s writing against idolatry, immorality, testing of God and complaining. All four of which he says lead to shame, death and destruction for the people of God. We could cite the common known idols of wealth, power and celebrity status, the decadence of our society, the lack of faith that exists culturally or the God as genie mentality in many churches and some pastors might honestly enjoy pointing to the gossips and criticizers in their churches.

A member of this church gave me two articles by Terry Mattingly. He writes about church and culture. In a satirical article he quoted one pastor saying “there’s nothing wrong with my church,” said this pastor, “that wouldn’t be solved by a few well-placed funerals.” Ouch! Not that I feel this way. But as a pastor I had to chuckle. Another pastor was quoted as saying on occasion, “pastors get to bury their problems.”

Saying these kinds of things doesn’t feel very good does it? Even if we laugh a little. That is my point. To make these kinds of direct correlations with actual events, people and behaviors in our church and culture seems judgmental, risky and encourages the church to focus on things that Paul is actually not inviting us to focus on. If we would go in that direction we would actually be falling prey to the self righteousness that Paul declares in Romans 2 to be the deadliest of all sins. Paul does not reference these four sins to give us four specific areas of focus where the church needs to remain pure so as to avoid the judgment of God. Instead he is seeking to instruct us in a deeper truth from a well know historical Biblical event.

That one deeper truth is that self centeredness will shame our faith. Self centeredness is at the core of all four of these sins, and many others, all of which we know lead to shame and death. So rather than speaking about four things let us focus on just the one.

G. K. Chesterton declared that the highest pagan sin is self enjoyment; extending the ego to infinity.

Mike Ashcraft and Rachel Olsen write, “To claim we can make ourselves into anything we want is to deny that we are the created, not the Creator. Reality is we are made by God, for his purposes. How much potential can we truly have apart from him? … Plenty of us acknowledge this truth but still operate as if spiritual formation is something we manage to do for God — to show him our love and commitment.”

Dallas Willard calls spiritual transformation “the inescapable human problem with no human solution.” “Think about that a second. He is saying you have a problem that you cannot solve. Not with more effort or education or practice or advice… The fact that our own spiritual transformation is a problem we can’t solve indicates we need to look outside ourselves for the solution. We have to look to God.” Ashcraft, Mike; Olsen, Rachel (2012-12-18). My One Word: Change Your Life With Just One Word

Paul was clear that dying to self is at the core of the gospel mission of the church. In chapter 9:19 Paul says “for though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them”

The Corinthians and I would say the American church, have bought into what Stanley Hauerwas calls the greatest lie of our day. That, “The purpose of life is not to die.” We believe in the American dream.

Instead the core of the Christian faith proclaims that the purpose of life is indeed to die – faithfully, ungraciously perhaps even in martyrdom – so as to indicate that God’s kingdom is indeed our reason for living.

Some of us will die badly. Because of accident or disease. But that is not what matters. Instead what counts is God’s faithfulness to us, enabling us to live faithfully for God amid all the difficulties of life.

A member of this church is currently undergoing a stem cell transplant that will hopefully cure their cancer. Some of you know of whom I speak. This person could easily become self absorbed and angry. They could easily “put Christ to the test” by demanding a cure from God because they have been faithful. Instead this person is a joy to be with. They are inspiring those around them to faith in a God who journeys with us even through the valley of the shadow of death. They are living faithfully amid the difficulties of life and people are seeing Christ as a result.

Having said that it also seems clear to me that Paul is using these examples to say something to the church of Jesus Christ. He is saying that participating in pagan idolatry, being sexually illicit, behaving in ways that assume we have the right to control God’s action and complaining about God’s chosen leadership is not OK with God. We should not assume that it is ok to be this self absorbed and then come to church, participate in worship and eat at the Lord’s Table. It is not. These things do not go hand in hand. They are mutually exclusive events. They do not go together. We may know this but the Corinthian church did not. That is why Paul is telling them.

But there is a message for us who already know these things. Paul is saying God cannot be trifled with on a casual basis in a non-shallot manner. It is imperative then that each one of us diligently watches in discernment to see if our loyalties truly belong to God and God alone.

Concluding

This passage raises troublesome questions about how we as Christians are to relate to our culture. Is it truly possible for us to interact with our culture in the same ways that we did before we were Christians? It seems the answer is no. The call of the cross is that fundamental changes must be made. In fact there exists a call to challenge cultural assumptions that deal with death as a given. We have options. We can make choices that ultimately reflect living discipleship that relies on God’s grace alone; refusing the invitation of the powers to join them.

Three things are equally true; on one hand, vs. 1-11, we have all passed through the sea and then fallen again. And the other hand, vs. 13, God is faithful and gracious. On the other hand, vs. 12, God demands we step away from self absorption and rely on Him.

Paul warns us in verse 12 to think about where we are standing. Do we truly believe that our righteousness and honor come from our ability to faithfully obey God? Does it come from our imagined rights and privileges of holding membership and attending the church? Do our incredibly rich past spiritual blessings, like baptism, mission trips or conventions secure our today and tomorrow’s? Does being an American Christian provide us with complete coverage against falling? Of course not!

So if these are not the ways to maintain the honor of our faith then what is the way? Paul tells us that the only way to restore and maintain our Christian honor is to return to our original conviction that Christ is not only the author of our faith but He is also the daily perfector of it as well. You are to embrace that your baptismal journey through the sea and through the desert is a continual process. The Christian life is a continual dying and rising with Jesus. Life is a call to live one gospel truth; God is faithful even when we are not. And it is in that gospel truth that we put our faith. We do not and should not put our faith in our own ability to stay pure and perfect after our conversion. Instead we place our trust in God’s ability to continually transform us as we daily open up our eyes, ears, hearts and lives to God’s continual transformational work in us and others; journeying together as a community of faith towards the cross.

What I write about on this blog. For several years now I have written about things that I felt persons would be interested in reading. They were things that I was interested in writing about but my blog turned into more of a platform than a personal expression which is what it began as. So, I am changing my plans and for this new year I intend to write about my life and thoughts. If you are not interested in those that is fine with me. There are many, many good sources out there that talk about everything under the sun and I am sure that you will be able to find what you are looking for in those places. I am going to write about my day and what I experienced in it. More of a journal which if I remember right is what blogs were originally intended to be.

What this means is that I will likely not edit the blogs to well and there will be redundancy and misspellings.

• There will be stuff about the simple things in my life that no one really cares about but me and those that are part of my life.
• It will be honest which will mean that sometimes, maybe often it will be wrong and I will come back a few days later with a new, maybe better insight. Or maybe I will be wrong again.
• And it will be for me because my memory is not very good and there are things that I would like to remember about what I am thinking and doing and this will be a good way to journal about that and have something to come back to another day.

My mother taught me this “Italian” Meat dip recipe.

1lb ground beef
8oz Philadelphia cream cheese
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup Parmesan

Saute onion and galic in olive oil and brown meat. Add everything but the cheeses. Cook for 15 minutes covered. Just before you serve add cheeses. Serve in crock pot or fondue dish to keep warm. I like it best on Taco chips but use whatever you like.

Acts 7:48 says, “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: 49 “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me?’ says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? 50 Has not my hand made all these things?” So God is everywhere in this universe and because of that truth we need to acknowledge His presence in every place we are.

Jesus’ last commandment to His disciples was “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28.

We are to follow the Spirit of God, expecting Him to lead us to new places and alongside of new people. While we follow we are to be witnesses of the One that we follow.

I asked a group of men this week how they acknowledge God as they journey each day. They said

1. Set aside time and participate in the events of peoples lives. Let them know you care and they are special.
2. Just “show up” in people’s lives and be there for them.
3. Follow our words with action. Keep our word when we give it.
4. Work hard, pray daily and read the Bible. “It’s like going to the gym.”
5.  React well in tough times.
6. Take time to be a mentor and a model.
7. Give people your full attention.
8. Smile at people and let them know you have hope.
9. Offer companionship to others even when you don’t like what you are doing together.
10. Affirm the positive choices people make. Don’t criticize people so much.
11. Lead by making good choices, leading good lives, adopting good habits and being encouraging.
12. Keep families together in worship.
13. Cry.

[quote author="- Harry Jarrett"]To truly follow God’s Spirit we must focus on mobility more than stability, embrace worshiping in a tabernacle over a temple and prefer going to staying. We must always be ready to go where God goes and prepared to give an answer to why we behave as we do.[/quote]

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In the Cost of Discipleship he writes, ”Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man’ will gladly go and self all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Our salvation cost us something. And we ought to remind ourselves and show to others how much we appreciate that. There are many ways that can be done.

A simple way to show that you still value what your salvation cost might be that you simply dip your hand in some water today as a reminder to yourself and others that you still hold to your baptismal vows.

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The Passover celebration as was the Feast of Pentecost that is being celebrated by the disciples in Acts 2, were visible times for the Jews. Everyone in the community knew that they were celebrating that they had once been slaves but that they were freed from Egypt by God when they celebrated the Passover for a week. It impacted their work, their family time and their free time. It changed the normal rhythm of their life and the life of the community. If someone needed a bagel from the bakery it may have been closed. People would ask “Why is your bakery closed?” and the owner could have told them.

Because their devotion and consecration was obvious their behavior generated questions from others and gave the Jews an opportunity to explain why they were doing what they were doing. Behaving in ways so to generated questioning from others is a Spiritual Mandate. Peter says this, “Your heart should be holy and set apart for the Lord God. Always be ready to tell everyone who asks you why you believe as you do. Be gentle as you speak and show respect.” 1 Peter 3:15 This Peter you remember is the one who rushes out into the streets and begins preaching to the crowd in Acts 2. A very visible time for the disciples, praying in tongues and such, in the streets.

So the question is, “What are you doing that is so obvious that the people around you are asking you why you are doing it?”

Some examples:

• The celebration of baptism. We invite our friends and families to our baptismal service. Because we are teens or adults they ask, “Why are you getting baptized?” And then we tell them.

But being baptized is a once in a lifetime event. Are there other ways to generate questions?

• How about making choice in your business that lowers your profit level but provides justice for your employees, clients or maybe even your competitors?
• Or could you pray at lunchtime?
• Could you read your Bible during a break?
• What about inviting the socially awkward, friendless person in your school, workplace, neighborhood or church to your home for a meal?
• One man told me they go shopping with their wife as an expression of their devotion to God.
• I know of one person who decided to quit their job so that a coworker would not get fired in a down time. They took the hit so that another person would not. They did that because they felt they were following God’s Spirit (which many times is simply acting according to the character of God) in a particular situation.

These are the kinds of things I am talking about.

[quote author="- Harry Jarrett"]One thing that we know is that visible devotion and consecration by adults in our everyday walk around world leads to visible devotion and consecration by our children and our neighbors in those places as well. Models and mentors are God’s idea and are central for spiritual development in faith communities.[/quote]

So are you concerned about our youth today and the choices they are making? You can make a difference by living in ways that people notice that you are following God’s Spirit in every situation.

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We need to constantly remind ourselves that telling people openly and honestly that we did not save ourselves is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength. Why? Because it takes far more courage to tell the truth than to lie.

What will you do today to intentionally, visibly and authentically remember who you were before you had a relationship with God?

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