Thursday, August 31, 2017

Conformed to the Likness of the God of Love

Above all, remembering that God is love, the Christian is conformed to the same likeness.  He is full of love to his neighbor: of universal love, not confined to one sect or party, not restrained to those who agree with him in opinions, or in outward modes of worship . . . but his love resembles that of Him whose mercy is over all His works.

(From John Wesley's A Plain Account of Genuine Christianity, as quoted in Ken Bible's Wesley Hymns.)

Advice from Charles Wesley When Seeing Sin in Others

Lord, save me from a worse extreme,
When sin in others I condemn.
Assist me first to lay aside
The spiteful bitterness of pride;
Reflecting on myself, to see
A soul not half so vile as me;
And then my neighbor to reprove
In meekness, humbleness, and love.
 
(#111 in Ken Bible's Wesley Hymns)
 
I would point out both the call for humbleness and the call to reprove in love.  That is to say, this is not the same thing as a harsh, judgmental rebuke.  Neither is it the same thing as accepting sin in our sisters and brothers because we recognize and accept it in ourselves.  This cuts down the straw man that is so often erected by those who want to embrace sin as being okay, and it destroys the judgmental position of pride by those who exhibit little humbleness, love or Christlikeness.

May we be those who heed Charles' advice.

Friday, August 25, 2017

Some Thoughts on Refugees/Immigrants and the Spread of the Gospel

Today, during Morning Prayer, I read from Acts 8.  What struck me about this chapter were verses 1 & 4-14.  This passage picks up immediately after the stoning of St. Stephen, and we are told that a severe persecution broke out upon the Church in Jerusalem so that all, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.

Now, certainly, persecution is not a good thing.  And, just like my recent sermon about Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt, I would not say that God caused this persecution.  However, I would say that God certainly can transform and use all things (even evil things) for God's glory.  And so, with this persecution the Christians are "scattered" into areas where they otherwise (likely) would not have ventured.  And what was it that they did in those areas?  -  They spread the Gospel!  And people accepted Christ!

This passage reminds me of the take that some of our missionaries have had on the issue of the refugee crisis and massive immigration across our world.  While many Americans (and even, or especially, many American Evangelical Christians!) have reacted in a way that would hold these refugees at bay, our missionaries have had a very different reaction.  They have pointed out that for decades Evangelical Christians (at least Nazarenes, I know) have prayed and prayed for what we call the 10/40 window.  This is an area that includes countries where it is very difficult and usually illegal for missionaries to enter in order to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  For decades Christians have prayed for access; for open doors in order for the Gospel to pierce this darkness.  -  AND NOW GOD HAS OPENED THE DOORS . . . by sending them to us!!!

And yet, we have failed to rejoice.  We have failed to thank God.  We have failed to see the vision of the Kingdom of God.  Instead, we have responded out of fear.  We have responded from a nationalistic perspective rather than a Kingdom perspective.

Now, of course, the balance is that it is understandable that, in this age of terrorism, people desire to seek the security of our nation.  But, as Christians, we cannot allow fear to dictate our response to refugees or immigrants, in general.  We must be reminded that "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18), and that we must not love our lives more than the Gospel.  We are called to take up our cross (Matthew 16: 24-26), and we know that doing so is not "safe."  We are, therefore, called to see these people for whom Christ died with Kingdom eyes; with the eyes of Jesus.  And so, we are called to seek every opportunity to share Jesus with them, and may they, like those in Judea and Samaria, come to know Christ and the grace of God!

How to Treat the Failings of Others

One of the great things about Ken Bible's Wesley Hymns (Lillenas Publishing Co., Kansas City, MO. 1982) is that he includes various prayers and quotes from Wesley, throughout. 

As I have mentioned, before, I often sing (usually) three hymns while praying Morning or Evening Prayer.  I have used various sources, most notably the Nazarene hymnal (viz., Sing to the Lord), and Ken Bible's Wesley Hymns.  (I've also sung through the volume of hymns in Wesley's Works.  For those familiar, you can imagine I was in that volume for a long time!)  -  Right now, I'm in Wesley Hymns.

In my singing, today, below #103 "Blest Be the Dear Uniting Love," Ken included the following passage from John Wesley's A Collection of Forms of Prayer for Every Day in the Week.  May this be so for me, for all Wesleyans/Methodists and Anglicans, and, indeed, for all who follow Christ.

     Let me look upon the failings of my neighbor as if they were my own; that I may be grieved
     for them, that I may never reveal them but when charity requires, and then with tenderness
     and compassion.  Let your love to me, O blessed Savior, be the pattern of my love to him.
     You thought nothing too dear to part with, to rescue me from eternal misery; oh, let me
     think nothing too dear to part with to set forward the everlasting good of my fellow
     Christians.  They are members of your body; therefore I will cherish them.  You have
     redeemed them with an inestimable price; assisted by Your Holy Spirit, therefore, I will
     endeavor to recover them from a state of destruction.

Monday, August 21, 2017

The Eclipse at Asbury

Just had to share these photos taken during today's eclipse at one of my alma maters, Asbury Theological Seminary.


Ancient Paths Sermon Series

While thinking about including a link to the recording of my sermons each week (i.e., introducing each one, since they will all be found at the same link), I thought that I should mention a sermon series that I preached last Summer. 

It is incredibly unique that I would leave off the lectionary during morning worship in order to preach a sermon series.  However, during the Summer of 2016, I did that very thing.  It was a sermon series that, in many ways, expresses the guiding theology and philosophy of ministry for me.  It paints the picture of the kind of Church that I believe God desires.

Another unique aspect of this series (for me) is that it uses one particular verse of Scripture as a kind of launching pad for the entire series.  That verse is one of two verses that I see as "life verses" for me and the ministry to which I believe God has called me.  It is Jeremiah 6:16a, "Thus says the LORD: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls."  (Unfortunately, in one way or another, my experience is that many people respond in the very way recorded in part "b" of that verse.  "But they said, 'We ill not walk in it.'")

In any case, if anyone would want to listen to this seven-part sermon series, you can find them, here.  -  You will find them on the second page, from 26 June - 7 August 2016.

I pray that anyone who chooses to listen to the series may be drawn to travel into the future by way of the ancient paths!

God in Dark Days

This past Sunday, the Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost, I preached from the Old Testament lesson, Genesis 45:1-15.  It was the latter part of the Joseph story.  My sermon title was "God in Dark Days."  You can listen to the audio of the sermon preached at Heartland Church of the Nazarene by clicking, here.

(Other audio, and some video, recordings of sermons can be found on that same page.)

Thursday, August 17, 2017

"Wesley and the Anglicans" - An Interview on Anglican Radio

Readers of this blog will be interested in a new interview on Anglican Radio (a site that I am just now discovering and look forward to exploring more thoroughly!).  The interviewer is Michael Porter. Michael is the President of Anglican Radio.  The interviewee is the Rev'd. Dr. Ryan N. Danker.  Dr. Danker is a United Methodist who serves as Assistant Professor of the History of Christianity and Methodist Studies at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.

The topic of the interview is Dr. Danker's recent book, Wesley and the Anglicans: Political Division
in Early Evangelicalism.

I picked this book up, recently, but I have not yet had the opportunity to read it.  Everything that I have heard, so far, makes it sound like an important read.  In fact, Dr. Ted Campbell says that it is "a must-read for serious students of the Wesleys and Methodist origins" (cf., Promo comment in the front of Danker's book). 

I invite you to take a listen to the interview and consider picking up the book, yourself!



(A special thanks to the Rev'd. Dr. James Gibson for sharing the link to this interview with me!)

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

At the Hour of Prayer . . . the Power of God at Work

The liturgical tradition is often characterized by those in the more "free church" tradition, and especially in the Pentecostal or Charismatic traditions, as being lifeless.  They may even quote St. Paul's second letter to Timothy where he refers to those who hold "to the outward form of godliness" but who deny its power.

Now, if I'm honest (and I hope to be!), there is some justification for this characterization in some situations (maybe in many situations).  I recall a parishioner during a former pastorate who came to our church having spent a little time in a local Episcopal Church.  Her response to that church was, "There is so much power in the liturgy!"  - I agree!  After all, I'm Wesleyan-ANGLICAN!  -  "But," she said, "they just don't seem to get it!"  -  I've been there and seen that.  I know exactly what she was talking about. 

Yet, this need not be the case!  In fact, that is a big part of what being a Wesleyan-Anglican is all about.  It is recognizing and promoting the fact that these two aspects are not mutually exclusive.  And in my Scripture reading during Morning Prayer, today, I read a passage that illustrates this quite well.  It is a passage that demonstrates that the Early, New Testament Church was steeped in liturgy as well as filled with the power of God.

The passage comes from Acts 3:1-7 (it continues on, but I'm only going to quote these seven verses):

     One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock
     in the afternoon.  And a man lame from birth was being carried in.  People would lay him
     daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from
     those entering the temple.  When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he
     asked them for alms.  Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." 
     And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.  But Peter
     said, "I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of
     Nazareth, stand up and walk."  And he took him by the right hand and raised him
     up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong (NRSV).

Obviously, this passage could be pointed to as an example of the miraculous power of God at work in and through the apostles.  Certainly, Peter and John would not be counted among those who would deny the power of God.  And, of course, we know that God shows no partiality (cf. Acts 10:34).  The truth is, God can still bring miraculous healing, today.  This is not to deny that God sometimes brings healing through the means of medical Science or that God sometimes chooses to wait until a person sees God face to face.  But these latter instances ought not deny that God can heal instantaneously, as well.

However, a point that is sometimes overlooked is that all of this takes place in the context of verse one.  There, again, we read that Peter and John were headed to the temple "at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon."  This was actually one of the three set hours for prayer.  What is important to note is that this "hour of prayer," was not simply about a gathering for individual or extemporaneous prayer.  Rather, these times of prayer included the recital or chanting of psalms, the reading of passages from the Old Testament and the use of canticles.  In other words, these times of prayer included set forms of prayer.  And in fact, it was these hours of prayer that led to what we in the Anglican tradition refer to as the Daily office of Morning and Evening Prayer.

All of this to say, formal, liturgical, corporate forms of prayer are NOT antithetical to the miraculous power of God at work in and through the people of God.  In fact, it can be argued that, contrary to what we often see in the Church of our day, both the form and the power of godliness should go hand in hand.