New Life Assembly

Thawed Out Monday

So, two weeks in the last three we've started our worship service at the church with temperatures inside the building hovering in the mid 30's.  Needless to say I was a little heated yesterday when I spoke to the customer service rep to get our gas delivery!  But once again our folks did their New England ancestors proud and showed up to worship in less than ideal circumstances.  Yes, the rumors are true, I did begin the sermon in a wool hat that was slightly too large for my head (though I couldn't do it for long, I believe there may be pictures somewhere).  Not sure about you, but my toes didn't thaw out until well into lunch at home...

I did get to preach the first in a yearlong (but only once a month) series on the theme of redemption.  I hope the significance of the talk didn't get lost in the cold, because I think it's such a huge, important theme for us to grab hold of.  God's plan to redeem the world is not Plan B, it's the plan that he created the world with.  He is going to bring everything back into order - his order, and we have been called to participate in that process.  The amazing thing is that he starts redeeming things by starting with us.  So those places where we ask "why, God?" are those places where God begins the work of redemption in our lives.

This week, even, pray for God to show you those places where frustration and your questions are threatening to cloud your vision of what God is trying to do in your life.  Pray that he will use those as opportunities to bring about redemption for you.  Pray that God will show his mighty power on your behalf to do what you could never accomplish on your own.  God redeems.  It's what he does from beginning to end, and your life is no exception.

Grace to you, and peace, as you begin a new week in service to the God who makes all things new!

Momentous Mid-week

Good afternoon!  Quick hits on a Wednesday afternoon while I work on finishing up the last of the Dunkin Donuts coffee beans Rita received for donating blood a couple of weeks ago and wistfully look forward to a return to good, old-fashioned, dark and strong Starbucks...

• Spent much of yesterday tuning in and out of the Inauguration ceremonies.  I was impressed positively by some, and negatively by others (those booing President Bush for instance).  I loved the musical interlude featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Yitzak Perlman.  It was a stirring, beautiful performance, fitting for such a day of pageantry.  The poem however?  What was that about?  I heard someone on the radio this morning say it was an example of postmodern poetry.  Now look, I know better than to think that all poetry has to rhyme, but at the same time, when I hear a poet is going to read for the Inauguration of our President, I'd like to think I'll be inspired and have my breath taken away by the words spoken.  Instead I was left scratching my head, thinking, "That's the best they could do?"
• I've been pleased to hear President Obama's recent emphasis on the reality that the American people will be the ones to pull us out of our crisis.  I thought the best moment of the speech yesterday was this:  "Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."  I can only hope that when the time comes, we will realize that the government will not solve our problems, but that its best role is to allow the freedom and ingenuity of the American people to work towards our remaking.
• Very excited to start this week our once-a-month focus on a major theme of Scripture.  We're going to start looking at redemption this week, and so we'll be on a bit of a whirlwind tour of Scripture leading up to the first mention of redemption in the Hebrew Scriptures found in Exodus 6.  It'll be a slightly different mode of teaching, but still with the goal of challenging us to embrace the story of Scripture as our own and allowing it to shape how we see the world and ourselves in it.
• Working this week on the series starting in February on renovating our hearts.  Really looking forward to that series, as I think it will remind us that our hearts are a battleground, and that God is looking to shape our lives from the inside out.
• My son, Jacob, turned seven on Sunday.  I am honored and humbled that God has given me the privilege of helping to shape the life of this extraordinary child into the young man that God desires him to be.  I thought last night as I prayed for him and then kissed him good night that there will come a day soon that he won't want a kiss from his father - he'll grow out of that phase.  And so I kissed him again, embraced him again, and let my heart fill up with the joy of his unrestrained, unashamed love for me.  I love that boy.  I'm so proud of him.  I cannot wait to see how the world is going to be affected by his presence in it.

At Home Dad Monday

Good Morning!

If you're in the northeast like me, you might be tired of snow already - I know I am.  Kids are home from school today for Martin Luther King day, which means I'll be splitting time between getting a little work done and moderating disagreements (or breaking up outright fights) between the two of them.  So I figured I'd get the blog done early, while they're still playing quietly and nicely together.

It was a very full, and very satisfying weekend as a whole.  Saturday we hosted Jacob's seventh birthday party, which meant a good day with friends and family visiting as we celebrated Jacob's life to date.  I laid down to pray with him at the end of the night, and was again overwhelmed with gratitude to God for giving me this precious gift of a son.  I am amazed that God would entrust me with the shaping and molding of his young life, and I still pray (more now than ever I think) that God will empower me and equip me for the task. 

Jacob is an complex character (not unlike his biblical namesake) and I'm learning how to be the father he needs me to be.  I honestly believe that parenting is the most difficult task we humans are entrusted with, and that if I can find some measure of success in that endeavor, I'd gladly lay down any other successes I might have in other areas of my life.  No matter where you are in the process of parenting your kids, young or old, don't give up on investing into them the time and energy required to develop that relationship!

Yesterday we had a light attendance Sunday, as the snow fell and made a mess of roads and plans for the day.  Apologies if you missed the service and come looking for the podcast too, because the audio was a mess, so it's not really good for listening.  I'll see if I can fix it up to make it at least passable.  If you're interested in having a text copy of the message, I'd be glad to send it along to you.  The talk focused on seeking a growing relationship with God through personal and corporate spiritual disciplines.

I think that the idea that our relationship with God will just happen automatically because we hope and wish it will is certainly prevalent in our culture.  Just like we do with so many other relationships (marriages, friendships, children) we romanticize them, thinking that they're all spontaneity and good feelings.  The reality is that good relationships are disciplined relationships.  They come about because both parties involve in the relationship make a disciplined commitment to each other - our relationship to God is no different.  He commits to stay with us through his Spirit.  He asks us to commit to remaining with him and keeping his commands.  The relationship (like any good one) goes two ways.

Finally last night topped off the day with a round-table style discussion with several other area pastors on the book, The Shack, by Wm. Paul Young.  I enjoyed the interaction with the others on the panel, and hope that the discussion was beneficial to those who braved the snow to hear it.  It's certainly a book that has caused some controversy in evangelical christian circles, and we heard some of the reasons for that last night.  If you're looking for my impression, overall I'd say it's a worthwhile read.  It's not great literature by any stretch, and his descriptions of God may be lacking some depth, but I think it would certainly make you think about what you believe about God, and how you relate to him. 

That's the weekend that was.  I pray God blesses the week ahead for you - that he lays mountains low and elevates valleys so that your walk through the week is made plain.

In the Beginning: Vision

Our vision as a church is to see ordinary men and women empowered and equipped by the Holy Spirit to live an extraordinary life in service to our community and our world:  Download In the Beginning - Vision

It's Monday (again...)

Good Morning!

I'm sitting here with the dog at my feet and a longer than normal "to do" list on my computer screen, so I'm at the blog a little earlier than usual.

Overall, it was a pretty good weekend.  We were supposed to drive up to visit my family in Connecticut to celebrate my grandfather's 90th birthday on Saturday, but because of the impending snowstorm, we decided against that and spent most of the day at home.

Sunday we had a surprisingly average crowd for our service - I was really pleased considering it was snowy and just plain nasty outside.  Had a chance to talk a little bit about one aspect of our church's vision, which is that we see ourselves as ordinary people empowered and equipped by the Holy Spirit to accomplish extraordinary things.  It's definitely one of my passions in teaching, and I could tell I was totally engaged in the message, which always helps it to come across better to the church.

Had a lot of compliments on the message yesterday, which is always nice.  Even better was the sense I had that God was working in our hearts as I was teaching - even my heart!  I definitely was challenged to increase my dependence on God and his Spirit to be at work in me, and I was inspired to let God redefine what I see as ordinary and normal in my life.  Opening ourselves up to God's heart will do that for us, so I encourage you to keep doing that, keep praying that he will reveal his heart in you and to you.  It leads to an extraordinary life.  I'm convinced of it.

If you're interested, I think we may actually have a podcast this week.  The combination of a couple technical issues, and people being away has put a crimp in the recording, but I think we should be back up and running from here on out.  So if you've been looking for it, and haven't found a recent one, it's not your fault, it's ours. 

Oh, and a couple of people reminded me that I didn't get to "properly" close our service yesterday, so if you were waiting for it, here it is:

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

New Year of Monday

Good Morning!

Sorry for my blogging absence the past couple of weeks, but between some family situations and the kids being home from school, my schedule has been all out of whack.  I actually really missed the writing exercise (and, to be truthful, the physical exercise was really missed) so I'm glad to be back to a semi-normal week starting today.  Kids went back to school.  Rita went back to work.  And I went back to the gym.

Some quick hits from yesterday:

• I loved talking about our mission as a church.  I want nothing more than to see us connect men and women in a living relationship with the God who created them.
• I guess I hit hard on the idea that Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life.  Maybe not the most PC stance, but it's definitely the biblical one.  In Christ we begin to live a true life, conforming our way to his, and that way leads us to the Father. 
• Enjoyed having our full complement of musicians back at last!  And I know the guitar guys were thrilled not to be playing Christmas carols any longer.
• Church building was 38 degrees when I showed up yesterday.  Nice.  My fingers were icicles while we practiced the music.  Heat finally kicked on about 10 minutes before service.   The gas company did not deliver Friday like they were supposed to, so I'll be asking them for some kind of compensation to make up for our pain and suffering yesterday!
• People didn't seem too put off by worshiping in the cold though - New Englanders are still hardier than most.
• Thanks to all of you who've been praying for our family - we really appreciate it. 
• Talking vision next week, looking at the ways that God wants to empower us and equip us to live an extraordinary life personally and as a church body.  Looking forward to sharing that with you all.
• In honor of a new year, one of my favorite passages:  "He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'  Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'  He said to me, 'It is done.  I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.  To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.  Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

I hope and pray 2009 is a year in which God writes new, dramatic, and powerful stories in and through your life.