Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Blogging Gets Behind

When I get a job that takes up more time I may end up blogging a lot less. It's only now I was able to update the sports and photo blog and I haven't been here for about a week too.

So enjoy this picture of Matthew West and his band in concert and I might have something more profound later. Although really I need to dedicate computer time to CEUs so I can keep my Kansas RN.

Also, we'll be taking inventories on Wednesday night, and that might provide blog fodder, although it will have to be either 1) encrypted or 2) edited for content. Can't be airing too much dirty laundries on the interwebs.

That reminds me--I need to do laundry tomorrow, so I need to go home NOW.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Cannons

The praise band at Church of the Resurrection often plays this song as an instrumental prelude and postlude at the 5 pm services. It drove me crazy because I have heard it and sung it occasionally but I could never remember the title or enough words to have a successful search on the internet. Finally, tonight I asked Alison. It's called "Cannons" by Phil Wickham.



Enjoy!

Back in the Choir Loft

We got to sing again!

Today we had some class work and education on singing with Scott and Vonda Dyer who have worked with Willow Creek Church. We rehearsed and we got to sing in worship in the 1700 service on Saturday, and will again on Sunday at 1700.

What did we sing? Well, we sang some of my favorite contemporary pieces and then we sang two new pieces. Here they are, courtesy of You Tube.



And now, for something completely different...a contemporary "dangerous song"--be careful Christian--do you mean what you sing?



Please to come and worship with us at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection (www.cor.org), 137th St and Roe in Leawood, KS. Or on line at http://www.rezonline.org/ for the 1045 and 1700 (5 p.m.) Central time worship services on Sundays.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Reflecting on That Moment

I became a Christian in October 1982 at an altar in a Nazarene church in Vermont.

I've been reflecting on that these past days due to where we are in our Step Study. I cannot imagine where I would be without my faith in Christ. Just can't imagine it.

So happy I decided to follow Jesus.



Monday, October 4, 2010

Super Christians

First, go read this blog entry from a UMC blogger: "Make No Wave United Methodist Church"

Now, there is a lot here in this tale of a pastor who dared to ask questions like "What is the church?" and "What is the church for?" but the part of the dialog that resulted between pastor and people representatives that jumped out at me was this:
Look, you’re young and we want to support you, but you need to be reasonable. People are busy — we have full lives. We don’t have time to be saints. We need you to do your job — lead worship, visit church members, teach confirmation, pray for us, and try to grow the church. We just don’t need you making things harder than they ought to be.
Since when did "being saints" need its own time allotment? When I wake up I'm a saint. When I go to bed I am a saint. When I drive my car I am a saint. When I go to work I am a saint. I'm a saint on Tuesday. I'm a saint on Friday. I'm a saint on Sunday. I don't have to do extra to want to become a better Christian. Yes, the Lord might ask me to sacrifice some time, or money, but I just have to trust Him to provide. There is no time that I am not seeking to be obedient and walk closer to my God.
Here's the other part of this dialog that got me, that broke my heart a little.
This kick you’re on to push; to make us feel bad about not doing enough?
I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad. I’m just trying to offer people something better. I want to help people grow in their faith.
Well, that’s fine, but a lot of people are perfectly happy where they are.
Does the call to be more like Jesus, to live a holy life, to seek more of his Spirit, "make us feel bad"? It shouldn't. A pastor does tread a fine line, but the inflowing of the Holy Spirit causes a sensitivity to God's call to excellence. A pastor encourages the people to seek more and more of the holiness of God, as an outgrowth of the grace that they received at the time of their salvation. Lest I fall into the trap of making this all inside work, the holiness manifests itself in works of mercy and justice. These just comes naturally from the life of vibrant Christians who are saved by grace but are not satisfied themselves in just receiving, but want to give and lead others to the grace of God.If you can do nothing after salvation, you are still saved. Your salvation has no dependence on doing a "work" of any kind. The parable in Matthew 20 and the repentant thief demonstrate this.

God loved us so much He sent His Son to die for us. That's love. That is love that is not just designed to make us feel "fulfilled" (although it does); it's love designed to be spread around, both among fellow Christians and those outside the Church, looking for an answer to the deeper questions and needs of life.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Seeking God

"There is no one who seeks God"--thus says a commenter on a blog.

He believes we are too sinful--totally depraved--to seek God.

OK, I believe that we are as bad as we can be. I do believe in "original sin." I agree with the statement from the CofN that we are "inclined to sin, and that continually..."

So we need help from God from the beginning to seek Him. He instills the hunger. He draws us to the places we need to go and to the people we need to see. It is God from beginning to end.

I can't believe that people are able to save themselves, but I do believe there is a consent of the will to go on with God's pushing and pursuing.

I remember one time a patient we transferred from the late IRHC to the late Baptist Hospital for psychiatric care. That person consented voluntarily to care; they were not on a 72 hour hold.
When the ambulance crew arrived at Baptist and opened the door, the patient jumped out and ran down Rock Hill Road. Remember, voluntary commitment. The patient could still chose not to get care. They were not pursued.

We can be like that with God, if we want. His salvation is always available, and for most that get as far as the ambulance ride, we take that salvation. A few of us do jump off the gurney at the last minute--we are not tied down. We, for the moment, withdraw the consent of our will.

Oh, by the way, that does not mean that God has stopped pursuing or that salvation is no longer available.

Some believe this doctrine makes God "weak." Remember, God put the hunger in us in the first place. Salvation is not limited to person or time--it is offered to all people all the time. Also not only does salvation offer forgiveness from sin, it does positive work in the believer via the Holy Spirit. I refuse to limit the work of God's salvation to particular people or a particular type of work in the human heart and soul.

Wesley said he was "hair's breadth" from Calvinism. That's because grace that goes before is working all the time, and often so quietly that it's hard to see exactly what causes the sin sick soul to turn and seek God. So it's hard to tell exactly when God stops and our will starts in each individual case. Even the Bible is not clear on this.

I let it rest, like the physics problem of light. It's like this: sometimes light acts like it is made out of waves propagating. Other times, light behaves as if it is made out of particles. Either way, it is still light, it still keeps me from tripping over the cat in the dark.

The grace of God is spiritual light. I don't always need to fully understand how spiritual light works, but I see how it illuminates souls. Until I reach Heaven, that will work for me.

Hysterical COR 20th Anniversary Video!

You just gotta see this!



I think a lot of fun was had making this video!

Happy 20th Anniversary to the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

This Is Where The Healing Begins

This song just gets more and more meaningful with every listen. 10th Avenue North with "This is Where the Healing Begins".

It begins kneeling at a mourning bench in the front of a church...

It begins with the words of Holy Scripture...

It begins with friendship with someone who can show you the Love that conquers all...

It begins in a group of people who were once strangers and are now friends...

It begins at a concert that turns into worship of the living God...

It begins with a broken and contrite heart coming to the Cross of Christ and meeting the Risen Savior...

Because that's what you find in all these places where the healing begins...