What Do We Believe?

What do we believe? Let me start by asking you how many planets there are in our solar system, nine or eight? How do you know? What do we base our belief on, facts or what some scientist or scholar tells or do we believe only when we have solid substantial proof right in front of us? Do we only believe when we have something we can hold in our hands or touch or taste or smell? What does it take for us to believe, that’s the question today?

I have looked through a telescope and can honestly say I’ve seen some of the planets. But I’ve never really been close enough to actually verify that they really are planets. I’ve looked at the surface of the moon through a telescope and it was pretty neat but I can’t tell you much more about it than it was pretty cratered. I do see it every morning when I walk Murphy so I believe it’s really there.

But there are some things I can’t see that I wonder about. I’ve never seen an atom but scientists tell us that atoms are the building blocks of everything. I’ve never seen electricity but I have seen what it can do for me.

I see planes that are so huge flying through the air and I honestly don’t know how they are able to do that. And there are ships that are made of steel that should sink like a rock but they are capable of going around the world and carry people and cargo without anything getting wet. It’s just plain amazing. I know the physics behind all these things but I still find it hard to understand how it’s all possible.

So, I guess I either have to just believe or choose to think it’s all an optical illusion. Right? What do you believe? Why?

Now, Jesus, what do you believe about Jesus, and why? How could he possibly come back from the dead? We know from what we’ve read and it can be verified in other historical writings that Jesus was in fact crucified, died, and was buried. But how can we validate his resurrection? Oh I know, it’s written in the gospels but how can we trust what they’ve written? How do we know it’s not just a story?

Do you struggle with doubt? Do you wonder whether Jesus really did come to earth as a baby and eventually was crucified, was buried, and rose from the tomb? How do you resolve these conflicting doubts?

Friends, I believe everyone struggles with doubt. Everyone at one time or another has questioned the existence of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

So, what do we do with our doubt? Are we ever free from doubt? I think not. I think that we will always doubt or wonder until that day when Christ returns and everything is revealed.

The question for us is what do we believe and why? The disciples all believed because they were witnesses to the crucifixion. Some of them saw the empty tomb. All of them looked at the nail holes in his hands and they saw his pierced side. And then they believed. Two of the disciples walked with him and sat down at a table with him and they believed. Mary talked to him. She touched him before anyone else. She believed.

None of us have ever seen Jesus but we believe. Why? What proof do we have? The only proof we have is what we read in the Bible and some of us believe and some don’t. Many of us believe, and we have doubts.

Friends, I can’t explain it. I believe because of the experiences of my life, the nurturing, the teaching, and the examples of my parents, grandparents, and those who taught me the lessons from God’s Word. I believe because there’s this yearning deep within me that keeps me reading and praying and trusting and coming to God with my doubts and questions. I believe because I trust what I read in the gospels. I believe because God has given me faith.

Can I explain how God does that? No I can’t. I just know that he does and that has to be enough for me today.

So good friends, what do you believe? And can you explain why? God keeps bringing me back to his Word. My soul’s longing for Him keeps me coming to him in prayer every day. I think that’s why I believe. God has given me this faith, this trust and that’s why I believe. It’s nothing I can see or touch or taste or smell but it’s as real to me as every one of you sitting here this morning.

May you all be filled with God’s abundant grace and know that he is real. Amen.

Palm Sunday

All through Lent we have been using material created by Roddy Hamilton and his folks and it has been great. At least I think so and I believe our congregation enjoys being involved in the service. Our Sunday school young people make things ahead of time for the next Sunday and it's been wonderful to see their creations which they of course make with the assistance of their teachers.

I have been using a "talking" stick which is being wrapped with a different colored ribbon each week. These symbolize the story being told on that particular Sunday.  Today's was, of course, green for palm branches and gold for King Jesus. Our stick came to us by way of Colorado. It's a piece of twisted pine that I've had in my breezeway for years.  Who knew that God intended it to be a "talking" stick?

Today we had the addition of a banner that 30 young people made Friday and Saturday as they fasted for 30 hours. It's a bed sheet with "30 Hour Famine" spray painted and then each person's hand prints with their name.  It's pretty cool.  Can you imagine not eating one bite of food for 30 hours?  They did it and collected $1,500 for hungry children in the world. They even made their own cardboard shelters to sleep in Friday night.  Pictures will come later.

As a pastor it touched something deep within to see these young folks, all on their own, plan and coordinate the whole thing.  I was just a resource, a chaperone. It was a beautiful thing to watch unfold.

God does some amazing things with very ordinary people. I shouldn't be surprised but honestly I am.

So maybe in a week or so I'll be back to posting my Sunday messages. This has been an awesome week. I'm looking forward to Holy Week services and Sunday's celebration of Jesus' resurrection.

May you all be blessed and graced by God this week.

Spiritual Disciplines

For some reason I woke up early, before 4 a.m., and only God knows why. So after a cup of coffee, heated in the microwave, I'm catching up on things in the ethernet. 

One of the things I've read this morning, and it's something I've been reading and thinking about for a long time is spiritual disciplines. What they are and can they or will they bring me closer to or more aware of God and his presence in the world?

So, on RevGalBlogPals this morning the discussion is on this same topic. Mary Beth noted that in her church they are doing a Lenten study using Richard Foster's book Celebration of Discipline.  I have the book and have read bits of it in preparation for Great Plains Presbyterian Pilgrimage. I've not sat down and read the whole book. I think that's the story of my life. I have many books that I've only read bits and pieces of .

Anyhow, spiritual discipline is a topic that has been on my mind for a while. I have been doing morning prayers for some time. I find that easier to do when I'm at work in the church than when I'm at home. There I can be centered in prayer whether I'm reading from the Bible or one of my other books I have in the corner of the pew where I sit. 

Prayer is, I think, central to my spiritual discipline. I have a continual conversation with God but I've found that I need to take time to just sit in silence with him everyday. To be honest all I hear is the creaking of the boards in the church but I like to believe it's His footsteps as he let's me know he's there with me. Hokey maybe, but's why couldn't God make his presence known like that. He showed Moses a burning bush and Balaam's donkey talked to him so why not creaking floorboards in the church?

When I was working full-time as a project engineer I would get up this time of day to read, think, and pray but since I retired from that and now work as a full=time pastor I sleep in.  I kind of miss that quiet time and I wonder now why I quit.  Maybe it's because I like to sleep and be warm wrapped in my blankets.

Right now I'm reading Henri Nouwen. It's a book about prayer and how it is so very central to everything. So it is excerpts from many of his different writings on the subject. Here is a person who asks the same questions I do and yet centered his whole life on service to other people and God. God being first.

From what I read it looks as if he struggled with the discipline and the mystery of it too, but he never gave up. He prayed morning, noon, and evening. And probably more I think.

So, how do we discipling ourselves to be near to God and experience his presence? I find that I do it by reading, the Bible, other books, blogs, music, and prayer. Oh, and by visiting, being in community with people in this community where I live. And not necessarily just the folks in my worshipping community.

So, as you can probably see my attempt at spiritual discipline is messy, disorganized, and maybe haphazard but it has helped come closer to God.

One thing has been instrumental in all of this and that has been going to Great Plains Presbyterian Pilgrimage.  When I'm there my whole focus is on what God is doing in and through all of us as we serve him and our guests. I'm not there this month and I do miss it. But I am praying for them all and I know they are praying for us as well.

So, good friends, what are your spiritual disciplines? What are you doing that works for you, that brings you closer to the One who created us and loves us?

A Snake and a Wanderer

I haven't blogged for two weeks because I'm using some material put together by Roddy Hamilton's church in Scotland.  It is for Lent through the Easter season and its called Spill-the-Beans.  We are telling the stories from the Old Testament as monologues.

Last week the snake spoke to the congregation about why he did what he did and about the choices the woman creature and the man creature made. And how that changed everything.  God was sad, they were sad, and the snake was sad. We're sad.

This week without telling too much of the story we will hear from Abram and his journey to the Promised Land.

I have talked about the gospel and epistle lessons for so long its really fun to get back to the Message of God's love in the Hebrew Bible.  I love the old stories.

And so that brings me to what I've been thinking about for a while, stories, our stories.  You see I'm a member of the Evangelism & Discipleship committee in our presbytery and stories are how we evangelize. At least that's how I believe we tell the Good News of Jesus Christ. We tell "our" story. We tell others how God is actively present in our lives and why that all matters.

And, by telling our stories we can lead others into discipleship teaching them about God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and God's love for us.   Sometimes we tell our stories without even using words.  Of course you all know that all ready. People are observing us all the time to see how we "really" react to the obstacles the world puts in our paths.

So, good friends, I will let you know next week how Abram's story went. It's a good story. Check it out in Genesis. 

Oh, by the way, pray for my sister June as she battles another round of breast cancer.  It's kind of hard to understand why so many of our family and friends have to suffer from this terrible disease. Maybe it's something we're doing to environment that causing it. I don't know but I'm getting awfully tired of it.

God's grace, peace, and joy be with you all,
Pastor David

A Mountain, Mysterious Appearances, A Cloud, Light, & THE VOICE

I’ve always hoped God would speak to me. I’ve wanted to hear his voice so I could be absolutely certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he exists. I’ve always kind of envied the disciples who walked with him, listened to his stories, were there when he gave sight to the blind, healed the crippled, and cast out the demons. Peter, James, and John got to do it all. They even got to see Jesus in his glory.


Now be honest, haven’t you wished God would speak to you? Wouldn’t you like to hear his voice? Don’t you think that we should expect God to speak to us? After all he spoke face to face with Moses. Abraham heard his voice. Jacob wrestled with an angel and he “knew” God was in that place. God spoke to the prophets, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others. Doesn’t it make sense that we should expect to hear God’s voice?

But then I wonder, would it really make any difference in how we live our lives if God spoke to us or invited us to meet him on top of a mountain and revealed his glory to us? If he did would we be more willing to give our all to him then? Would we be more willing to love and care for our sisters and brothers who are struggling with life? Would hearing God’s voice and seeing his glory change how we are and who we are today? I guess that’s something only each of us can give the answer to.

Speaking for myself if I heard God’s voice speaking to me, and it was just me and him, I’d probably have a heart attack, literally. Can you just imagine what it’d be like? It’s no wonder that Peter babbled on about building huts for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.

But, of course, you’re all saying, “God isn’t going to speak to David, or me.” He’s way to busy to take the time to talk to me. I wonder if that’s true. Maybe he’s spoken to you and me and we just haven’t heard. That could happen. There are times people have said something to me and I never heard them. It’s not that I’m deaf, really, I just wasn’t paying attention.

I don’t think the lesson for us today is about hearing God’s voice or going up on a mountain to see God’s glory. I think the lesson for us is that believing in Jesus and inviting him into our hearts and our lives will change us from the inside out. Our faces may not glow like Moses' did after he talked with God. No one will probably see us talking with Elijah or Moses but I believe they will see that we are changed.

Spending time daily in God’s presence can’t help but transform us. Listening for God’s voice to speak to us will change us, whether we actually hear him speak or not. The act of sitting and waiting patiently for God will change us.

It all begins with believing those who were witnesses to the transfiguration of Jesus. If we believe their words that they were reliable witnesses then it makes it easier to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, God’s Chosen One, the Savior of the world.

That’s it. We are being asked to make a decision today. Do we believe Jesus was the Beloved Son of God or wasn’t he? Believing is the first step.

And after we’ve taken the first step it’s easier to take the next and the next and the next until we’ve finally given our all to the One who truly loves and cares for us. Once we’ve given him our allegiance we may wonder why we took so long.

Friends, God loves you and wants nothing more than to be loved by you. Thanks be to God for his loving grace. Amen.

Servants of Christ

Quite a few of us ask ourselves, and maybe God, “Why am I here?” I have to admit that I have asked God that very question.


Have any of you discovered the answer to that burning question? Do you know why God put you here? Maybe you’d like to share your discovery with us. No.

Well, then I’ll just have to share with you what I think the answer is and you’ll have to decide for yourselves whether you agree or not.

I believe that God has put us here in this place at this time to love Him. To love him with our hearts, minds, and souls and…to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. That’s it. We are here for God, to love him with all our being and…to love our neighbors.

Now that doesn’t sound so difficult until we come to the realization that that means everyone. Not just the people we know and love because they love us but even those we find not so lovely.

And I believe that when we are told by Jesus to love our neighbor that means that we care enough about them to actually see to their needs. We are called to be servants of Christ to them as Paul mentions in his second letter to the Corinthians.

Even that doesn’t sound like it would be too hard to do until we remember the neighbor down the street who spends his whole paycheck at the bar and then can’t come up with his monthly rent check. Or the young mother who can’t quit smoking and most of her check goes for that instead of groceries for her family. Or there’s the new family that moved to town and the husband lost his job and you notice that they have these really expensive new cell phones but they buy their groceries with food stamps. Then being a servant of Christ to them, without being judgmental, becomes awfully hard. In fact some people refuse to serve them at that point.

I don’t believe that Jesus meant for us to judge whether this person could be served and this other person couldn’t just because we know they’ve made some really bad life decisions. I believe that Jesus is asking us to serve all of them no matter what and let him be the one who does the judging.

Now, that doesn’t mean we have to approve of the decisions people make but it does mean that we are to love them and care for them just as God loves and cares for us, unconditionally. At least that’s what I believe.

Do I always do it right? Nope. In fact I find myself coming to God asking him to forgive me and give me another chance to get it right.

I don’t know if I answered the question right or not but it is what I believe. So if you are wondering why God has allowed you to live as many years as you have this may be the reason. There are folks that he wants you to lovingly serve. And of course while you are doing that he wants to receive your love too. He’s kind of jealous that way.

So, as we approach the season of Lent and Easter let’s think about why we are here and what we should be doing with the time God has given us. Let’s commit our lives to be ones of service to our fellow humans who live among us.

Instead of giving up something for Lent let’s instead serve our friends and neighbors by giving them our love with our whole being.

Thanks be to God for his loving grace. Amen.

Why Are You Here?

Why are you here? That question has been answered for you in the scriptures read this morning. You and I are here to be seasoning for the people we interact with every day. But, not only seasoning but light too, salt to bring out flavors and light so that God’s colors can be seen in all their beauty. We are here because we’re salty and bright.


I don’t mean we’re here this morning because we’re salty and full of light. No, I’m talking about why we’re here in this place at this time. We’re in this community as God’s children to bring out God’s flavors.

When you join a group of folks the flavor of that particular group is enhanced because you’re there. God brings us to certain groups, to particular people, so that we can help them see God’s kingdom here on earth.

Think about it. Why do we put salt and pepper, or any variety of herbs, on food before we eat it? We add these seasonings and spices to bring out the flavors that are hidden in the food. Without them they’re just not the same. In fact some food is pretty tasteless without some seasoning.

We can use the same reasoning to explain why we’re here in this place at this time. We are here to help people see, to find, to experience God’s gift of grace. Without us someone may not ever experience the joy of being in God’s presence.

Now I know that there are some here this morning who would rather not be put on a lamp stand. There are some who just aren’t comfortable being in the lime light let alone being the light. But, think about it, God has given you this one gift that is just what one person needs in order to be able see God’s kingdom. And if you don’t let your light be seen they may never see God’s kingdom.

So, good friends, we are here because we are the seasoning and the light that God needs in this place at this time. Without us someone may not ever get to experience God as only they could with our saltiness. Or they may never get to see the kingdom of God without our special light. Friends, that’s why we’re all here now. God needs our salt; he needs our light. His church needs your brand of spice and your degree of brightness.

So, today as we receive new members and install new elders ask God to use their salt and their light to bring us closer to his kingdom here on earth. As we receive the bread and the cup think about how different it would be if there were no salt in the bread or if there were no light to see the bread or the cup.

Friends, we are the salt and the light. Pray that God will use us today and this week so that someone else may become salt and light for the world.

Thanks be to God for his loving grace. Amen.