Our text for the week:
Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Clearly this text is a continuation of thought Jesus presented to us last week. Our present text illustrates the difference between treasuring earthly things and heavenly things.
Some questions:
Why worry?
Do you worry? What about?
What does it mean to seek first the Kingdom of God?
Give me some stories.
About Me
- Allen
- Mitchell, Indiana, United States
- I love my family, and I enjoy what I do. I am in my 18th year with the Mitchell Church of Christ. I am an endurance athlete. The parallels between endurance athletics and ministry are remarkable. They are mutually beneficial.
The Holy Trinity
My favorite Icon (see link below for more information)
51 comments:
OK, first of all, sorry about the picture. I’m just trying to change things around a little bit. Lester told me the blog was boring last week. Maybe the picture will help? (Insert jokes, crude comments here.) I am finishing up a book about blogging. Yes, there are many books about blogging, believe it or not. The one I am reading is The Blogging Church. It has been fairly interesting and affirming. I probably will change a few things as a result of the read, however.
Last week I read Lauren Winner’s, Real Sex - The Naked Truth about Chastity. Wow. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone 16 and above. It is accessible to all, and it will help you more clearly understand the sexual ethic to which God calls us. You will see some quotes from it through out the week. I’ll start with this one (page 63):
Conversations, debates, and revelations about sex are everywhere in our common culture. There’s a lot of talk about sex in Internet chatrooms, and on the airwaves, and in Good Housekeeping, the New York Times, and GQ. Sexual chatter is downright ambient. According to one study, over 14,000 sexual references are shown on TV per year, and the average person will view over 100,000 of those references in his or her lifetime.
Later quotes will swerve into connecting with our preaching passage for next week.
What a nice way to the end the day! This evening the Winterfest group arrived back in Mitchell around 6:35. We phoned them on the road and requested that they come into the auditorium for a “surprise.” The large group dutifully filed in, joining our assembly in progress. Once they were all in we invited Gary to the front and made a few jokes about the loss of our friend Jimmy. Then Ralph presented Gary a check for $3,002.
The generosity of our church family was beautifully demonstrated once again. God was glorified once again. All of this provides a great illustration of what we were talking about today, and it fits beautifully with our text for this week.
I love the Mitchell Church of Christ.
I think more people at church are praying. Why else all the trouble with the winterfest trip, its so neat that God took everything that was bad and turned it into good. I look forward to hearing the stories from those who went on the trip.
Annette
Saturday Ben and I went to see Bridge to Terabithia. I didn’t really know what to expect, since I knew very little about the movie and had not heard of the book (out of touch, I guess). With no expectations, I guess I should not be surprised that it was not what I expected. I really enjoyed it; Ben said he did also, although later he called it “weird.”
The movie stimulated a few thoughts for me. There were two main things it made me think about. First, I think the movie does a good job of telling us that there is more going on than what we see at the surface of life. I am thinking about spiritual warfare. Paul words in Ephesians 6:12 are illustrated in the movie, I think.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The second thing I thought about was the power of imagination. There is a whole school of thought among post-liberal scholars that speaks of entering the world imagined in Scripture. Imagination has a powerful impact on the way we live. I believe the Sermon on the Mount is calling us to enter the world imagined by God. Isn’t our text this week calling us to live beyond what we can see, to enter a world where God truly takes care of our needs?
There were a couple of interesting exchanges about fundamentalist, legalistic thought regarding the cross simply being a legal transaction where Christ serves as substitutionary atoning sacrifice. I found that very interesting.
Clearly I am no movie critic, but those are some things that came to mind.
This comes from Mike Cope’s Blog this morning. The post is entitled “Sunday after Sunday.” It’s funny (in the interesting sort of way) that this shows up after my class yesterday morning. I confessed yesterday morning the struggle sometimes of just “keeping on keeping on.” I am fine; no need to worry, really. I think we all feel this way from time to time no matter what we do. This is when the ideas of perseverance, obedience, duty, and not being “weary in well doing” come into play. Life is not easy, but we are promised God’s presence now, and later we’ll be in his presence. “Come, Lord Jesus.” And by the way, what happen yesterday, with the generous giving, was wonderfully encouraging. And very timely.
Sorry, here is what Cope said/wrote:
I got a note from a friend of mine on the West Coast who’s been asked to preach next weekend. He — a guy who regularly does stuff that would make me shudder! — said it’s one of the most difficult things he’s ever asked to do. He asked how I’ve done it week after week, year after year, decade after decade.
The question made me tired. That IS a lot of sermons.
I started fulltime in 1982 with a wonderful church in Wilmington, NC, that gave me the freedom to grow into the job. And since then, it’s been Sunday after Sunday (with plenty of breaks), year after year, decade after decade.
Sometimes I think I’m about out of gas. Are there older preachers out there? Have you had the same feeling? Sometimes I think I’ve given what I have to give.
Don’t feel sorry for me. It’s a privilege. I get to lead the church in the Lord’s Prayer. I get to lay my hands on babies to represent the church, saying, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be on you forever.” I get to see the faces of people as the word of God is spoken in their midst. I see the tears of hope-within-grief; I see the yawns from exhaustion. I get to sit on row one, right in front of Bob and Roye Sue. I’m permitted to listen to people remember at times of death. I’m still in the sanctuary as the last words are spoken over coffins by children and spouses.
The text for this week's blog is one I really struggle with. I'm a real worrier. In fact, if the Olympics had a competition for worrying, I'd have a shelf full of gold medals. But, strangely, I don't worry about not having our material needs met. My biggest worries are regarding the people I love. It's the hardest thing in the world for me to trust God with my husband and kids. I spend a lot of time advising God how to take care of Todd, and Katie and Tyler, instead of trusting His perfect will for their ultimate good. I struggle with this, and I'm still not sure how to improve in this area.
Donna
Donna, I appreciated your words. When we were raising our children, I too was a worrier above all worriers for them just like you. I still do and I think that is just part of the role called 'motherhood'. We never stop being a mother and our concerns are constant for them but I can tell you that as we get older that the intensity of the worry on the day to day basis has eased and as we watch God work in our lives and in theirs, the answered prayers we have witnessed and the assurance that we did the best we could given our circumstances is a comfort. They have turned out well and God did His work in them. I am finally letting go of alot of it but there are still issues that constantly are before me concerning their welfare and happiness. All I can do now is just trust God to take care of them and love them unconditionally because my job has ended on the day to day basis. He is a much better caretaker than we can ever be. He sees all, He knows all our struggles and He is there to lean on. We can truly trust Him in all things. Every time they left the house my words were 'be careful', they still are. Now there are more of them to worry about. Them, their wives, and their children are the most important people to me on this earth. My prayer is that we are all together in Heaven. My job now is to be an example of Christ to them so they will desire His Kingdom here and in Heaven. The responsibility to get there is on their shoulders and in the hands of God. The same worries I had for my children are their worries now. I pray for them all the time and love them with all my heart and I know you do too. I trust God to their care.
That is comforting, because I cannot do it all and cannot live perfectly as an example or be there all the time but, GOD IS. This is one the most beautiful passages to me in the Bible involving trust. Loving flowers and birds and watching the miricles of each, we see God's hand in our lives first hand. The birds work all day finding food and singing as they go, then they rest and trust God to take care of the remainder. The flowers struggle to grow but within the bloom of that beautiful flower is the fruit that perpetuates life and assures the survival of the plant. Within us is the seed of God, in His Word, sowing into our lives the virtues of a life He wants us to live to produce other Christians. I know His angels sing in Heaven just like the birds when one chooses that life. It's a beautiful day. Let the Son shine in all of you today. Love you, Sherron
God's Gifts....from He Chose The Nails: Max Lucado
Have you ever wondered why God gives so much? We could exist on far less. He could have left the world flat and gray; we wouldn't have known the difference. But he didn't. He splashed orange in the sunrise and cast the sky in blue. And if you love to see geese as they gather, chances are you'll see that too. Did he have to make a squirrel's tail furry? Was he obliged to make the birds sing? And the funny way that chickens scurry or the majesty of thunder when it rings? Why give a flower fragrance? Why give food its taste? Could it be he loves to see that look upon your face? If we give gifts to show our love, how much more would he? If we--speckled with foibles and greed--love to give fifts, how much more does God, pure and perfect God, enjoy giving gifts to us?
Wanted to share this with you today. Sherron
I used to worry about everything. I was so anal retentive that I made everyone around me miserable.(I can admit this now) I was always the best at my job because I made it a point to be. I didn't give much room for errors on my part or for others. I realized in the middle 80's that this was wrong. So I tried to correct my attitude and my way of doing things. It has been a long hard road. Sometimes I feel like I am too passive. Like I went too far in the other direction. So its still a work in progress. When I think about the things that used to drive me crazy with worry, they really don't mean much in the bigger scheme of things. Why stress out on things when life throws you situations that were totally out of your control anyway. You have to deal with these things that you don't create and they are going to come, so why put so much importance on anything else? I find that God will direct you if you allow Him to. I have come to understand that some things that happen are meant for me on a personal level and others happen because it is part of Gods plan for someone else or for some other purpose. And its not for me to understand all the time, I just have to do and act in the way God would want me to act. I don't always know what to do and I just simply trust God to take care of me and my loved ones. Prayer has become a big part of my life. Trusting God to watch out for me, in spite of myself has given me much comfort.
Seeking the kingdom of God, keeping the desire to learn and transform myself is my goal in life. Sometimes I think satan puts it in my mind that life and seeking the kingdom are two different things, I strive to keep them meshed into one. My love for God should encompass all things, all thoughts and how I deal with other people. Sometimes I fail, but I will never stop trying to do my best.
I hope this didn't sound corny.
Annette
I think it is such a blessing what our church was able to do for Gary and Michelle. But I think there are many other people in our congregation that worry about financial things. Maybe not "where's the $3000 going to come from to fix our car" but maybe "how are we going to fix the leak in our roof or how are we going to pay for this need or fix that broken thing"
I think this is in tune with the worrying topic... Everyday we worry about something... maybe not a financial need or like Donna who worries about her kids, but something causes us worry. In the middle ages and really even seen among the Amish community in Mitchell there is a real sense of togetherness and hey "I'll watch out for your kids, and I'll help you fix that barn or that brocken wagon wheel." I think we are really missing out on this sense of community by living in our modern times of worrying about our selves and not helping the village. Sure the Amish probably still worry about something but they dont worry about fixing their wagon wheel because they know "jonah will be over soon and he knows how to fix it."
I think if we were all open with what we can do for each other and willing to actually do it, we'd be living a worry free life. And if we lived with the awareness to what people in our lives were going through they wouldn't have to worry because they'd know "John is coming soon and he can fix our flat tire." We'd acutally be "the village raising the child, the village raising each other through life" I'd have to believe we would be a church worth watching because we'd be so radically different from the "normal modern day church," we would become more like the church of Acts and the chruch we read about in the Bible.
I think you are so right in so many ways. The key is community, which only develops when we open up our lives to each other on the common ground of our faith in Jesus. I think roofs would be fixed and other needs met, if we knew about them. [Actually some of this stuff does happen and is not publicized.]
I continue to be impressed with the generosity of our church family and the willingness to help others, in and outside of our congregation. We do a lot for a lot of people; some is known; a lot is unknown. Yesterday was known, and it was encouraging.
It’s been a good day. I got up at 5.15 and enjoyed a big cup of coffee that was awaiting me due to the automatic timer that I set the night before. The coffee was from Starbucks beans ground by me the night before. I have a supply of this quality stuff thanks to Lester’s Butler meal plan. Due to football last fall he missed out on a lot of evening meals. At the end of the semester he had money in the plan that he had to spend, and he was able to use it at the Starbucks on campus. It was the Christmas gift that just keeps on giving.
I had breakfast with my favorite people (minus one) at 7 a.m. I met Tony Earl at 8.30 at Spring Mill Park for a 7 mile run to celebrate Presidents Day; he continued to run after I left and ended up with 15 miles, I think. I stopped in the building, showered, and chatted with the food pantry workers and Melissa. I went and had a wonderful class at OCU-B. We are studying the Sermon on the Mount. Today we looked at “Truth-telling.” Great discussion. I love teaching and learning in community.
I had lunch with Duane at the Subway in Wal-Mart. I learn so much from him. Went back to OCU-B and gave a test. Met Wayne at M&F at 1.35; we drove to Indy to see the Holmes. We had a nice visit and prayer with Trent, his parents and sister, and Carrie; we returned home a little after 6. Been doing some reading this evening and am about ready to head west (our bedroom is west of the family room).
Today I spent significant time with three very good men. All are different but all are such helps to me in their various ways. They listen, and I learn. I feel very blessed. Life is hard but good. More tomorrow...
I think more than worry, I struggle. When I read a passage like the one we are looking at this week, I see and hear the words and there is such a deep struggle within me of how to apply them in the here and now. It is so hard to remove the veneer of our culture and the imprint it leaves on our conceptual thinking and actually perceive the heart of God on so many of these issues. Perhaps this is a part of the "tension" in the scripture Allen speaks of. I want to be obedient and pleasing to God, to trust that He will indeed take care of all of my needs, but that cannot mean that I simply sit and wait for that to happen. I feel that I am responsible for earnest and honest work and God will take care of the rest. Although I have to say, I can't find that directly in the scripture. I think of the great men of God who did simply wait and God provided for them. And then I think of passages such as , "he who does not provide for his own is worse than an infidel". Often I yearn for time away from all of the work I have to do just to go sit in the mountains and read and worship the Lord. But the tyranny of the urgent.............
Oh, the struggle of finding the right balance! I’m not sure we ever get that figured out. As I ran with Tony yesterday, we talked about intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, about being driven to do things rather than being lead to do them. Why do I do what I do? Why do some achieve great things, while others are content to live a simple life? I/we have to constantly look at my/our motivation. We all have Blind Spots. How can I minimize those? How can I keep my motivation pure and God-honoring? I know some are probably tired of hearing it, but I believe the answer is community. As we honestly interact with others in a transparent way, we can begin to sort a lot of this out. I know, for example, that I have learned a lot about myself and have been helped in significant ways by interacting in my Sunday school class and with a small group of men who meet on a somewhat regular basis. A good, trusted group of people help us sort out the important priorities from the tyranny of the urgent.
In Lauren Winner’s, Real Sex book (p. 51-2), there is some solid teaching about the importance of community in keeping ourselves clear and focused on our sexual ethic and beyond:.
...In the Christian universe, the individual is not the vital unit of ethical meaning. For Christians, the most basic images, metaphors, and signs are corporate, and the basic unit of ethical meaning is the Body, the community. Israel experiences covenant fidelity as a people, and the People of God is a collective–not merely an aggregate of individual persons, each doing his or her own thing, but a body. He sustains them as a body. And, finally, He redeems them as a body.
This talk about community is not mere metaphorizing. The community has a role in making ethics. Paul makes this clear when he instructs the Galatians to hold one another accountable for sin: “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
That passage in Galatians, if we construe it uncharitably, can lead us to envision a community that functions primarily as a police force: Christians’ responsibilities to one another begin and end with peering into other Christians’ bedroom windows and sounding the alarm if something illicit is going on.
While one task of any community is to enforce its own codes when they are being violated, perhaps the prior task of the community is to make sense of the ethical codes that are being enforced. Here the community is not so much cop as storyteller, telling and retelling the foundational stories of the community itself, sustaining the stories that make sense of the community’s norms. This storytelling is part of the working out of God’s grace in the church. We, the church, retell our own story–we do this every time we read scripture, every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, and (hopefully) every time we minister to one another. And that retelling is part of what enables us to live into the story. It is the community that ensures that ethics is not about the dispensing of cut-and-dried answers to moral questions, but ethics is a story with meaning and power.
The part of the story we are working on this week is trust. How can we help each other truly trust God? The last paragraph is worth reading again.
It’s been a great day! It started with some good quiet time to reflect on our text for this week, some prayer time, and then some serious historical-critical study of the text. These are some of my favorite things. This afternoon I went to see Lois Cox. While there, her sister, Evelyn asked me if I would baptize her. I said, “Of course!” We talked some more and scheduled to meet at the building at 7 this evening. It was great! It was also chilly. The heater in the baptistry was not working, evidently. At least we didn’t have to chop ice. Evelyn is a sweet lady; I hope you have had the opportunity to talk to her. She will soon be going back to her home in West Virginia. Evelyn was in the room when Jack died, and I am pretty sure that her baptism is related to that. The legacy of some continues to grow even after they are gone.
Another highlight of my day was spending some time drinking Mello Yellow and hot chocolate with Mike C. He’s a good, good man. I really enjoy listening to his insights. He is a good, intelligent thinker, and he has a lot of valuable computer knowledge. We talked some about this blog and its future (RSS feeds, newsreaders, etc. for you techno-geeks). Mike is also working on retooling our church website. I am really looking forward to seeing it.
So, am I talking too much??
Yesterday afternoon Gary sent out a news article to youth group parents that probably caught everyone’s attention: Sexed-up Images in Media Hurt Young Girls: Study. In part the article says:
Inescapable media images of sexed-up girls and women posing as adolescents can cause psychological and even physical harm to adolescents and young women, a study in the US has warned.
The pressure of what experts call "sexualization" can lead to depression, eating disorders, and poor academic performance, said the report, released Sunday by the American Psychological Association.
There are several news reports about this study, but you get the point pretty quickly. All these reports came out after I had planned to post the following from Lauren Winner’s, Real Sex book. Winner is writing about chastity, but notice what see says about dress in general. Now, I find it interesting that our passage this week about worry has a direct tie with clothes. Here’s what Winner says (p. 76-7):
The church has been complicit in teaching that there is no propriety to dress. We used to dress to the nines on Sunday morning. In the 1960s, that began to change–students and surfers and Jesus freaks began turning up at church in jeans and sandals. That’s all well and good–I’m not suggesting the church copy five-star restaurants and post a maitre d’ at the door to hand out jackets and ties to men who show up in T-shirts. Everyone, even those who disdain or can’t afford spiffy suits, should be welcome in church. But perhaps we’ve erred on the side of casual. I’ve noticed that I worship differently when I’m wearing more formal, fancy clothes. I’m more inclined toward reverence. I’m readier to meet a king. The prayers I pray when I’m wearing my pj’s are, not surprisingly, often more intimate, and there is a place for pj prayers–but that place may always be church. We Christians in our institutional churches so want people to come worship with us on Sunday morning that we hesitate to impose a dress code upon them. And yet what appears welcoming, what seem hospitable, may in fact, be a failure. It’s God, after all, that the people are coming for, and helping them dress appropriately may be part of preparing them meet Him.
There is, it seems to me, a certain power in modest dressing, an assertion that though my body is beautiful, I am more than a sex object designed for your passing entertainment. But the power of dressing is also the power of narrative. For our clothes tell stories, and it would be naive and irresponsible to pretend otherwise. Clothes tell stories about sex and chastity, to be sure, but they also narrate a stance toward our environments; our dress suggests a set of priorities. That is why we enjoy clothing so much, of course–because we reinvent ourselves and our narratives when we try out a new look. So the question for Christians is not an absolute one about skirt length, but rather something about communication. What stories do we want to tell ourselves and others through our choices of clothing?
So what do you think about that? I really would like to know.
Today is Ash Wednesday, which for many is the beginning of Lent. We as a church have never practiced this ancient custom, but the last few years we have had 40 Days of Prayer. This year we are going to broaden our focus a little and have “40 Days of Focus,” which will resemble Lent a little more closely. We will start ours a week from today. I hope many will participate.
In thinking about the excerpt Allen posted from Lauren Winner, I believe that we should think about the way we are dressing for worship service. In worship service God is the audience. I believe that we should show honor in our worship dress. I do not believe that a person should go out and buy special clothes for Sunday worship but we should look at our closets and find clothing that would honor God. Many of us have no problem dressing in our best for a nice restaurant, a play or company Christmas dinner and we know that God is more important than any of those so to me it makes sense to wear nice clothing in worship service.
I am not against dressing nice for worship service, but to each his own. What may be described as nice to one could be something totally different to another. I don't think it is our job to look at people's clothes and judge whether or not it is "good enough" to wear in church. The bottom line is that God wants us there to worship and praise him with those around us. I think this goes along with what an anonymous blogger wrote a while back when complaining about people being late to church. All that matters is that we are there to worship God. We need to focus on Him because that is why we are there.
And I thought a 50K was a long way! Check This out.
I can give my opinion on anything all day long, but what really matters is Gods opinion. On nearly all topics we spend way too much time looking at others and judging when almost always we should be solely concerned with just ourself. Just like the scripture that tells us each day has enough on its own... don't worry abot tomorrow, I would also say each person has enough faults in themselves... don't take on someone elses presumed faults. Having said that, I think that it not be good for me to wear something to church that I believe would offend Jesus, whatever that may be. tw
I am very upset about the misspelling and improper grammar in my previous post. I should be able to go back and fix it since i am too stupid to proof read before publishing. By the way, i've been burning to tell Donna that a sweaty, smelly Todd sounds like something I had thought she would be interested in. tw
I totally agree with you tw, that everyone should look to improve themselves instead of harping on someone else. It seems to me that if you do that it tends to come sit in your lap. I try to not take note of anyones faults and try to see what God wants me to change in myself. It makes it harder when the person is closer to you and who confronts you or makes comments to you. Its very hard to say 'thank you for pointing that out to me' especially when they have big beams in their own eye. Does anyone have a good way of dealing with this? I would really like to know and could use help in this area.
Annette
Well, good morning! It’s Thursday, which is sermon finalization day for me, although sometimes it takes me into Friday and Saturday to get it the way I (hopefully led by the Spirit) want it and even then... Sometime, if you are really good, I will tell how I prepare a sermon. [This is a shameless ploy to keep you coming back to read this blog. I know people would do about anything to know how I work on each week’s sermon.]
My Wednesday evening “Listening for God” class is so interesting and helpful. We had a pretty good crowd last night, and the conversation was lively, if not always about the text. I am fine with that. It really helps me to hear what people are thinking. The direction my sermon takes is shaped heavily by my Wednesday night class.
After class I stayed around the building a little longer than usual. I knew idolatry (from 8-10 on FOX) was taking place at home, and I am not 100% comfortable with that. I know I am getting old, but I had such a great time hanging around with tw and mike (lower case to correspond with tw) and especially their adorable children. How can guys like that have such cute kids??
I think I am going to wear designer overalls on Sunday, with a tie. Seriously, I have tried to dress up a little more this year. I think there is something to what Winner says. I would never, ever make an issue of it, however.
Hey, what does it mean to “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness”?? What does it look like for you TODAY?
Hey Annette, thanks for nudging us toward next week's text. Maybe we can come up with some ideas about that. I think the ideas will involve "seeking FIRST the Kingdom."
I just deleted a comment. I really struggle with this, but the comment was not helpful because of the manner in which it was presented.
Let me see if I can state the person's complaint in a way that may be more helpful. The person is in his (guessing it's a male but not sure)20s and wants to be connected and feel more accepted by his peers.
To the deleted poster: I don't really see what you saw in the posts about clothes. I think everyone has simply stated opinions in a very loving, unoffensive way. Feel free to email personally about any concerns you have.
Hey tw I didn't notice your improper anything. I love it. I hate checking that stuff. I know I am of simple mind but I really don't get the whole dress thing at all. Anything that would offend God would be my concern but beyond that I just don't. We need to dress modest so as not to offend God or tempt anyone to lust. I need the bible to straighten this out. What does it say? I have been a part of churchs where this is important and I can dress with the best of everyone but I don't get the reason. I can worship God in anything I wear just the same. I have tryed to do a little better at church just not to offend anyone but I feel bogged down in nice cloths most of the time. You are talking to an old farm girl at heart. I don't want this to sound disrespectful just honest. Jamie Young
On the subject of clothing, this is my opinion. I believe there is a level of respect we need to show to God. People who go to a funeral dress up more than people who go to church in todays age. To me, the logic of this is people want to show respect to the family by looking good and presentable. By why don't people take this level of respect in clothing to heart when coming to church? Being repectable to God is much more important than showing respect to a family that lost a loved one. Now, i don't believe dress has anything to do with salvation, in fact far from it. I just believe God deserves the highest level of respect in our lives, and dress, to me, is 1 way we can show it.
God loves me and people at church love me and accept me for who I am, and I to them. It doesn't matter what you wear as far as I am concerned, however it was impressed upon me by God to dress better. That doesn't mean He impressed it on you or anyone else. Everyone is on their own walk with their relationship with God. The important thing here I think is to do what God tells you to do and don't worry about the other stuff unless you want to or you start to get uncomfortable(a sure sign God is talking to you). God knows our hearts, I think we have to let Him take care of His business in some respects.
Annette
This is for someone out there, I don't know who exactly. Sometimes we need to understand that everyone is who they are and have learned from their mistakes. Mistakes is the word here. Just because of their mistakes they might have acted terrible in the past but that doesn't mean they haven't grown into something beautiful with understanding and knowledge now. If someone, or many is looking at them with respect, don't let it bother you even though you know all their past mistakes. What they say might not have importance to you, but they can still help other people who need to hear their knowledge.
Not long ago an old friend of mine and me were talking. He was talking to someone who didn't have a relationship with God and was just sharing. They made the comment to him, something like 'wow you really know alot'. He said 'no, my life is an example of how not to live'. Meaning he had found out the hard way of learning what he knows now.
Annette
I would love to hear more stories of the winterfest trip. Some were shared at our wed nite class and they were very good.
Annette
If it were announced that Jesus was going to be at church this Sunday would that change the way you would dress? I know that we are quick to say that Jesus wouldn't mind what we wear, he would just look at are heart, but would it really change the way you would dress? My point is that I don't care what you wear but what is you intent when you dress?
Do you dress the way you dress because you want to show reverence to God, to show off a new outfit, to rebel, to be comfortable, to make other people talk about you on the blog? Only you and God know your heart. My thouhgt is that we should do our best for God in all. I think that is what putting the kigdom of God first is all about. So what ever it is you do, do it well for God, even your dress.
If Jesus were going to be there i might wear a toga. tw
I am a first time blogger and a long time reader. I agree with T-dub on the clothing issue...If Jesus came to our church I wouldn't want him to feel underdressed, so I would wear my bath robe and sandals. But seriously some of the most spiritual moments in my life have occurred on tops of mountains when I am dirty and poorly dressed.
Sowders
Since God is present everywhere every day why is Sunday such a concern? I do think that God deserves all of our respect. I also think that how I dress and present myself on a daily basis is just as important as how I dress for church. We should live our daily lives respecting God. If he has no problem with me wearing jeans to the store or around the house why would he have a problem with me wearing them on Sunday?
I don't think he does. Nor does he have a problem with the guy in the 3 piece suit (do they still make those?). I think the issue is reverence. I think reverence can show up dressed all kinds of ways. Seems to me that it does about every Sunday.
The issue of clothing in our text for this week seems related, but the issue is trust; trust which flows out of reverence, maybe?
And tw, Jesus will be there Sunday, so...
I have not been worried all week but now I am. I am worried TW is going to show up in a toga! (thanks Allen)
Hey Sow, welcome to the blog.
It has been a strange strange week for me. Not really a topic to go in here on this blog or topic.
wrt to Winterfest, if you have the opportunity to go to this at any time I would recommend it. It is not because the worship service is the best you will ever experience and maybe not because of the program. The time you spend with the young people is just beyond words. We talk about building community all the time and I feel this is a strong community building experience. I had the pleasure of driving a van with 5 fine young people that I knew thier faces and their names but not a lot about them until last weekend. Wednesday night I saw two of them in FLC and thier faces lit up when they saw me and were eager to talk with me. I think I felt the same way towards them. I can think of few things as important as building that bond with those young people for the future. Of course I had the luxury of rooming with Jerry Miller again. I love that man more all the time. What a great servant. On Weds. Cathy and Jenny were laughing about him and the trip and Jenny said; "my dad is nuts!" I said your dad is super!
Above all on Winterfest, I think that God gave us a crash course in schooling us that he has it under control and to keep focused on his plan not ours.
RR
Here is an interesting Little Article about the power of sleeping. In part it says:
Ever wondered why sleeping on a problem works? It seems that as well as strengthening our memories, sleep also helps us to extract themes and rules from the masses of information we soak up during the day.
Whatever we dwell on during the day is more deeply imbedded into our minds at night, while we sleep. This seems to highlight the importance of controling our thoughts as part of “seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Right?
Now, isn’t it interesting what Paul says about anxiety and thought control (Philippians 4:4-9)?
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
We can decide what we think about. Do you think that is the key between anxiety and peace?
And, thanks Ryan for welcoming Matthew. And, Matthew, it is good to have you out of "reading only" category. Welcome, again.
OK, I wrote a poem while watching the birds this week. The rythem and cadence may be hard to get and the punctuation and capitalization are way off but here goes for what it's worth: (This is probably way off subject)
WORD WEAVERS—GOD SEEKERS
Word weavers and God seekers
inspire my daily walk,
Influence my casual talk.
How dull life would be
without those who see
joy in the simple;
Their body a temple,
Holding the Sprit of God.
So many before me
Whose words hold the key
To a day well spent,
Pointing the way to be content.
I treasure their memory
When life’s too much for me.
I hold to their words
Spoken long ago.
Like Mary who said—
‘Always remember to say ‘I love you,
I’m sorry, I forgive.’
Mrs. Rutledge taught me
How to live.
My Daddy did believe
‘If you just try to achieve—
and never give up
on something you begin,
that success lies
in the result at the end.’
And Effie, who said—
‘You can just give everything away’
and she did
to those who needed a ride
like she (and me) to
get to the house of worship.
She gave them a way,
She was still giving that day.
For she left all she had
To that family of God
And her small amount
On this earth bought a van
To take those to church
Who didn’t have a way.
And Mother whose love
was so deep and so true
to her children
here would do—
the work it took to survive—
whistling and singing
as the bitter wind was stinging
her hands as she hung
the wash out in winter to dry.
Gathered coal and apples and berries
To keep us fed—she must have cried
She chose to labor all seasons for the simple reason—
She loved us.
And Grandma in her love for us
Told stories to us of days of old
When life was different
And we depended on one another.
She would choose silence
To let us grieve
without coaxing out of us words
too difficult to speak.
Her gentle hand spoke volumes
Without a word.
Her zeal, her creativity, her ladylikeness
Taught us how to be
Proper and act as we should
To achieve favor from others
And therefore be an influence for good.
‘Nice girls don’t do that—‘
as Mother would say and Grandma
echoed those words every day.
Grandpa, a man quieted and made gentle
By a stroke that made him forget.
But he could remember to give
Us some candy he bought
When his check would come
And to town he would walk
That six miles to see
Our smiles when he returned
Pink peppermints and hard candy
Were treats to kids
Who didn’t get many.
The pipe that he smoked,
The coffe, sugar and bread
He drank to start the day—
The walking stick he used
Gum boots were his shoes
As he walked to our house for a quart
Of cold goat’s milk
He drank down and then burped
And said ‘that was good’ and went home
To only return in two hours for more.
He forgetting that just a while ago
He had been there before—
I would go milk those goats again
If I could put once more
A quart in his hand of
The milk that he craved
And that we gladly gave
To the man we called Grandpa
Back then.
Long ago words—‘that’s good’,
‘do all that you should’,
‘give it away’,‘how to make love stay’,
‘How to love without reserve’
‘How to joyfully serve’
The loved ones we hold dear
To our hearts year after year
Unending love witnessed above
By a Savior who taught
By His life how to give, to live and to love
And wove words of content
And instruction He sent
To His loved ones here, in His word.
They live in my heart
Those words will never depart
From my mind and my being
For those words led me to see
The One who died for me
The words I will hear again
As my loved ones welcome me in
To the Home made for me He’s preparing
And through eternity I will be sharing
With the WORD WEAVERS AND GOD SEEKERS, forever, AMEN
Sherron
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't pick lemons.
Sherron, that was really good! Very sweet and sentimental. I'm not much on poetry, but I liked it.
Donna
Thanks, Sherron, for sharing that. Your emotion and passion shines through beautifully. It is a beautiful testimony to how others' lives and stories shape our own. I think that is a key part of seeking first the Kingdom: learning from others who are trying to do the same.
Dress For Jesus -
Come to ReGeneration!
Men's Suits - $5.00
Men's Sport Coats - $3.00
Ties - $0.50
Ladies Suits - $6
Ladies Dresses - $3.00
Formals - $10.00
Look better on Sundays, plus contribute to the ministry of serving others.
Matthew
If TW is wearing a toga then I'm coming home.
Donald
Now, Matthew has a good point here. Mr. MPG (Meat & Potatoes Guy), a.k.a. Lester snagged a pretty nice sport coat down there the other day. Once, and I am not making this up, there was $1,000 suit down there in really good shape, going for $6. It was too big for me, or I would have bought it (and would have worn it on a Sunday). People bring in nice stuff, even new stuff, so, again, Matthew has a good point. Also, I don’t think ReGeneration has any togas, and let’s all pray that tw does not have one or finds one.
Okay, it's the end of the week and probably nobody will even see this, but I'm going to weigh-in on this "Dress" issue, anyway.
I agree completely that church is not a fashion show, and wouldn't want anyone to stay home because they felt their clothes weren't nice enough. If all you have in the closet is ratty old jeans and t-shirts, wear that and you can come sit by me! But, if you dress nicer to go to the Outback than to go to church...? Let me explain my reasoning: Suppose my best friend's mother dies. And, I show up at the funeral dressed very casually. Ive got nicer things at home. I just didn't wear them. She would rightly surmise that I didn't take her grief very seriously. "Well, all that really matters is that I'm here!" I could say. Let's try another scenario: my best friend's mother dies, and I'm out of town. I drive like crazy to get to the funeral home, and realize I don't have time to go home to change. If I do, I'll miss being with my friend when she needs me most. So, I go as I am, and she's happy to see me. "All that really matters is that you're here." In the second instance, I had my priorities straight. Being there really was more important. In the first place, I simply couldn't be bothered. I recognize that standards change, otherwise we'd all still be wearing tophats and hoopskirts. But, it seems, as a society, that we have no interest in anything if it's not easy, convenient or FUN! Nothing should ever require any extra effort, or put us out in any way. Most of us recognize that certain occasions deserve a little extra effort. It saddens me when communing with the Creator of the universe doesn't count as one of them.
Donna
Very good Donna, I think that applies to most of us. My concern though is for the ones it doesn't apply to. Let me try to explain what I mean, it might be hard since lately the words just aren't coming well.
I am concerned for the spiritually hungry people who satan doesn't want at church and will use anything (like clothes) to try to get them not to come to church. This has happened to me personally.
I think it is a good thing to have the mix of casual to fancy. Therefore everyone is comfortable no matter where they are. If we for instance, made it a policy to dress in any fashion it would cut out certain people and they wouldn't come, it would also keep new people from coming.
Once again I say it is more important to listen to what God is telling you to do. If issues like this get in someones way of something else God is trying to work with them on then satan has won.
Annette
I think I understand what you're saying, and I respect your opinion. But, I think you're giving satan way more credit than he's due. I think our own desires and fallen natures mislead us a lot more than satan does.If anybody is spiritually hungry and genuinely searching, I don't think they're going to be put off by walking into a congregation of people who're dressed, not to the nines, but appropriately. I agree that there shouldn't be a "policy" stating what anyone should wear. That would be ridiculous and intrusive. But, I think there's something to be said for setting an example, especially for the young people.
Also, I think we need to be careful, when we worry about "running off" people who're genuinely seeking Christ, that we don't make the mistake of thinking the worship service is "for seekers." It's not. It's great when the unchurched come to church. But, the worship service is about saved believers worshipping God. If unbelievers come to church and are edified and drawn to Christ, that's wonderful. But, that's not what worship is about. Other avenues for reaching the lost exist, and should be used for that purpose. But, we make a mistake by focusing the worship service on the likes/dislikes of unbelievers.
Donna
Very, very good points. You are far ahead of me and I love it when you explain things. I learn a lot from you.
Its nice to discuss our opinions on things. It helps to gain a greater understanding of how people look at things. I love this. I probably should have stated at the end of my last post that I feel clothing doesn't mean much in the greater scheme of things. I don't think its an important issue, I think it is more of a personal issue.
Annette
I'm not ahead of you (or anyone else), Annette. But, sometimes, if I have an opinion and I don't express it, I feel like my head's gonna pop! It's not good, tho, if I get like a dog with a bone and don't know when to let go. Hope I didn't make you mad.
Donna
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