One of the greatest compliments I've ever heard (and that I can think of) was given to my wife by a friend who is not a Christian. When they first met and started hanging out she found out my wife was a Christian...she told her: "we won't be friends long." All she had experienced from Christians was judgment and condemnation so she had a right to be skeptical. After they established a friendship for a few years this friend said to my wife: "if I ever do become a Christian, it will be because of you." That's the kind of witness I hope I have for Jesus.
The story of Esther takes place within a political culture where the Jews are second-class citizens in the Persian empire (Modern day Iran/Turkey). Esther is one of those Jews who, because of her beauty, becomes the queen to King Xerxes. With the help of her cousin Mordecai, she thwarts Haman's plan to eradicate the Jews from the face of the earth. She must go before the king uninvited to reveal Haman's plan to Xerxes which meant risking her own life. Mordecai encourages her to go before the king and with some reluctance she goes with the attitude of "if I perish I perish." Through several twists and turns Haman's plan turns against him and Esther and Mordecai are able to save the Jewish people. There's a lot to love about this story...here's my top four:
1. How Esther goes from an orphaned, Jewish, second-class citizen to queen over all of the Persian empire. Who doesn't love a rags-to-riches story? What I especially like about Esther is how her character is slowly revealed throughout the story. When we are introduced to her she's beautiful and that's all we know. As the story unfolds we learn about her faith, courage and wisdom.
2. The twists, turns and character development. Here's a few:
-The way Xerxes is portrayed as just a pawn in the story even though he's king over all of Persia.
-The timing of Xerxe's dream leading to the ironic twist of Haman honoring Mordecai on behalf of the king.
-Haman builds an execution device specifically for Mordecai that ends up being his own undoing.
-The reversal of power between Haman and Mordecai
3. Even though God is silent, he's still at work throughout the story. From Esther being chosen among hundreds of women, to Xerxe's dream at just the right time to Haman's plot to destroy the Jews and how it ends up bringing favor upon Esther and Mordecai, God is orchestrating events without ever being named. When I preached this before, it led to this main idea: Our feelings do not determine God's presence
4. When Mordecai challenges Esther not to be silent within a political climate where silence would be the safe option. Within our modern political culture there's so much tension. For the sermon yesterday I asked: how should Christians respond? It led to this main idea: You don't have to compromise your convictions to show compassion. Too often Christians are the initiators and "continuators" (new made-up word) of division and conflict regarding political and social issues. It saddens me that we aren't known for what Jesus said we should be known for: our compassion and love. As a Christian we should have convictions that we are willing to stand up for, however, our convictions should never come at the expense of our compassion. There's a way to love people even when you disagree with them. you do'nt have to be a prick to have convictions and you don't have to be a pushover to have compassion.
Sermon Recap Abram left everything to follow God's call on his life. The calling involved a promise that God would bless him and that he would be a blessing to others. Abram didn't make excuses. He didn't ask for time to process what God told him. He didn't need to do any "self-reflection." He didn't say "the children are still little but when they are older and out of the house then i'll go." He didn't say "I'm too old why didn't you ask me to do this when I was younger." In Genesis 12:4 we read "So Abram went, as the Lord had told him..." He was called and obeyed without excuses, without directions, without gps, without a map, without any indication of where he would end up. Abram's calling is our calling. Every single person who has embraced Jesus as Lord and Savior are promised that God will bless us and that we are to be a blessing to others. Paul says it this way in Galatians 3:29 "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." This general calling to be a blessing to others applies to all Christians. However, if you want to find God's specific calling in your life it can be helpful to look at three ways Jesus calls us and then pray for God to show you what that looks like for you. Among many others, three ways Jesus calls His followers are: 1. Love God, Love others (Matthew
22:37-40) 2. Invite people into a growing relationship with Jesus(Matthew 28:18-20) 3. Serve others(Matthew 23:11-12) If you pray for God to reveal to you who needs to be loved within your sphere of influence, God will show you. If you pray for God to reveal to you who needs to be invited into his kingdom, into a reltiaonship with him, God will show you. If you pray for God to reveal to you who in your life you should focus on serving, God will show you. Because God loves to reveal His purpose and His ways and His will to His people. You can see the sermon for yourself here: http://www.cccasheville.org/messages
I’m skeptical when I see the “new and improved” moniker on a
product.
It’s usually a marketing ploy and the product itself has not changed or
the change is so insignificant that it really isn’t “new” or “improved.”
With that said, I am at a place as
the Pastor of Covenant Community Church where I have been feeling like it's time to start blogging
again.The blog itself has a different
look and this author has changed a little bit over the years…and while I hope it
truly is “new and improved,” I’m okay with it being “different and purposeful.”
The plan for content is to share a
summary of the message from Sunday once a week and random other things a couple
of times a week.With some “new” and
exciting things on the horizon at Covenant, it feels like the right time to
step up and make blogging a part of my weekly routine again.
One of those "new" things happened this past Sunday. We launched our first Starting Point experience after the morning worship services. We introduced people who have recently been attending Covenant to who we are and what we want to be about. The experience will continue starting this Wednesday evening and I'm so excited about what it means for Covenant!
Before my last sermon as the pastor of Catawba UMC I showed this clip to lighten the mood. I think it helped. I will never forget my time as the pastor of this amazing group of people. A few memories:
- My first Sunday I shook hands with James Lowrance and said "Hi, I'm Rich" he said "I'm poor." Turns out he thought I was a member of the youth group.
- Mikayla and Bayley's first time hearing an organ...they were so surprised by the sound.
- Holding the hands of Mikayla and Bayley as they danced to some of the faster songs...Mikayla stopped doing this within the first year...I think it took Bayley about two years.
- Forgetting the water for Hayden's Baptism...thank you to the Brackett's for laughing with me about it instead of being mad!
- The Santa Clause situation (I know it wasn't a fun time in the life of the church, but it was an important time that I will always remember). I know I could've handled it with a lot more maturity and often wish I could go back and do it over. I would still make the same decision but I would have handled it with wisdom and carefulness.
- The CCC trips. These mission trips were tremendous times of growth in my own faith and I'm thankful for the church supporting such an amazing ministry.
- The hiking, sunshine club, youth and superstars trips. Such great times of fun and fellowship.
- Ronnie taking me skeet shooting and target shooting. I think I used about 10 different guns. So fun and I want to do it again!
- The phone calls to Phillip about something wrong with the parsonage or one of our cars and his willingness to always help.
- The overall grace, generosity and love that me and my family received by the people of this church...thank you doesn't quite do our gratitude justice.
Since I hate goodbyes...I will just say "until next time."
I don't want to be too harsh...because I think his heart is in the right place and I'm sure I've made similar mistakes in my messages...but for him to post this in writing without knowing the chronology of the OT and without taking the time to research it is pretty ridiculous for someone as well known and respected as Joel Osteen:
This song has become so meaningful to me with the new adventure ahead with Covenant Community Church. This transition has created mixed emotions of joy, worry, excitement, fear, anticipation, nervousness, hope and a great sense of appreciation. I have also found a new reliance on God for guidance and wisdom. I definitely feel this is a calling "upon the waters" where at times I will be in over my head...I also know that God will not fail me!
And this is by far the best version of the song...enjoy:
