We Believe In Jesus

This week, we continue our focus in worship on the Apostles' Creed by considering the second statement: "I believe in Jesus Christ..." John 1:1-14 can certainly be read alongside this statement, and it will be on Sunday as we worship God together (but really, you could read it now if you wanted, of course).

On the website for the United Methodist Church, under the "What We Believe" section, it is explained what we mean we say "We believe in Jesus..." I have found this to be a helpful way to think about it, because saying this can be really confusing. Jesus was and is so awesome and so complex, that I find that I need all the help I can get when trying to share about what this means. I mean, for crying out loud, how in the world can someone be fully divine AND fully human. Doesn't that make Jesus 200%? Not quite...

Here is what our website says about what it means to say "We believe in Jesus..."*

Jesus is...

Son of God
We believe in Jesus as God's special child. We call this the Incarnation, meaning that God was in the world in the actual person of Jesus of Nazareth. The Gospel writers explain this in different ways. In Mark, Jesus seems to be adopted as God's Son at his baptism. In Matthew and Luke, Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit. In John, Jesus is God's pre-existing Word who "became flesh and lived among us" (1:14). However this mystery occurred, we affirm that God is wholly present in Jesus Christ.

Son of man
Paradoxically, we also believe that Jesus was fully human. One of the church's first heresies claimed that Jesus only seemed to be human, that he was really a divine figure in disguise. But the early church rejected this. It affirmed that Jesus was a person in every sense that we are. He was tempted. He grew weary. He wept. He expressed his anger. In fact, Jesus is God's picture of what it means to be a mature human being.

Christ
We say "Jesus Christ" easily, almost as if "Christ" were Jesus' surname. Yet this name is another way of expressing who we believe Jesus to be. Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, which means God's Anointed One. For years before Jesus' time the Jews had been expecting a new king, a descendant of the revered King David, who would restore the nation of Israel to glory. Like kings of old, this one would be anointed on the head with oil, signifying God's election; hence, the Chosen One = the Anointed One = the Messiah = the Christ. The early Jewish Christians proclaimed that Jesus was, indeed, this Chosen One. Thus, in calling him our Christ today, we affirm that he was and is the fulfillment of the ancient hope and God's Chosen One to bring salvation to all peoples, for all time.

Lord
We also proclaim Jesus as our Lord, the one to whom we give our devoted allegiance. The word Lord had a more powerful meaning for people of medieval times, because they actually lived under the authority of lords and monarchs. Today some of us may find it difficult to acknowledge Jesus as Lord of our lives. We're used to being independent and self-sufficient. We have not bowed down to authority. To claim Jesus as Lord is to freely submit our will to his, to humbly profess that it is he who is in charge of this world.

Savior
Perhaps best of all, we believe in Jesus as Savior, as the one through whom God has freed us of our sin and has given us the gift of whole life, eternal life, and salvation. We speak of this gift as the atonement, our "at-oneness" or reconciliation with God. We believe that in ways we cannot fully explain, God has done this through the mystery of Jesus' self-giving sacrifice on the cross and his victory over sin and death in the Resurrection.

As you consider who Jesus is, I hope that this helps. Still, words may fall short...if you have a relationship with Jesus, you have known Jesus to be a part of your life, even though you might not be able to put it into words (Jesus' nature is a mystery, after all). Trust your heart, your experience, and your relationship with Jesus, as you ponder what it means to believe in him.

**Prayer:

O Word of God incarnate,
O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging,
O Light of our dark sky:
we praise you for the radiance
that from the hallowed page,
a lantern to our footsteps,
shines on from age to age.

* http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/our-christian-roots-jesus

**"O Word of God Incarnate," United Methodist Hymnal, 598.

We Believe in God

Continuing with the theme of "What we Say and Do," for the next 6 weeks we will take a closer look at the Apostles' Creed. Some of you remember growing up and memorizing this creed, others not so much (me...). My first time really spending any significant time with it was in seminary in my History of Christian Thought course. Whatever the case may be, it is worth taking a more in-depth look at. In these words, we declare our faith and trust in God:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic (universal) church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

When we are saying this together, whether in our local contexts, or broadly as the body of Christ, this becomes a "we believe..." statement. And we join Christians across the globe who claim this creed to be a fundamental statement of faith and history.

The next 6 weeks, the messages will be organized the following way in this "We Believe" series:

In God

In Jesus

In the Holy Spirit

In the Church---The Communion of Saints

In the Forgiveness of Sins

In the Resurrection and Life Everlasting

The Apostles’ Creed is a framework for Christian belief. The creed is not a checklist of things that one has to agree with in order to be a Christian. Rather, it is the place where we begin our conversation about what we believe God has done in Jesus Christ and explore what that means for the church and us as disciples in our own day and time.

As we begin this time together, I want to invite you to think and pray about (maybe even journal, if that is something you do) who God is to you. This week, we will use Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 85, and

1 John 4:7-13 to guide us as we think about "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth." I invite you to consider these texts this week and ponder the question "who is God to you?"

I think of God sometimes as a Father or Mother, provider, sustainer, forgiver, redeemer, a shoulder to cry on and the One who is always with me...Who is God to you?

I hope to see you Sunday!

Prayer*:

Holy God,
you have given us grace,
  by the confession of faith of your holy church
  to acknowledge the mystery of the eternal Trinity
  and, in the power of your divine majesty, to worship the Unity
Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship,
  and bring us at last to see in your eternal glory
    One God, now and forever. Amen

*United Methodist Hymnal, 76.

In Christ,

Jack

The Lord's Prayer: The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory

                                                     


For the last 5 weeks, we have studied, learned from, and have been transformed by taking a deep look into the Lord's Prayer. We have pondered what these words mean, and what they can mean, for our lives and the world around us. This week, we conclude with the final piece of the prayer: "For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen."

These words serve as the "doxology" of the prayer, meaning it is a way to wrap it up as a liturgical piece in a place of worship. It is not original, meaning, Jesus did not actually teach the original audience to say these words. Rather, it is used for the purpose of corporate worship, and also personal prayer/devotion. The first known use of the doxology, in a less lengthy form ("for yours is the power and the glory forever"), as a conclusion for the Lord's Prayer is in the Didache, which is a brief early Christian text (1st century) that includes Christian ethics, rituals such as baptism and Eucharist, and Church organization.

A doxology can be any expression of praise to God. “Doxa” in Greek is “honor” or “glory.” “Logy” is from “logos” meaning “word.” So a doxology is a word of honor or glory.The doxology is a way of saying "I really meant what I just prayed." It is an extended "Amen." And it also brings the prayer full circle: it begins with "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name" and ends with this similar tone of honor and glory given to God.

This Sunday, we will be singing this hymn:

"God of Love and God of Power"

United Methodist Hymnal #578

God of love and God of power,
grant us in this burning hour
grace to ask these gifts of thee,
daring hearts and spirits free.

Refrain:
God of love and God of power,
thou hast called us for this hour.

We are not the first to be
banished by our fears from thee;
give us courage, let us hear
heaven's trumpets ringing clear.
(Refrain)

All our lives belong to thee,
thou our final loyalty;
slaves are we whene'er we share
that devotion anywhere.
(Refrain)

God of love and God of power,
make us worthy of this hour;
offering lives if it's thy will,
keeping free our spirits still.
(Refrain)

This hymn will be sung at the beginning of worship. It is a prayer in and of itself. There are many similarities to the Lord's prayer in this hymn as well--can you find them? Ultimately, this hymn gives God glory and honor, and asks God for healing and guidance in our lives. I look forward to singing it with you.

Prayer:*

Teach us, good Lord
to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not count the cost;
to fight and not heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labor and not to ask for any reward,
except that of knowing that we do your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

*Prayer of Ignatius of Loyola, United Methodist Hymnal, 570

In Christ,

Jack

Lord's Prayer: Save Us

One of my favorite movies is "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" And one of my favorite scenes is when Delmar is baptized. This is a movie "about three stumble-bum convicts who escape to go on a quest for treasure and who meet various characters while learning where their real fortune lies in the 1930s Deep South." One of the "real fortunes" is salvation through baptism for Delmar.

Here is a bit of the dialogue around the event (excuse the language):

Everett: Where the hell's he goin'?
[Delmar runs out to be baptized]
Pete: Well I'll be a sonofabitch. Delmar's been saved.
Delmar: Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transmissions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward.
Everett: Delmar, what are you talking about? We've got bigger fish to fry.
Delmar: The preacher says all my sins is warshed away, including that Piggly Wiggly I knocked over in Yazoo.
Everett: I thought you said you was innocent of those charges?
Delmar: Well I was lyin'. And the preacher says that that sin's been warshed away too. Neither God nor man's got nothin' on me now. C'mon in boys, the water is fine.



Delmar fully acknowledged that God saved ("warshed him clean") him from his sins. This is what we are asking God to do for us when we pray this portion of the Lord's Prayer. We are telling God "I am sinner, can you help me be clean?"

We pray for God to save us, because only God can. We turn to many things besides God to "save us" from our sins...whether it is entertainment, competition, even our own religious practices and spirituality. There's nothing wrong with these things, of course, but this prayer asks us to do something else: to turn to God for forgiveness and for salvation.


Prayer*:

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River
Jordan did proclaim him the beloved Son and anoint him
with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his
Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly
confess him as Lord and Savior; who with thee and the same
Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.
Amen.


*Book of Common Prayer, Collects, Traditional 162

In Christ,

Jack Ladd

The Lord's Prayer: Forgive Us as We Forgive

Forgiveness...

This is one of the greatest things God ever does for us. How beautiful forgiveness is from God...though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool (Isaiah 1: 18, NRSV). Forgiveness is life-giving, liberating, and graceful. And the thing about grace, is that it has nothing to do about us (except that we receive it), and everything about whoever is giving it (earning forgiveness is a myth)

Forgiveness is defined as:

To excuse for a fault or an offense; pardon.
To renounce anger or resentment against.
To absolve from payment of (a debt, for example).

More strictly, to forgive “is to grant pardon without harboring resentment.”

Why Forgive? Because forgiveness transforms! People consistently become more loving, friendly and compassionate after deep forgiveness. Emotional pain is released. Depression departs. And, healing can even occur in the body. Joy returns. Laughter is found again.


Why forgiveness transforms the mind’s functioning is open to speculation, yet we do have the easily observable fact that it does. We can observe that when the bitterness, grudges, and resentments of the past are let go of, life energy becomes much more available to that person. How much life energy depends on how much energy has been put into holding resentments and bitterness?

People who say they have done complete forgiveness of all the people and situations in their life, live a life with much joy in it. They get sick much less often and people are more friendly to them than before their forgiveness transformation. Some say they don’t get sick anymore as long as they hold no upsets with people. This, though, is not an easy state of mind to attain. But, the pay off is great.

Some have deeply religious experiences after their forgiveness and reconciliation experience and say they have a deeper understanding of life and love. Their relationships with people, in general, get better, and their friendships deepen. They are less stressed and angered by daily personal and world events. They find it easier to get over upsets. Forgiveness has tremendous potential, but it must be used.


We have some major myths and lies about forgiveness, which may get in the way of actually doing it, which is another big problem I think we have. When we forgive, we are un-burdening ourselves, we are lifting a weight off of our shoulders. Holding on to grudges is not healthy for us, and it is letting something someone else did to you control your life. Here are some myths about forgiveness:

Forgiveness is not the condoning of a bad behavior or the justifying of an offense.

It is not dependent on apology, or whether the person will ever be talked to again.

Forgiveness does not imply turning the other cheek to allow the offense to occur again.

It does not demand reconciliation. Reconciliation, which is the coming together again of two upset parties, is not necessarily the outcome of forgiving. A person can forgive and choose to never see the person again to protect themselves from abusive behavior. However, for effective reconciliation to occur, forgiveness of the offense or offenses must have occurred.

It is not dependent on the person being alive or ever seeing them again.

Forgiving is not losing. Losing is having to deal with the stress of anger and hate in your body that ruins relationships, and can even cause physical problems. What kind of winning is that?

Forgiving is not the easy way out. It takes more courage, authenticity and integrity to let go of a justified upset and find peace. It takes courage to go through the wall of anger and resentment to the other side, the side of our highest possibility as a being.

The offenders apology is not necessary. In fact, they might not ever apologize because they have a different perspective of what happened.

Whether the person deserves forgiveness is not the question, they might not. Though forgiveness can be an act of compassion for another, it can also be mainly for the forgiver so that they are no longer burdened by hate and anger.

Even though they keep doing the offense, forgiveness can still occur, because forgiveness wipes away the effect of the past even if it was only 15 minutes before.

Out of sight out of mind or forgetting about it might not always be forgiveness but can be denial of the effect of the offending act. Forgiveness acknowledges what was done and chooses to let it go, but not through avoiding its impact on us. Avoiding just keeps the negative effects occurring below the surface of the mind.

These myths and misunderstandings about forgiving keep it from being done.

Jesus encourages us, by gifting us the words of the Lord's prayer, to pray for forgiveness as we forgive.  As we forgive others, we are set free. I believe that being forgiven prompts us to forgive others. Sometimes we are unable to forgive someone for what they have done, because we have done something similar, and we can't forgive ourselves for it! Jesus tells us that we are forgiven, so that we can forgive others. If God can forgive us, we can forgive others. Think of the possibilities forgiveness allows! Initially, forgiveness allows us to be set free from anger, hate, and resentment, which could lead to less stress and better personal health---healing. It may also help us to forgive ourselves for what we have done. At best, forgiveness can help to restore relationships through the process of reconciliation (although we have learned this is not always the case).

Forgive us, Lord, as we forgive.

Prayer*:

'Forgive our sins as we forgive,'
you taught us, Lord, to pray,
but you alone can grant us grace
to live the words we say.
How can your pardon reach and bless
the unforgiving heart,
that broods on wrongs and will not let
old bitterness depart?
In blazing light your cross reveals
the truth we dimly knew:
what trivial debts are owed to us,
how great our debt to you!
Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls,
and bid resentment cease;
then, bound to all in bonds of love,
our lives will spread your peace.

Amen.

In Christ,

Jack

*Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive, United Methodist Hymnal, 390.

I learned the majority of what I expressed on this post from Jim Dincalci of The Forgiveness Foundation. Their website is http://forgivenessfoundation.org/ and his book is "How To Forgive When You Can’t"

Give Us Today Our Daily Bread

As you can imagine, my heart is still aching, confused, hurt, and in mourning for the murders in Orlando at the LGBTQ+ night club, Pulse. You can imagine why I feel these ways; this was a massacre of folks, looking for more than a good time, but for a sense of community, belonging, a place where they feel free to be who God made them to be. It is sad that such a thing happened.

But I also mourn the fact that I don't know where to go from here. I know that God is a healer, a comforter, and provider of the things that I may not even know that I need. I trust God. But I also know that this trust does not make healing automatic. I am at a loss for words.

BUT:

the Holy Spirit “helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.”  (Romans 8:26 NRSV)

AND:

Perhaps the writer of the 77th Psalm might have been feeling the same way:

I cry out loud to God—
    out loud to God so that he can hear me!
During the day when I’m in trouble I look for my Lord.
    At night my hands are still outstretched and don’t grow numb;
        my whole being refuses to be comforted.
I remember God and I moan.
    I complain, and my spirit grows tired.  (Psalm 77:1-3)

“My faith says that one day all will be equal.”

That’s hope with a thick skin. It’s hope that is grounded in the assurance that one day God’s kingdom will indeed come and God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Hope is our bread of life. When words fall short, hope covers us. We get something better than understanding, but a peace that passes understanding. We hope in these promises of God, and we stand on them, as the hymn urges us to sing:

*Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

We hope in the promise that God gives us an alternative from worry (Luke 12: 22-32, the Scripture I will focus on in my sermon this week), that God promises us that words are not everything, that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. Thanks be to God.

**Prayer:

Thank you, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, for all of the things you have given us; for all the pains and insults which you have sat with us through. Most merciful friend and sibling, may we know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, both to our strength and your great glory. Amen. 

In Christ,

Jack

*United Methodist Hymnal, 374.
** United Methodist Hymnal, 493, adapted

Quotes and resources from this post were originally found in Jim Harnish's entry titled "When Words Won’t Work" on jimharnish.org

Our Father

                                                


This Sunday, we begin a 6 week journey in which we will focus on the Lord's Prayer as the center of our worship time. The preaching series will be broken up into different portions of the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples from Matthew 6:

Our Father in heaven,
    hallowed be your name.
    Your kingdom come.
    Your will be done,
        on earth as it is in heaven.
     Give us this day our daily bread.
     And forgive us our debts,
        as we also have forgiven our debtors.
     And do not bring us to the time of trial,
        but rescue us from the evil one.

For thine is the kingdom, 

        and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

This, for all its different renditions and translations, unites all Christians.

Some of the differences include:

The phrase " And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" to "and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."

The phrase "And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one" to "and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

However you pray this prayer, there is a completeness, a wholeness, to it. We address our God appropriately, pray for God's ways to be accomplished here on earth in our lives, for God to provide for us, forgive us, equip us to forgive others, and to save us for eternal life with God. All this is prayed because we believe that God can do these things, that God is powerful and loving enough to listen to us and accomplish these things.

The sermon series will be broken down like this:

1. Our Father 

2. Thy Kingdom Come 

3. Give us This Day Our Daily Bread 

4. Forgive us Our Trespasses (Debts)

5. Lead us Not Into Temptation    

6. For Thine Is 

  

My hope is that you will find these reflections and sermons as helpful in guiding you to a place where you would pray this prayer with intention. Christians are very good at doing and saying the same things over and over and forgetting the meaning behind these words and ways. The Lord's Prayer is not meant to be spoken and forgotten, but prayed and lived out with God in our daily lives. My hope and prayer is that you will find that this is one of the most radical and earth-shattering prayers you could you ever pray. When we pursue with God what we pray for in this Lord's Prayer, we are asking God to break through in this world with us. Nothing is more powerful than that. 

So, this first week we will look at the first phrase "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." 

The word "hallowed" means to honor as holy; to revere or respect. In this first phrase of the prayer, we are honoring, revering, and respecting God as our God, our Father. This is similar to calling your parents "ma'am" or "sir." You are saying to yourself and to God that you recognize who God is, one to be glorified. This sets the "tone" of the entire prayer!  

My challenge to you, and to myself, is to say the Lord's Prayer daily. Say each line slowly, and think about what you are praying. Let your prayer life flow in and through this prayer. This is the way Jesus taught his disciples to pray, perhaps we should take his advice!

Prayer:*

My prayer rises to heaven, to the mystery of God's power, 

as the smoke ascends when the precious incense urns.

Have mercy on us, Lord, and grant us your grace. 

My voice glorifies the Lord God of majesty, 

as the night bird sings the dawning of the day.

This is my offering to God, the Lord of all

*My Prayer Rises to Heaven (Refrain), United Methodist Hymnal, 498.

In Christ, 

Jack