Monday, September 19, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
6:20pm Worship ... What did you think
Okay ... there were about 150 of you there Sunday when we started the new 6:20pm worship service. Give us your thoughts! What did you like or NOT like? What should we do differently? Help us shape this service! Repsond anonymously at our formspring page! Just click on the respond button below!
Answer Questions
Answer Questions
Monday, September 12, 2011
A Three Minute Homily Turned Eight
Last night we began a new worship service here at St. John's! The service is being prayerfully designed with our youth in mind but anyone is welcomed to attend! Last night there were about 150 present and it was a blast (with a few minor technical errors)! I was supposed to do the homily for no more than 3-5 minutes but ... suprise, suprise wordy little me ... it turned into 8 minutes. Sorry guys!! Below is a transcript of my message. The Scripture was the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
So if you were in Sunday school today, you’ve heard lots about forgiveness already today. And, if you were at worship earlier, you probably heard and saw Father Paul with his calculator necklace and heard him pose the question – do you have a calculator in your heart and do you add up and keep all the times other people hurt you. I think the necklace could become a trend … what do you think? And it’s 9/11 so it’s kind of a topic that is on everyone’s mind. But tonight, I want to talk to you one more time about forgiveness, real quickly.
You can probably think Scripture and all the times we’ve heard that Jesus talk about forgiveness.
*We hear about it in the Lord’s prayer (the way Jesus says we should
pray) … forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those …
*And what about all the healing stories from the Bible. Jesus usually
says something like your sins are __________________ (FORGIVEN), get
up and walk or you are healed or whatever.
*And what about that all famous statement from the cross: “Father
forgive them, they know not what they do.”
And, I love the acting out of this piece of Scripture that some of our youth just did parable on the unforgiving or unmerciful servant.
But this parable of the unforgiving servant wasn’t like a one time deal or story. Jesus didn’t just talk about forgiveness once or say 7 times but more like ... oh I don’t know … a total guess here a bazillion and 77 times. Forgiveness is so important that here’s what I think … for us Christians, forgiveness, it should be the real “F” word because it seriously is the cornerstone of the Christian life.
Forgiveness was fundamentally important to Jesus. Fundamentally? That just a really big way of saying really, really, really important. If you look earlier in Matthew (which is where this story comes from) we get the whole forgive and be forgiven concept from Jesus. IN other words - the only way God forgives us is if we forgive others.
And then in Matthew just before this parable, Jesus even lays out this really cool plan for dealing with conflict within the body of Christ. Basically he says if someone upsets you then you need to go and talk to that person alone. If that doesn’t work then take two others with you and try again. If that doesn’t work take that person before the whole church and work it out.
So, in case you don’t get it yet … this forgiveness thing … it’s a REALLY BIG deal.
So then here is my question, if it is so important then why is this forgiveness thing so tough to do?
You see, this is what Jesus did! He took every day worldly concepts – things you and I deal with – and he flipped them upside down. People in Jesus day (and even in our world today sometimes) were used to an eye for an eye type of concept. And here Jesus is saying just forgive … no strings attached.
I don’t know about you … but when somebody hurts me, I really like to hold a grudge. I don’t like it when someone has taken advantage of me, or trashed my name. But way too often, I act like the unforgiving servant and try to make them pay!
But here is a little secret about forgiveness that I had to learn the hard way. When we harbor un-forgiveness it is just like we’re saying, “Okay, person that hurt me you control my life. I’m the puppet. You’ve got the strings. You hurt me. You ruined my life. You keep me from all this potential.”
It can completely control you and it will manifest itself in really yucky ways like anger or depression.
Part two of that is when we feel like there is no way we can let go, we have to trust God to give us the strength to do it. It’s just that simple.
I know what some of you are thinking! Jillianne, “You don’t realize what’s happened to me. You don’t realize what my friend did. You don’t know what my mother did or my father. You don’t realize what that coach said to me. For me to forgive them would be to minimize what they did to me. I’m not going to let them off that easy. I’m going to make them pay. I’m going to make them suffer.”
You’re right; I don’t know what you’ve gone through. But, what I do know is that forgiving someone doesn’t mean you are minimizing their behavior. We’re freeing ourselves up. We’re giving ourselves a gift that money can’t buy.
Because … think about the word “forgiveness.” It has the word “give” in it. When we forgive, we give ourselves the ultimate gift. Also, we’re giving the other person who messed with us a gift. We’re giving them room to change. It’s not up to us whether they accept that gift, we just have to lay it down and walk away.
Father Paul was right. He said this morning that Christianity isn’t for sissy’s. He’s right! But there are so many amazing payoffs for persevering and being open to what God is calling us to do … even if it means doing the thing we think we can’t do and forgiving someone who has hurt us deeply.
Amen?!
So if you were in Sunday school today, you’ve heard lots about forgiveness already today. And, if you were at worship earlier, you probably heard and saw Father Paul with his calculator necklace and heard him pose the question – do you have a calculator in your heart and do you add up and keep all the times other people hurt you. I think the necklace could become a trend … what do you think? And it’s 9/11 so it’s kind of a topic that is on everyone’s mind. But tonight, I want to talk to you one more time about forgiveness, real quickly.
You can probably think Scripture and all the times we’ve heard that Jesus talk about forgiveness.
*We hear about it in the Lord’s prayer (the way Jesus says we should
pray) … forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those …
*And what about all the healing stories from the Bible. Jesus usually
says something like your sins are __________________ (FORGIVEN), get
up and walk or you are healed or whatever.
*And what about that all famous statement from the cross: “Father
forgive them, they know not what they do.”
And, I love the acting out of this piece of Scripture that some of our youth just did parable on the unforgiving or unmerciful servant.
But this parable of the unforgiving servant wasn’t like a one time deal or story. Jesus didn’t just talk about forgiveness once or say 7 times but more like ... oh I don’t know … a total guess here a bazillion and 77 times. Forgiveness is so important that here’s what I think … for us Christians, forgiveness, it should be the real “F” word because it seriously is the cornerstone of the Christian life.
Forgiveness was fundamentally important to Jesus. Fundamentally? That just a really big way of saying really, really, really important. If you look earlier in Matthew (which is where this story comes from) we get the whole forgive and be forgiven concept from Jesus. IN other words - the only way God forgives us is if we forgive others.
And then in Matthew just before this parable, Jesus even lays out this really cool plan for dealing with conflict within the body of Christ. Basically he says if someone upsets you then you need to go and talk to that person alone. If that doesn’t work then take two others with you and try again. If that doesn’t work take that person before the whole church and work it out.
So, in case you don’t get it yet … this forgiveness thing … it’s a REALLY BIG deal.
So then here is my question, if it is so important then why is this forgiveness thing so tough to do?
You see, this is what Jesus did! He took every day worldly concepts – things you and I deal with – and he flipped them upside down. People in Jesus day (and even in our world today sometimes) were used to an eye for an eye type of concept. And here Jesus is saying just forgive … no strings attached.
I don’t know about you … but when somebody hurts me, I really like to hold a grudge. I don’t like it when someone has taken advantage of me, or trashed my name. But way too often, I act like the unforgiving servant and try to make them pay!
But here is a little secret about forgiveness that I had to learn the hard way. When we harbor un-forgiveness it is just like we’re saying, “Okay, person that hurt me you control my life. I’m the puppet. You’ve got the strings. You hurt me. You ruined my life. You keep me from all this potential.”
It can completely control you and it will manifest itself in really yucky ways like anger or depression.
Part two of that is when we feel like there is no way we can let go, we have to trust God to give us the strength to do it. It’s just that simple.
I know what some of you are thinking! Jillianne, “You don’t realize what’s happened to me. You don’t realize what my friend did. You don’t know what my mother did or my father. You don’t realize what that coach said to me. For me to forgive them would be to minimize what they did to me. I’m not going to let them off that easy. I’m going to make them pay. I’m going to make them suffer.”
You’re right; I don’t know what you’ve gone through. But, what I do know is that forgiving someone doesn’t mean you are minimizing their behavior. We’re freeing ourselves up. We’re giving ourselves a gift that money can’t buy.
Because … think about the word “forgiveness.” It has the word “give” in it. When we forgive, we give ourselves the ultimate gift. Also, we’re giving the other person who messed with us a gift. We’re giving them room to change. It’s not up to us whether they accept that gift, we just have to lay it down and walk away.
Father Paul was right. He said this morning that Christianity isn’t for sissy’s. He’s right! But there are so many amazing payoffs for persevering and being open to what God is calling us to do … even if it means doing the thing we think we can’t do and forgiving someone who has hurt us deeply.
Amen?!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Texting Prayer Requests!
This Sunday, we will begin a new worship service at St. John's at 6:20pm! This service has been designed with youth in mind! For example, we have found a way to text in prayer requests and those requests will be shown on the screen during the worship service.
So, attendees can text prior to the service and will also have the opportunity to text in prayer requests!
At any time (now or during worship), all you have to do is text @wif75137 and your prayer request to the number 87884.
Check it out live below!
So, attendees can text prior to the service and will also have the opportunity to text in prayer requests!
At any time (now or during worship), all you have to do is text @wif75137 and your prayer request to the number 87884.
Check it out live below!
Nine Eleven
Okay, I’m jumping on the 9/11 bandwagon. I don’t know how you could have missed it … but just in case, this Sunday marks the 10 year anniversary. There are many memorials planned including at the site of ground zero, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. Here at St. John’s there will even be a 24 hour prayer vigil where members have been signing up to take turns coming to the chapel to pray from 7:00pm Saturday through 7:30am worship on Sunday.
And sad, but true, there’s lots of “drama” or “issues” to go along with these memorials. For example, despite the fact that it is directed by Scripture, people could be caught off guard by the fact that we are being asked to pray for our enemies during this time of remembrance. And then there is the whole Mayor Bloomberg vs. Pastor Rick Warren scenario as Mayor Bloomberg has decided to omit prayer during the 9/11 commemoration at ground zero. Warren has decided to hold a prayer service at Saddleback’s sister church in Manhattan (two blocks from ground zero). You can read an article with the details by clicking here.
But I’m jumping on the bandwagon in writing about the 10th anniversary of 9/11 because I just had to put things in perspective for myself. It’s been on my mind for a while now because last month as I wrote this Sunday’s Sunday school lesson on Matthew 18 (The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant), I had to consider the youth for whom I was writing it.
The reality of the situation is that our current 12th grade class was born around 1993-1994 (when I was a junior in high school). This made them 7 or 8 years old at the time of September 11th. The current 6th grade class was born around 1999 or 2000 (when I was graduating college), making them just 1 or 2 years old at the time of the attacks. So MOST of the memories those involved in youth ministry have are of the post-nine eleven world. And, this week, all you have to do is turn on the TV to hear about all of the changes – airports, security, war, church, life in general!
Then, this morning it hit me. I literally can’t watch the news reports and interviews about 9/11/01 without crying. It has been 24 years since my father was killed by a drunk driver and about ten years after his death, I was able to talk about him / look at photos mostly without crying. But, it’s been ten years and just this morning, I was crying a belly-wrenching cry from an interview on the families of 9/11 and where they are today. Over 3,000 children lost a parent that day … that is the statement from the Today Show that brought forth my tears this morning.
I can remember EXACTLY where I was and what I was doing on that Tuesday morning, ten years ago. I can remember watching the Today Show and seeing the black smoke billowing from the first tower. As most people did, I had several connections to the events of 9/11/01. I was a volunteer firefighter during the time of 9/11 and the “brotherhood” that exists made me ache for my fellow firefighters on the scene in NY; it was a pride thing, I guess you could say. Also, my uncle worked at the Pentagon and I can remember the anticipation of waiting to hear if he was okay. So for me, 9/11 was very personal and has since shaped the way I think and do (or don’t do – i.e. firefighting) many things.
But not the students with whom we work and serve. They don’t have those memories. They are simply living under the shadows (so to speak) of this and other horrific events every day. They’ve heard the stories and scene the pictures and uncensored Youtube videos of 9/11. It is not so easy to “protect” and “shield” our children from violence, war, crime, rumors, and events like 9/11. The influence of media is ridiculous (but the norm) and social media / texting makes IMMEDIATE conversation and communicating information possible ... just think about when the earthquake struck a few weeks ago … almost every Facebook status update and tweet was about it for several hours!
So, I don’t know how we adapt and adjust to these facts in the best way, but as youth ministers and youth workers … we must. For example, for youth that don’t have a frame of reference of why bad things happen to good people (i.e. death of a loved one, sickness, etc.), I think 9/11 can be a good point of reference. And, certainly, proposing the question of where was God on 9/11 could spark a good discussion amongst youth and their leaders (or parents).
Regardless, we must remember, this is THEIR world and is ALL today’s youth have ever known. Honoring that and using things like media and instant communication to our advantage is a must. And, thankfully, that can be a creative challenge that looks differently from context to context.
And sad, but true, there’s lots of “drama” or “issues” to go along with these memorials. For example, despite the fact that it is directed by Scripture, people could be caught off guard by the fact that we are being asked to pray for our enemies during this time of remembrance. And then there is the whole Mayor Bloomberg vs. Pastor Rick Warren scenario as Mayor Bloomberg has decided to omit prayer during the 9/11 commemoration at ground zero. Warren has decided to hold a prayer service at Saddleback’s sister church in Manhattan (two blocks from ground zero). You can read an article with the details by clicking here.
But I’m jumping on the bandwagon in writing about the 10th anniversary of 9/11 because I just had to put things in perspective for myself. It’s been on my mind for a while now because last month as I wrote this Sunday’s Sunday school lesson on Matthew 18 (The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant), I had to consider the youth for whom I was writing it.
The reality of the situation is that our current 12th grade class was born around 1993-1994 (when I was a junior in high school). This made them 7 or 8 years old at the time of September 11th. The current 6th grade class was born around 1999 or 2000 (when I was graduating college), making them just 1 or 2 years old at the time of the attacks. So MOST of the memories those involved in youth ministry have are of the post-nine eleven world. And, this week, all you have to do is turn on the TV to hear about all of the changes – airports, security, war, church, life in general!
Then, this morning it hit me. I literally can’t watch the news reports and interviews about 9/11/01 without crying. It has been 24 years since my father was killed by a drunk driver and about ten years after his death, I was able to talk about him / look at photos mostly without crying. But, it’s been ten years and just this morning, I was crying a belly-wrenching cry from an interview on the families of 9/11 and where they are today. Over 3,000 children lost a parent that day … that is the statement from the Today Show that brought forth my tears this morning.
I can remember EXACTLY where I was and what I was doing on that Tuesday morning, ten years ago. I can remember watching the Today Show and seeing the black smoke billowing from the first tower. As most people did, I had several connections to the events of 9/11/01. I was a volunteer firefighter during the time of 9/11 and the “brotherhood” that exists made me ache for my fellow firefighters on the scene in NY; it was a pride thing, I guess you could say. Also, my uncle worked at the Pentagon and I can remember the anticipation of waiting to hear if he was okay. So for me, 9/11 was very personal and has since shaped the way I think and do (or don’t do – i.e. firefighting) many things.
But not the students with whom we work and serve. They don’t have those memories. They are simply living under the shadows (so to speak) of this and other horrific events every day. They’ve heard the stories and scene the pictures and uncensored Youtube videos of 9/11. It is not so easy to “protect” and “shield” our children from violence, war, crime, rumors, and events like 9/11. The influence of media is ridiculous (but the norm) and social media / texting makes IMMEDIATE conversation and communicating information possible ... just think about when the earthquake struck a few weeks ago … almost every Facebook status update and tweet was about it for several hours!
So, I don’t know how we adapt and adjust to these facts in the best way, but as youth ministers and youth workers … we must. For example, for youth that don’t have a frame of reference of why bad things happen to good people (i.e. death of a loved one, sickness, etc.), I think 9/11 can be a good point of reference. And, certainly, proposing the question of where was God on 9/11 could spark a good discussion amongst youth and their leaders (or parents).
Regardless, we must remember, this is THEIR world and is ALL today’s youth have ever known. Honoring that and using things like media and instant communication to our advantage is a must. And, thankfully, that can be a creative challenge that looks differently from context to context.
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