For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. … So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:9,10,12

Just over a year ago, my grandfather passed away. He was my friend, co-conspirator, playmate. A couple of months later I turned 40. I am not sure what to attribute it more to, but I began to think about my own mortality much more than usual. Statistics tell us that 1 out of 1 people die, yet I had not often thought of my own mortality. In some ways my journey was unsettling, it still is. As I think of relationships severed, I get a pit in my stomach. In some ways I am afraid, afraid of pain, afraid of the unknown. In other ways I am confident, even expectant. I know that Christ died for me, and that his death has conquered death and that I, along with all creation are waiting the day of complete healing! Oh, Jesus, I can’t wait for that!

At some point in the last year my newfound awareness of my own mortality turned from personal to pastoral. We are a culture somewhat at odds with death. I say somewhat, because in one sense it is around us, in our movies, music, on the news like never before, yet we don’t really talk about it, openly, deeply. One writer compares our fascination of death to pornography … it titillates us, but in the end it is taboo. Recent conversations with people who have come face to face with death in different ways has confirmed that very rarely do we really talk about death.

But from a Biblical perspective to avoid death is to rob ourselves of something good. Psalm 90, quoted above, says we gain a “heart of wisdom”. What does this wisdom look like? This past Sunday was the 16th birthday of our oldest daughter Madilyn, who died just 3 ½ short months after her birth. When I reflect on her life and death marked by hospitals and diagnosis, medicines and surgeries, I see the truth of that earlier portion of Psalm 90 that says the days of our lives are but “toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” Or what about this past Tuesday, when, in a moment of time, a large number of Haitians went from life to death as an earthquake ripped apart their city. I was reminded of the words of Christ in the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12, “This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” Yet again the scriptures are proved right, there is much to gain in contemplating our death.

However, you recognize that it is only through the lens of the broader scriptures that we can honestly reflect on death without descending into some sort of morbidity. May your heart be encouraged with these words from 1 Corinthians 15, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” There is much more to say but perhaps this will encourage you this week.

Do dogs really die if they eat chocolate? Does every Alaska resident really get a check from the government? Can poppy seeds really cause you to fail a drug urine test? Do giant alligators live in our sewers?

Some of you will be familiar the Discovery Channel show entitled Myth Busters. In the show, the myth-busting team takes on some of the myths that circulate in our culture and does their best to prove them true or false.

What exactly is a myth? According to Princeton’s wordnet a myth is a traditional story accepted as history which serves to explain the world view of a people. In other words, a myth is a story that we live by. Sometimes the myths that we live by are true, some times they are fabricated, most of the time they have elements of truth in them, but have evolved over the years.

Like the broader culture’s fascination with alligators in the sewer, institutions, like our church, have stories that define us as well. Some of the stories are helpful, while others of the stories capture only part of a truth and in the end are not all that helpful.

So what are our stories? Examining this can be really helpful. The first way I want to invite you to do this is by attending the annual congregational meeting this Sunday at 4 pm. We will have a time of reflection, a budget presentation, a look ahead to 2010, a chance for questions, along with the election of officers. As you know this will be followed by a children’s music program.

In addition over the next few weeks, Mark, Dan and I are going to serve as the Myth-Busting team for some of our Crossroads stories on the pastors blog. I recognize that we are not completely unbiased actors, like the show, but often times we do have a unique perspective that allows us to see many of the various perspectives on an issue.

Some of the stories that we have identified include: Crossroads is an organic church without much structure. We are a seminarian driven church. We have unusually high turnover. Is pastor Dan really a Cubs fan? The merger has stretched us too thin. We are an outwardly facing church. Etc…

As we grow and change our stories change too. Sometimes old stories no longer fit, or need to be adjusted. As we examine our stories, our goal will be to provide objective analysis so that together, as we go into 2010, we can live by the truest stories possible.

Some of you may have your own questions about some of the “stories” we live by. If so we would invite you to leave a comment on this blog post outlining your question, and we will do our best to answer it.

See you Sunday.

On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.  And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”                  Luke 17:11-19

Most merciful Lord Jesus, here you are at it again.   Breaking conventions as you draw near these lepers.   Showing your magnanimous mercy as you cleanse them from this dreaded disease.   There is no fitness in the recipients to qualify them.  In fact nine of them never come back to give you thanks!   As I think about my own thanksgiving, it is your question to the leper has me thinking this morning,  “Where are the other nine?”

I guess I think about this question because chances are if I were in that blessed group of ten it is more likely that I would be one of the nine rather than the one.   What was it that held them back from thanksgiving, what is it that holds me back?   For some I am sure they just forgot, they were thankful, but they were busy, after all they had to see the priest and then friends and family that they hadn’t interacted with  in a long time.   Others probably weren’t quite sure what was happening, maybe they were skeptical, not believing that it would last.   I wonder if any of them didn’t come back because they felt unworthy, maybe they had something terrible about you, or didn’t really believe you could (or would) heal them, and then when you did heal them they simply were too ashamed to come back.  Or maybe some thought that the religious ritual of seeing the priests would suffice for the personal expression of thanks given at your very feet?

I certainly don’t know others hearts like you do, but I have seen some of my own heart and I bet some of them had the same selfish heart that I often have.   As a result maybe some of them felt that this is what they deserved and that there was no need for thanks, maybe others were still bitter that they had suffered with leprosy for so long and just wouldn’t give thanks.

Father, as I said, I see all these characteristics in me, but what I want is to be the one, the Samaritan, the foreigner, who was so overcome with gratitude for what you did for him, that he did come back.   When he saw that he was clean, he didn’t care about anything else except being in your presence.   This man’s heart was singing, he just simply had to be near you.

Father, my thanksgiving prayer is that all of the reasons I am thankless would dissipate and that you would give me an unadulterated heart of thanksgiving, today and always.  In the sweet name of Jesus.  Amen.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6,7

Is it easy to give thanks? I suppose the answer to this question might vary with the individual. Even within the individual one might answer differently from different perspectives. On the one hand it is easy to give thanks. When we compare ourselves to the vast majority of the people throughout the world, we realize that we live in luxury unparalleled in either time or space. When we are given eyes to see who we are in Christ, where we have been and what is to come, we are overcome with thanksgiving.

But that doesn’t mean giving thanks is always easy. For even in the midst of material blessing, even with the smile of Christ, life is still difficult. Some struggle to make ends meet. Others struggle with illness, either physical or mental. Still others find themselves struggling with relationships. And then there is our old enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. These three conspire to tell us that we do not have enough, we are not loved enough, and rather than being thankful we should be bitter.

Is it easy to give thanks? No, it isn’t necessarily easy, but it is good. In many ways thankfulness is a discipline, something that we must train ourselves to do even when we don’t want to. Having said that, we do not have to go far to reasons to give thanks this year: friends and family, home and health, the Love of Christ.

I am looking forward to hearing of what God has been doing in people’s lives tomorrow morning as we open up the mic and let our thanksgiving abound. Hopefully we will hear from you.

My family will tell you that I have been on a Lord of the Rings kick lately. I know that the stories are somewhat polarizing. My wife for instance doesn’t get the whole “elves and dwarves” thing.

For me however the stories have been rich in illustrating and illumining truths of life, I would even go as far to say, the life of the Gospel. Over the years as I come back to the stories different things have stood out to me. For instance, on one occasion I may see the theme of responsibility. Another time through it may be the theme of friendship. Still another time may illuminate the theme of beauty in the ordinary. This time through, however, I was struck by the things that we do for the love of another.

This is seen most clearly in others’ reaction to Aragorn, the exiled king who has risen at the appointed time to reclaim his throne. It is love for him that encourages men (and women) to fight a battle they know they can’t win. It is love for him that keeps men, dwarves, elves and even horses on the Paths of the Dead, overcoming the worst fear imaginable. It is the kings voice that can call back from the brink of death those afflicted with the “black breath”. It is love for this king that causes the Lardy Arwen to exchange immortality for mortality, embracing even the heartbreak that she knows it will bring.

In our Christian walk it is no different. It is love for a King that keeps us moving forward when we feel like giving up. It is love for a King that leads us to do outrageous deeds of love and mercy (the weaponry of God’s kingdom) even when humanly speaking it seems to make little sense. It is love for a King that moves us to lay down our own lives in order to embrace the life that he has to offer us.

This weekend I am heading to Indianapolis to preach on the subject of adoption. It is my hope that my preaching will reflect this theme. As we think about answering God’s call to embrace the cause of the orphan in this world, we do it not ought of guilt, not to fill our own needs, not even for the jewels in our crown by and by. No, we do it out of love for our King, because after all that is what he has done for us.

What a King!

Have a good weekend,

Andrew

Here is a blog post from one Jenilyn Swet, a regular attender at Crossroads. I love how she has captured the immensity and joy of celebrating the Lord’s Supper week by week.

http://carefullychosen.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/sharing-the-bread-and-wine/

Here are some thoughts from the 10/18 message entitled Power Encounter. A number of people have commented on relating to John Mark. I offer this reflection as encouragement of God’s Grace.

Acts 13:13 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned n to Jerusalem

Acts 15:37-38 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work

As we continue to work our way through Acts we come to the curious case of John called Mark. Tradition has it that this is the same guy who fled naked from the garden of Gethsemane during Jesus’ arrest. It was quite possible that his family owned the home with the upper room that Jesus and his disciples borrowed. Later tradition has him spending time with Peter from whom he got most of his material for writing what would be his Gospel. But here, in Acts 13, he is accompanying Paul and Barnabas on their first foray in “pure” gentile territory.

It is not clear why Paul and Barnabas brought him along, v.5 says he was “to assist” them. Exactly what the nature of that assistance was we don’t know. Some have suggested he was brought along to add credibility to the message that they were preaching, as Mark was an actual eyewitness of the events. In any case he is there. And in any case he leaves them.

Yes, you heard me correct, he left; right in the middle of the journey, just as things were starting to get interesting. No one knows exactly why he left. The text doesn’t say specifically, though we are told in chapter 15 that Paul wasn’t happy about it. Some have suggested he was unhappy with Paul seemingly taking the lead in the mission as language here shifts from Barnabas and Saul (v. 2) to Paul and his companions (v.13). Others have suggested that he wasn’t to keen on crossing the Taurus mountain range that needed to be crossed to get from Perga to Antioch and was reputedly infested with brigands. Still others have suggested he, as a member of the conservative Jewish church at Jerusalem, wasn’t wild about the Roman Proconsul, Sergius Paulus, being welcomed into the family of God on their last stop. Some have even suggested that perhaps it was Mark who stirred things up for Paul on his return to Jerusalem (ch. 15). It could be one of these; it could be something completely other. We simply don’t know. Whatever it was though, it was so overwhelming that continuing on the mission of God did not seem possible to Mark.

I highlight this because I suspect that most of us, at some point or other, are much like Mark. Specifically in this way, as we come to change and as we come to challenges, going forward does not always seem possible. And the truth is we have faced changes and challenges recently, not all of which are related to the merger, some are simply the result of the normal patterns of church life. We have had change in leadership. Some of you have a new lead pastor. Others of you may feel like you see your lead pastor less. Your assistant pastors have new roles. We have been welcoming new, and different people into our family. This takes work. Old, familiar patterns need to be adapted to incorporate new people. There are new challenges before us as we look to establish new outposts of ministry. Can we cross the mountains necessary to get established in the West? Sometimes I feel a little bit like Mark, ready to step off the boat and head back to Jerusalem.

So where do we go from here? First, if you are feeling this way relax, you are in good company. When I talk to folks it can seem like these “want to quit” feelings have surprised them in such a way that the only thing they can do is submit to them. Let me say again, relax, it is normal to feel this way. The worst thing that you could do is to do something rash that you may regret later. Remember, later on Mark asked to be reinstated as a member of the team (ch. 15). It didn’t go exactly smoothly. There were consequences to his actions.  (For the record it may be that Paul should have been more open to receiving John Mark back.   This potential failure on Paul’s part illustrates the complex and interrelated nature of our relationships!)

Second, if you do take yourself out of the game for a time, get back in! Again, we are not told exactly all that transpired, but Mark did ask to be reinstated. It seems that whatever changes or challenges caused him to pull out originally receded as he thought about the overall adventure that God invited him to be a part of. And so he was ready to go back to Cyprus, go to Antioch, Lystra, and Derbe. It may have been that Mark admitted that he was wrong. You may need to do that as well, but get back in the game.

Third, in the end Mark enjoys full restoration. As I said earlier this is the same guy who witnessed Jesus’ death and resurrection and wrote the Gospel. He even reconciled with Paul, who at the end of his life in 2 Timothy 4 says, “bring Mark because he is useful to me”.  Friends this is the gospel at work. Restoring broken things: People who step back because the work is hard, people with damaged relationships. God meets us in our weakness and uses us for his glory.

In the end this is why I love the Scriptures, because even as they expose my own weaknesses and failings, they show God’s restoring grace even more clearly. This gives me good incentive to stay in the boat!

And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. Acts 13:43

I love this phrase, continue in the grace of God. So often the temptation is to think of the grace of God as something we receive when we “get saved”. After that it is not quite clear what happens but we kind of allow the grace of God to recede to the background a little. One of the things that I have learned as I mature in my walk with Christ is just how much I need to continue in the grace of God.

I need the grace of God in my dealings at home, with my wife and kids. I need the grace of God as I go in and out among the church, working with elders and staff and congregants. I need the grace of God on my forays to Aldi or Sam’s. I need the grace of God in my neighborhood. I need the grace of God as I penetrate the jungles of my own heart. I think you get the picture. Continuing in the grace of God is not optional. It is not somehow over. Rather it is an everyday, every hour, every minute necessity. Along with Paul and Barnabas let me urge you to continue in this grace of God.

I look forward to seeing you this weekend. In particular, I am looking forward to the picnic on Sunday. Not only should it be a good chance to come together and fellowship, something we haven’t done in a while! But we are going to take the opportunity to continue thinking about what it means to be on the mission with God. Specifically how this applies to the ministry of the local church. So plan on join us at 3 pm on Sunday.

Continuing in the Grace of God,

Andrew

We have been swept along in a wonderful story. The story of God’s continued work in his world, following the faithful and triumphant work of Jesus. It seems like each chapter of the book of Acts continues to remind us of the fact that God is answering the prayer he taught us to pray, “thy kingdom come.”

We see this clearly in chapter 12, a chapter we will look at in more detail in a couple of weeks. For now how about a teaser from Uncle John Stott:

The chapter opens with James dead, Peter in prison and Herod triumphing; it closes with Herod dead, Peter free and the word of God triumphing. Such is the power of God to overthrow hostile human plans and to establish his own in there place. Tyrants may be permitted for a time to boast and bluster, oppressing the church and hindering the spread of the gospel, but they will not last. In the end, their empire will be broken and their pride abased.

On Saturday, October 3, and Sunday, October 4, our very fine missions team will be sponsoring a weekend to focus on just how we see the Word of God triumphing around the world, often in the face of extreme opposition. Dr. Greg Perry from Covenant Theological Seminary (who has also spent a number of years abroad) will teach throughout the weekend with the goal of helping us to reflect on missions around the world and specifically how we responsibly take our place.

As I said we are being swept along in a wonderful story, not simply the book of Acts, but the continuing outworking of the Gospel today. Wouldn’t it be worthwhile to join your brothers and sisters in a weekend of reflection? (Details on time and place below.)

See you this weekend

Andrew

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