Real Help for Real People: depression and discouragement RUMC 7/3/16

Real Help for Real People: depression and discouragement

RUMC 7/3/16

Is there anyone here who does not understand what the Psalmist is saying when he says, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?”

 When life takes a nosedive and nothing is going right. When the car won’t start, the dog poops on the carpet, and the bank can’t find any record of your last deposit, is there anyone who doesn’t think there must be someone out to get them?

How many of you, can remember a time in your life, maybe after the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or the ending of a relationship when you just didn’t feel right. The world didn’t look as colorful and the music didn’t make you feel as joyful?

Look at the person next to you. Statistically one of the two of you has or will experience an episode of major depression in your lifetime.

Let me ask you again. Is there anyone here who does not understand what the Psalmist is saying when he says, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?”

The message Bible says, “Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues?”

The common English Bible says. “Why… are you so depressed? Why are you so upset inside?”

Let me say right off the bat that we are dealing with three very different things today: discouragement, depression, and clinical depression.

1.         Discouragement is a typical, healthy response to the frustrations that we all face from time to time. When the car won’t start, the dog has an accident and the checking account is overdrawn, we lose hope and confidence. We know that these things just happen, but we still get discouraged. We all experience it. We can’t avoid it. It is a universal experience. And eventually we bounce back.

2.         Depression, on the other hand, is losing hope and confidence because of something inside of us. It might be the hurt from the death of a family member, the loss of a job, receiving harsh criticism from someone you respect, or family trouble. Those kinds of events can make anyone feel sad, lonely, scared, nervous, or anxious. Compared to discouragement, which is always caused by outside events, depression has more to do with the insides of us. An event might be a trigger, but depression changes the way we feel, the way we think, and the way we view ourselves. Everyone gets depressed sometimes. That is being human and having a heart that can be broken.

3.         Finally, there is clinical depression. Common depression is not an illness, but part of being human. Clinical depression, however, is an illness caused by irregularities in the neurotransmitters in the brain. We may blame something outside of us. We may blame ourselves. But the truth is that our brains don’t work quite right and it affects every part of our living. Clinical depression is a life threatening illness that should be treated by professionals with therapy and often medication. There are Christians who think that real Christians should not be depressed, but that is as silly as saying that real Christians shouldn’t have diabetes or heart disease.

Most of you know that I have lived with clinical depression for most of my life. I have spent a lot of time asking what it means to be a Christian who has depression. But you do not have to have a mental illness to understand the darkness of discouragement and depression.

Whether we are discouraged or depressed, I have come to believe that our faith does have something to say to all of us. Whether you are discouraged or depressed, the Psalms are a place you can turn to find real help for real people.

 Psalms 42 and 43 are the psalms for today. I take the two of them together because many people believe that they were originally one psalm or they were intended to be used together. We can all see why that is; when we notice the same chorus used three times word for word in Psalm 42 and Psalm 43.

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

When we read David’s description of himself, he sure sounds depressed.

•           He describes his countenance as cast down. He is crying day and night and lost his appetite. He is poured out or drained of energy. He is overwhelmed like he is drowning. He feels as though his bones are shattering, which might describe the very real physical symptoms such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain which accompany severe depression. He is disturbed and anxious, abandoned, even abandoned by God. And he is confused.

He is fighting discouragement, fighting depression; he is fighting for hope. He says, “I will hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”

  The first important thing to notice; he IS fighting.

 Think back to a time of depression or discouragement. Didn’t you just want to throw your hands up and walk away? Did you feel like giving up and running away? Did it zap you of your energy so all you could think about was lying down and sleeping it off?

Discouragement and depression do terrible things to us. Either we want to eat more, or we may lose our appetite. Either we want to sleep all the time, or maybe none at all. Either we lash out at those near us, or we beat up on ourselves. Either we become forgetful, or we keep going over the same thoughts, again and again. Often we may want to withdraw or hide. Everyone’s experience is unique. One of the most common feelings, though, is feeling overwhelmed to the point that we feel powerless.” I can’t do anything right.” “They’ll never change.” “It will never get better.” “Everybody hates me, or is laughing at me, or knows that I am a fraud.” Thos are the things we say to ourselves, right? I can only go from my experience, but I think feeling overwhelmed and feeling powerless are pretty universal thoughts.

We all know the feeling of being overwhelmed and powerless, and we know how hard it is to just move let alone move on and do anything positive. But listen to the Psalmist "Why are you cast down, O my soul and why are you disquieted within me? “ I WILL HOPE IN GOD.

David is bound and determined not to give in to the sense of powerlessness. He is determined to do something. He is firmly committed to having HOPE IN GOD.

The truth is, we might feel paralyzed, but we are not. God gave us free will and not even discouragement and depression can take that away. Even if the chemicals in your brain are out of whack… you still have free will.

When I am at my worst, there are times when I think it is all I can do to just lie on the couch and cover my eyes. It feels like that is all there is… It feels like I am incapable of anything else. But when I put my mind to it, I find that I can make a choice… I do have free will. I can chose to wallow in my own darkness, or like David, I can chose to exercise the free will God gave me. I will hope in God. I will get up and move. I will go to work. I will do whatever I can.

I know what it is like to be paralyzed. I am not discounting that. I also know that the longer I do nothing the harder it is to do something. I am not saying this is easy. And usually it does not make me feel better. I am not saying this is a cure. I am saying that even when we feel like we don’t we have a choice. God has not left us powerless. We are still given the gift of free will. David was committed to fighting back, and we can to, because God will not leave us powerless.

“I will hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”

 The second thing we notice in is that David wills himself to see a future. “For I shall again praise him.” He has to convince himself that things won’t always be this bad. He will someday be able to praise God.

When we are discouraged and depressed, our tendency is to believe that we will always feel that way. “I failed, and I will always be known as a failure. I lost my job, and I’ll never find another. My spouse left me, and I will never find anyone again.” You know what I mean.

Actually, at my worst, I can go a step further saying it always has been like this, and it always will be like this. I have always have, and always will feel as bad as I do right now. You might think it is crazy, but think back and I suspect you can identify a time when you felt like things were never, ever going to get any better.

David plays the role of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist naming our cognitive distortions and models for us an undistorted thought… that what is, is not what will always be. Someday I will praise God again. Someday people will forget this mistake. Someday someone will love me again. Someday I will feel better. Maybe not tomorrow, or even next week. But someday…As hard as it is to believe when you are in the midst of discouragement and depression there is hope and there is a future.

That hope and that future is in God. God will give us a hope and a future, if we will open our eyes and see.

“I will hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”

 Finally we read David describe God as “my help and my God.” Remember I said that David felt abandoned by God? He writes, “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?” In verse 4, he remembers how he used to lead the procession in worship. In verse 9 he writes, “I say to God, my rock, why have you forgotten me?”

Apparently, everyone else could see it too, because David writes, “people say to me continually, “Where is your God?

We don’t know the circumstances of David’s writing this Psalm. Perhaps he was being pursued by Solomon or Absolom, or maybe he was in the midst of personal turmoil. It seems likely that he was on the run, away from the worshipping community.

But as bad as things got, David still declares. “My help and my God.” In verse 8, he affirms, “By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” Steadfast love. Does that take you back the first sermon I preached in this series? Psalm 118? “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” In the midst of his discouragement and depression, David found the strength to remember God’s steadfast love. He remembers that no matter how badly we make a mess of things his steadfast love endures forever!” No matter how badly we fail his steadfast love endures forever!” No matter what others may think of us his steadfast love endures forever!” No matter how badly we may feel his steadfast love endures forever!” No matter who is attacking us from the outside, or how viciously our discouragement and depression attack us from the inside his steadfast love endures forever!”

As hard as it is, that is a truth on which I stand that will never fail. That is a truth on which you can depend no matter what is happening around you, or inside of you, and no matter how sick you are God will love you through this no matter what. No matter how discouraged you are, God will love you through this no matter what. No matter how depressed you are, God will love you through this. No matter how ill you are, God will love you through this… no matter what.

  As I was preparing for this series, I was very careful about looking for Psalms that provide real help. The truth is real people like you and I get discouraged sometimes. Real people like you and I get depressed sometimes.

Over the years, I have heard the nonsense spouted by the Christians who say real Christians should not be discouraged or depressed. They say just pray and God will heal you, just rest in the joy of the Lord, they say if you just had enough faith you wouldn’t feel that way. I just wish they would mind their own business because those are some of the least helpful things I have ever heard.

I think… I hope… that this quick look at psalms 42-43 has provided some real help. I hope it has helped you to see that this Psalm offers a good model of how we as faithful people can cope with discouragement and depression.

1.         God has not left you powerless- do something

2.         God will give you hope a future- if you will see it

3.         God will love you through this no matter what.

Hold tight to that truth… No matter what.

AMEN

“Real help for real people (#2): Unfathomable forgiveness” RUMC 6/16/2016

  “Real help for real people (#2): Unfathomable forgiveness”

RUMC 6/16/2016

“EVERYONE HAS FOUND OUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING.”

Noel Coward, the famous English playwright, pulled an interesting prank. He sent an identical note to twenty of the most famous men in London. The anonymous note read simply, "Everybody has found out what you are doing. If I were you I would get out of town."

Supposedly, all twenty men actually left town.

What if you opened your mail one day and found such a note? What would race through your mind? The income you failed to report on your 1040? The time you spent on the internet watching pornography? The expense account you inflated? The lies you told about a neighbor? Some secret relationship you have? The abuse that happens in your home? The shameful thoughts you hide?

How’s your stomach right now? A little queasy? That’s guilt.

  Guilt is fear of the past. Fear that someone will find out about something you did or didn’t do… maybe yesterday, maybe many years ago. It is like spiritual phantom pain; like the pain an amputee feels after the loss of a limb. There is nothing there to hurt, but it hurts anyway.

Psychologist Roy Baumeister studied guilt in 1991 and discovered that the average person spends approximately two hours a day feeling guilty. And for 39 minutes of that time, people feel moderate to severe guilt. We are told that a significant amount of mental illness can be attributed to unresolved guilt.

 Therefore, guilt can be a great crippler. But today I also want you to understand that guilt can be a great motivator. That is the real purpose of guilt. Just as physical pain tells us that we have put our hand somewhere it ought not be- like a car door just as it closes- guilt is a gift from God that tells us that we have strayed beyond what is right, or good, or legal, or loving. Guilt calls us to stop, go back, and repair the damage we have done. Or sometimes it pushes us to do things that we know we should have done, but didn’t. From that perspective, guilt is a good gift from God helping us to be the best we can be.

Whether Guilt is helping us or hurting us, at some point we have to deal with it.

Today in this series on the Psalms, “real help for real people” we come face to face with guilt. We don’t like to admit that we feel guilty but the truth is that we all carry guilt about one thing or maybe a hundred things. I do, and I am very certain that each of you do too. So what do we do with that?

Tradition associates Psalm 51 with a time in King David’s life when he was dealing with big time guilt.

David had good reason to feel guilty. He was the greatest king in the history of Israel. He was, undoubtedly, the most successful and one of the most respected. But he was not perfect. Far from it. The most egregious sin of his life was the triple sin of lust, murder, and adultery. David spotted Bathsheba bathing on her roof. HE thought she looked awfully good. He probably thought something like, “how could something that beautiful be bad for me?” (Sin #1 lust) He sent for her and they were intimate. (Sin #2 adultery)

Before long, Bathsheba sent a message back to David that she was pregnant. (Busted!) For David, guilt had already set in. AT this development, however, his guilt caused him to make things worse by trying to cover it up. (You have never tried that have you?) He called Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, back from battle and tried to cover up the mess he made. When that didn’t work, he had Uriah killed. (Sin #3 murder). That’s three strikes- you’re out!… As we read in Psalm 34, David’s guilt was overwhelming, “like a burden too heavy to bear" And it was compounded by the death of the child he had conceived with Bathsheba.

You know that feeling. We all do to one degree or another. Maybe your sin does not compare to David’s triple-header. Maybe it does. But we all know the terrible weight of guilt on our shoulders… and we all know that when we feel that weight, we want nothing more than to have someone take that weight from us. We instinctively know that we need forgiveness

There are several Psalms that we call “Penitential Psalms.” They each teach us about guilt and forgiveness. They each deserve to be studied, but I have selected Psalm 51 for our study today, in part because I received an email questions about it the other day.

   Psalm 51 starts out with an important assumption. It is built on the foundation of God’s steadfast love and abundant mercy. In other words, it starts with the presupposition that God in the business of forgiveness. That’s great news because that means when we come to God with our guilt, we are not asking God to do something that God does not already want to do. No! What we are actually doing, coming to God who is in the business of forgiveness, and opening ourselves to that healing power and transformative grace. We are simply asking God to do what he does best.

  God wants to forgive, but we are not always in a position to receive. So Psalm 51 describes what I want to call 5 movements… not steps… not instructions. But 5 movements of the heart that together move us into position to receive the forgiveness we need and want.

  On our journey toward forgiveness, the first movement described in Psalm 51 is movement toward ACCEPTANCE. The first movement is getting to the point where we can say with the Psalmist, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” It is movement toward accepting personal responsibility.

When we feel the knot in our stomach that we identify as guilt, we have two choices. Deny it or accept it.

Unfortunately, for many of us, denial has become a way of life. We justify our sin, we blame someone else, or we make excuses. “I didn’t do it.” “I didn’t mean to do it.” “The devil made me do it.” Or “he deserved it.” These are the kinds of people who, in the middle of a heart attack, will insist that it is just the SUPER GRANDE BURRITO they just ate. But that doesn’t change the fact that they are having a heart attack, and their denial just might cost them their life. Denying our guilt and sin does not make guilt and sin go away. In fact, that denial just might cost us our soul.

David, on the other hand, felt the pain of guilt. He was haunted by the knowledge of the evil he had done. Bu the ACCEPTED that he had done wrong and he ACCEPTED responsibility. Hence he writes, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.”

The option of denial moves us away from God’s forgiveness. The option of ACCEPTING our sin and guilt is the only option that moves us toward forgiveness. There can be no blaming, no excusing, no denying, and no justifying. If we want forgiveness, we must ACCEPT our sin and ACCEPT our responsibility. Moving toward ACCEPTANCE is moving toward forgiveness.

  The second movement in the Psalm is toward UNDERSTANDING. When we sin, we have to understand what we have done. One of the ways that we minimize sin is we tend to view it as only being against other people. That’s why we are confused when we read, “Against you (God), you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight,” I don’t believe David is minimizing the sin against Bathsheba, Uriah, and his own family. David understands what many of us do not: that the ripples of sin extend farther than we think. We have to UNDERSTAND that it is not just those around us that we hurt. The damage does not stop at the person about whom we gossip, or the person from whom we steal… it is not just our spouse and our children who are injured by our transgressions.

We have to UNDERSTAND that (in addition to hurting other people) every sin is an act against the glory of God. Every sin denies God’s existence. Every sin is a quest to overthrow God’s thrown. Every sin is an affront to our relationship with God.

 When I was a young driver, I was being careless and slid on some ice into a tree. I was OK, but the car was not. The owner of the tree helped me push my 67 Impala to the curb. And wasn’t worried about the scar I had put on his tree. All of that was easy compared to the next step. You see I was only one block from home. That long walk home to tell my dad what had happened was the longest block of my life. It wasn’t his tree. It wasn’t his car; he had given it to me. It wasn’t his accident. But ultimately, I UNDERSTOOD that I had let him down. Similarly, ultimately we have to UNDERSTAND every sin hurts God.

Moving toward UNDERSTANDING the true depth of our sin, is moving toward forgiveness.

  The third movement toward forgiveness in Psalm 51 is facing the CONSEQUENCES of our sin. We may need to make amends, seek human forgiveness, or accept the human consequences for our sin. According to the law, had David not been king, he would have faced at least two capital charges. Being human, David still had to face up to the damage he had done to his family and Bathsheba’s family. David did not try to sidestep the CONSEQUENCES of his sin. He never tried to avoid it. In fact, he tells God, “You are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.” In other words. “I deserve whatever I get.”

Our journey toward forgiveness must include a movement toward facing the CONSEQUENCES of our sin. God, of course, is in the business of forgiveness but that does not mean we don’t have to repair broken relationships, or make amends for the evil we have done, or do the time that goes with our crime. God does not protect us from the personal, relational, and legal consequences for our sin. .

David accepted the consequence of his behavior. The son he conceived with Bathsheba would die in infancy. David faced the earthly CONSEQUENCES, grieved his son’s death, and then got up and asked for God’s forgiveness.

            Moving toward accepting and dealing with the very real CONSEQUENCES of our sin, is moving toward forgiveness.

 The fourth movement in our journey to forgiveness is a commitment to CHANGE. In religious language, we are talking about repentance. It is a commitment to change directions, a commitment to change behavior, a commitment to not sin again.

The Psalmist prays to God “teach me wisdom in my secret heart.” In other words, teach me how to change in the deepest parts of myself so that I will be more like God, and will not sin again.

Patrick Morley writes that the church's integrity problem is in the misconception "that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior. It is revival without repentance."

Confession and forgiveness do no good if we turn around and do the same thing again. Committing to CHANGE is moving toward forgiveness.

  Finally… finally… finally… finally, after moving toward forgiveness by ACCEPTING our guilt, UNDERSTANDING how we have harmed God, facing the CONSEQUENCES, being committed to CHANGE we are ready for the last movement: CONFESSION.

 Too often we think that CONFESSION is all there is. Confession without ACCEPTING responsibility for our sin is empty. Confession without UNDERSTANDING the ripple effect of our sin is useless. Until we have made every effort to clean up our mess and face the CONSEQUENCES of our sin confession is a waste of time. If we are not committed to CHANGE, then confession is premature.

CONFESSION, however, is essential. I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Why do we need to CONFESS? If God knows us better than we know ourselves, doesn’t God already know our sin? Yes. But confession is not for God’s benefit, but ours. Yes, God already knows, but it is like an infection that is killing us from the inside out. We must take all the guilt that is inside of us, and honestly, and humbly, admit our powerlessness as we lay it out for God to see in confession. Then the healing can begin.

Movement toward CONFESSION is movement toward forgiveness.

 There you go. If you heart sank when I started out saying, “EVERYONE HAS FOUND OUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING.” The good news is that we haven’t… yet… and the even better news is that in the heart of God there is a solution for the guilt that weighs so heavily upon us.

These 5 movements ACCEPTANCE, UNDERSTANDING, CONSEQUENCES, CHANGE, AND CONFESSION moves us closer to the heart of God and closer to forgiveness. And in God’s heart forgiveness is not just saying “that’s OK,” or “Forgive and forget,” or whitewashing the past. In God’s heart, we are not fixer uppers. God is not in the business of repair, or patching us up and sending us out.

Notice there are different terms used there. "Create in me a clean heart, O God. And put a new and a steadfast spirit within me." Something is different there. There is talk of newness, of new creation. This is not the language of cleansing the old, or patching up the broken, or using duct tape and bailing twine to put us back together. No. When God forgives us, God creates something new something permanent. Something beautiful. Something perfect. Something free,

Paul Writes, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”

The chains of guilt are broken and you are a new creation. The chains that have held you in bondage and fear of the past are broken and you are a new creation. The Chains that have trapped you in the bondage of your sin are gone… gone forever and you are a new creation.

The song says My chains are gone, I've been set free, My God, my Savior has ransomed me

And like a flood His mercy reigns, Unending love, amazing grace

Let that be your song as we sing it today.

AMEN

Real Psalms for Real People Psalm 136 RUMC 6/12/16

Real Psalms for Real People

RUMC 6/12/16

How many of you get the feeling that the Bible doesn’t understand you? It’s OK to put up your hand. Sometimes it is hard for citizens of the high-speed, high-pressure, high tech, high expectation 21st century to feel like the Bible connects to them.

I’ll admit, it is sometimes hard for me to feel a connection to some of the stories. However, that’s not too surprising. Parts of the Bible are 36 centuries old! That’s older than most of us here, and face it, times have changed.

I would argue, however, people have not changed all that much.

•           We still ask the same questions that they did 36 centuries ago:

o          Why am I here?

o          Why do bad things happen?

o          Why is there sickness and suffering?

o          How am I supposed to respond when folks treat me like dirt?

•           We still have the same hurts they did 36 centuries ago:

o          guilt,

o          shame,

o          grief, and

o          failure.

•           We still have the same struggles they did 36 centuries ago:

o          making a family,

o          finding hope,

o          experiencing peace.

You might say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

That is exactly why I love to read the Psalms. Those of you who follow my “read with me” in the newsletter and enews know that I read one psalm every day. The reason I do that is, if not every day, almost every day I find myself wondering,

•           “How did you know I was asking myself that question?” or

•           “How did you know my heart was broken like that?” or

•           “How did you know I was struggling in that way?” or

•           “How did you know I was feeling that way?”

My experience is that the Psalms are the deepest gut-prayers of people just like me, revealing the depths of not only their hearts, but also mine.

That’s why I am preaching from the Psalms this summer and calling this series, “Real Help For Real People.”

•           Let me ask you, what is the one thing babies need most? You might think diapers and milk, but even babies, who receive those things in orphanages, if they don’t receive love and loving contact from caregivers, will turn their faces to the wall and die.

•           What is the one thing Children need to hear more often than anything else? I would argue that it is not the word “NO,” but the words “I love you”… or sometimes, “I love you anyway.”

•           What is it that teenagers and young adults are seeking in their lives as they begin to separate from their parents? Someone to love them.

•           What do we need most as our physical abilities begin to decline? To know that there is someone who loves us enough to care for us.

•           What is the most important thing a person needs to know as they die, that after everything else…they are loved.

 One of the most fundamental needs we have is to be loved. But face it, oftentimes human beings fail us. Oftentimes we fail each other. And when everyone around us seems to be against us… When we feel most alone and most vulnerable…When we feel most worthless… what is left?

 Let me tell you. “HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOREVER.” In other words, whether anyone else loves you or not…whether anyone else cares or not… God loves you. And, as Bishop Trimble was fond of saying this last weekend, “there isn’t anything you can do about that.” God loves you and there isn’t anything you can do about that.

If you miss that point in Psalm 136, it can only be because you weren’t listening at all. “His steadfast love endures forever” is repeated 26 times! Over and over, it drives home the point, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

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How do we know that God loves us? The Psalm is divided into three parts.

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 The first part, verses 1-3, teaches us that ever-enduring steadfast love is a fundamental characteristic of God. It names God as GOOD, he is the LORD OF LORDS, and he is the GOD OF GODS:   THEREFORE, “His steadfast love endures forever.” God loves because that is what God is. 1 John 4:8 tells us “God is love.” If the essence of God is love… then God can do nothing else. So we know God loves us because that who God is.

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The second part is verses 4-25. They are saying, “If you aren’t convinced God loves you because of who God is, look around and you to see what God has done. In order to understand what it is saying it helps to take out the refrain, and just read the stuff between “His steadfast love endures forever.”

         Verses 4-9 say Look at creation and you will see. “God does great wonders. God made the heavens.

God spread out the earth on the waters. God made the great lights: the sun to rule over the day, the moon and stars to rule over the night.” How can you look at creation and not believe that is was created by an infinitely loving God? Any God who makes the sunrise, the bald eagle, and white sand beaches must certainly love us very much.  THEREFORE: what more evidence do we need? We can say for sure, “God’s steadfast love endures forever."

         If that isn’t enough, look at the way God treats his people in verses 10-24 and you can’t help but see God’s love. Take out the repeated verse and read it.

God struck Egypt through their firstborn, and brought Israel out from among them,

with a strong hand and an outstretched arm.

God divided the Red Sea in two, and made Israel pass through the midst of it, but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea.

God led his people through the wilderness.

God struck down great kings, and killed famous kings, Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to his servant Israel.

It is he who remembered us in our low estate, and rescued us from our foes.

 THEREFORE: What more evidence do we need? Any God who would do all of that and more for his people proves once and for all that, “God’s steadfast love endures forever."

         Then, the Psalm tells us, look at the way God provides for all of God’s creatures. There is no other explanation than,  “His steadfast love endures forever.”

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 Finally the last verse of the Psalm calls us back to the beginning of the Psalm and calls us to give thanks because the God of heaven, Because God is a God whose steadfast love endures forever.

 I have to admit, it is hard for me to believe. God’s love… God steadfast love… God’s enduring, steadfast love is beyond my comprehension.

God’s love for me is unchangeable. God’s love for you is unchangeable.

God’s love for me cannot be stopped. God’s love for you cannot be stopped.

God’s love for me is forever. God’s love for you is forever.

Pause for a moment. Let that blow your mind.

We can’t out run God’s steadfast love.

We can’t out sin God’s steadfast love and mercy.

We can’t escape God’s faithfulness.

 A great contemporary song says it this way.

         God’s love never fails,

         it never gives up

         It never runs out on me

Say it after me

         God’s love never fails, God’s love never fails,

         it never gives up, it never gives up

         It never runs out on me, It never runs out on me

And say it one more time all together

         God’s love never fails,

         it never gives up

         It never runs out on me

         God’s love never fails … NEVER

         God’s love never gives up… NEVER

         God’s love never runs out on me… NEVER

•           Start song fade volume up as I finish speaking

That is the message of Psalm 136. It reminds real people with real problems and real doubts that “God loves them no matter what!”

         God’s love never fails,

         it never gives up

         It never runs out on me

Ghost Stories: great vision and greater power Reinbeck UMC 5/15/16

    Ghost Stories: great vision and greater power

Reinbeck UMC 5/15/16

 We have been talking about some not so spooky Ghost Stories for 5 weeks now. The stories from those 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension during which he appeared to in

•           the garden on Easter morning,

•           the on the road to  Emmaus on Easter afternoon,

•           in the upper room Easter evening and the following week,

•           and of course on the beach.

This final appearance is just before his ascension. The disciples went to a mountain in Galilee, Just as Jesus had told them. In my imagination, it might be the same mountain from the Sermon on the Mount. He gave them one last instruction, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”

That is not so hard to understand… but it confuses people.

   A farmer saw a strange formation of clouds one day. The clouds spelled out “GPC.” The farmer thought for a moment and decided they were a sign from God to “Go Preach Christ.” He left her tractor sitting the middle of the field and went to seminary to become a pastor. As a pastor, he was a miserable failure. He couldn’t preach. He didn’t like to visit. He hated hospitals and funerals were torture. It wasn’t long and he was so discouraged he went back to his field and knelt down by his tractor. He prayed, “God you called me to go preach Christ, and I am. But I am miserable and to be honest I am not that good at it. I need a sign of what you want me to do next.” The clouds began to move again, and there were the same letters G  P C.    But this time other clouds formed next to them and spelled out the words. “GO… PLANT … CORN.”

Jesus commands us to “go make disciples.” In Mark’s version, it is “Go into all the world and preach the good news.” That doesn’t mean that everyone is to become a pastor.” Saint Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel, and if necessary use words.” In other words, everything you do can be a proclamation of the Gospel. Anything you say can be a way of making disciples. If you so choose, you can use your life for Jesus.

Jesus is very specific here… every person is expected to be in ministry.

•           No exceptions.

•           No excuses.

•           No free passes.

You may think that every person in ministry was a crazy idea dreamed up by the leadership team. No, it is a crazy idea dreamed up by our savior. And it was important enough to be his last words before he left this earth. I don’t think that is an accident. Jesus was serious, completely serious about every person being in ministry. 

 If you aren’t sure what that means, think back to the week we posted our gifts, skills passions and interests on the cross. Those are very likely your ministries. So get up and use them.

 Jesus says, first, “Go and use your gifts.”

But second he said, don’t go alone. Oh no… don’t you dare go alone. “Remember I am with you even to the end of the age.” That is what Pentecost is about.

•           The power of God coming upon the disciples and us.

•           The power of God empowering the disciples and us.

•           The power of God sending out the disciples and us.

•           And the power of God going with the disciples and us … as we go in ministry.

We talk about Pentecost as the “birthday of the church.” The church is simply the people of God when we GO in power.

•           When we Love with God’s love.

•           When we work for justice at God’s right hand.

•           When we forgive with the compassion of God.

•           When we give with the generosity of God.

•           When we share the gospel filled with the power of God. That’s when we are in ministry.

 Three weeks from right now, I will be in DesMoines at the ordination service at annual conference. Ordination may seem like a strange and mysterious thing to you… but it is not. It is simply a specific baptism renewal in which a person is given authority by the church to be a professional minister.

But here, today the professional ministers are outnumbered what 70 to 2? Who do you think does the bulk of the ministry around here? You do. At least that is Jesus’ great vision... If you were Jesus, would you rather send out two people to go into the entire world, or 72? It’s a no brainer isn’t it?

That is Jesus’ great vision…

•           that we would go…

•           and that we would go with power to be in ministry for him.

Today you will have the opportunity to renew your baptism. But not just to “remember your baptism and be thankful”: but to “remember you are a minister of Jesus Christ.” Every person in ministry… you and you and you and you… and all of us. “Go and remember you are a minister of Jesus Christ.”  

Ghost stories; crazy ideas and second chances Reinbeck UMC 5/8/16

Ghost stories; crazy ideas and second chances

Reinbeck UMC 5/8/16

If you didn’t know the back-story, you wouldn’t realize that this is a ghost story… and you would miss the whole point.

After Jesus appeared to Thomas, the disciples were lost. They didn’t know what to do. To me it seems like a no brainer. Jesus said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” … he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” That seems pretty clear to me.

Simon Peter thought for a minute and said, “OK… anybody want to go fishing?”

 Maybe, if I thought I had seen a ghost, or I had imagined, I wouldn’t believe it either. Maybe I would be too dense to understand what Jesus said too. But it doesn’t seem that hard to understand what Jesus expected.

Seven of the disciples, therefore, end up going fishing. We don’t know what the other four did. But seven went fishing, including the three leaders Peter, James, and John; and good old Thomas from last week.

 Now remember that at least some of these men are professional fishermen. Not just worm killers like me. They worked all night long and caught nothing. They got skunked.

Some smart-aleck yelled from shore, “Hey boys, didn’t catch anything did you?”

Steam must have rolled from their ears and they shot back, “NO.”

•           So the man on shore said cast the net on the other side. And they said, ““But we’ve never done it that way before…” No, that’s not right.

•           So the man on shore said cast the net on the other side. And they said, “But this is my side of the boat. I’ve been sitting on this side of the boat every Sunday for 40 year and I’m not moving now.…” No, that’s not right.

•           So the man on shore said cast the net on the other side. And they said, “No, way. The fish over there are different. We don’t want THOSE kinds of fish in our boat…” No, that’s not right.

•           So the man on shore said cast the net on the other side. And they said, “No. We're too busy. We're happy sitting here and watching our empty net.. …” No, that’s not what they said either.

•           So the man on shore said cast the net on the other side. And they said, “We tried that 30 years ago and it didn’t work. I probably won’t work today.…” No, that’s not right.

•           So the man on shore said cast the net on the other side. And they said, “But we’ve done our part. Let someone else fish that side from now on…” No, that’s not right.

Hmmm maybe they weren’t so much like us. Because that’s what most of us would do. When we are confronted with a crazy idea, we blow it off, or make up 25 excuses why it won’t work.

 Jesus calls the disciples to have a crazy faith, and unlike us, they were just crazy enough it… and it worked! They got a boatload of fish.

But this was not the first time they had seen crazy faith work.

•           It was crazy to try to feed 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. But what happened? Leftovers.

•           It was crazy to talk to a Samaritan woman. But what happened? Grace happened.

•           It was crazy for the disciples to leave their jobs to follow this rabbi. But if they hadn’t we might not be the church today.

•           It’s crazy to say, "OK I’ve got 11 disciples now go change the world." It is crazy to leave the kingdom of God in the hands of the church. It is crazy to use broken and imperfect people like you and me to usher in God’s perfect will. But Jesus calls us to have a crazy faith.

•           It was crazy for God to think, “I think I’ll become one of them. I’ll be born as a baby, perform some miracles, teach, die, and come back to life and they’ll al believe…” of course, that’s crazy. But that is the gospel. That is the kind of God we serve. A God of the crazy faith

We are called to have a crazy faith. Part of that is having crazy ideas. Jim Elenberger is one of my favorite crazy friends who has dozens of crazy ideas… but you know what? When we follow a crazy idea,  when we take a chance… when we get out of our rut… when we decide that we can sit in a different place, do things differently, invite different people, do ministry in a different way… when we deicide we can have a crazy faith, crazy things happen. Like

•           LIGHT,

•           Homes for Haiti,

•           GR8,

•           new people coming through the door,

•           new energy in our old bodies, and

•           New life for those who are touched by our crazy ideas.

It might seem crazy to you that we expect every single one of you to be in ministry… but call us crazy for God. I don’t mind. Let’s print t-shirts and start a club… wait we already have a club for people with crazy faith… it’s called the church. It is you and it is me.

So we go on with the story. They do the crazy thing. They get a whole net load of fish and John realizes that this is Jesus. How did he know? Look back at Luke chapter 5 and we discover that this had already happened once. John said, "Wait a minute this happened once before just before we were called to follow… Jesus… it’s Jesus."

Peter jumped in headfirst as usual and went to meet Jesus. The rest followed with the boast almost tipping over from all the fish they caught because they were willing to take a crazy chance and have a crazy faith.

 When they get to the beach, Jesus had already made a fire and invite them all to breakfast. The Bible is very specific in using a word that mean charcoal fire. There are only two places in the Bible where this word charcoal is used. Here on the beach and at the high priest’s house on the night Jesus was arrested. Remember that story… where Simon Peter denied Jesus three times. “I tell you I don’t know the man.”

You can imagine as he walked up to the fire and smelled the charcoal that it must have brought back all those memories of that night and the agony he felt when the rooster crowed.

I don’t want you to think of Peter as a failure today. 3 years earlier, Peter had made a decision to have a crazy faith in Jesus.  He left everything he owned, including his livelihood and his family, and followed Jesus

It didn’t turn out the way Peter imagined. And the worst of it was that night when he denied Jesus. Three times. He couldn’t shake that. It was as if he had fallen and he couldn’t get up.

So all this is going through Peter’s mind, and Jesus takes him aside. He says, “Peter do you love me?” Peter says once, “Of course I love you.”

Jesus says a second time, “Peter do you love me?” Peter says a second time, “Of course I love you.”

Jesus says Peter a third time, “Do you love me?” Peter says a third time, “Of course I love you.”

How many times did Peter deny Jesus?

How many times did Jesus give him the opportunity to profess his love?

After giving him a chance not to reject Jesus three times, what are Jesus final words to Peter? “Follow me.” The very same words Jesus spoke to Peter, by the very same lake 3 years earlier. Jesus wipes the slate clean and is telling Peter, Let’s forget that, and just start over again.

 God doesn’t call us to be perfect. God doesn’t call us to be successful. God calls us to have a crazy faith and to do something because of Jesus.

Wade Hughes, Sr. tells the story of a weak and sickly man who lived in the deep back woods in an old log cabin. Out in front of his cabin was a huge boulder.

One night he had a vision. God told him to go out and push the massive rock in front of his home all day long, day after day, until he told him to stop. The man got up early in the morning, started to push on the rock.

Each day he pushed a little harder and a little longer. Days rolled into weeks, and weeks into months, as he faithfully pushed against the rock. After 8 months, he started to doubt his dream. He measured from his porch to the rock, and after pushing the rock, he would measure to see how much he had moved the rock. He finally realized that in all this time he had not moved the boulder a fraction of an inch.

The man was so disappointed, he sat on his porch and cried, because he had invested so much time in such a crazy endeavor… and all for nothing.

Jesus came and sat down next to the man on his porch. He said, “Son, why are you so sad?” The man replied, “Lord, You know how sick and weak I am, you gave me a vision and I have pushed with all that was within me for many months, and it hasn’t moved an inch.” Jesus said to him, “I told you to push against the rock. I never told you to move the rock.”

God doesn’t call us to be perfect. God doesn’t call us to be successful. God calls us to have a crazy faith and to do something because of Jesus.

Was it crazy to try to move that boulder? Sure. Is it crazy to think that we might change the world? Sure. Is it crazy to think that we might change someone’s life by having a pancake breakfast? Absolutely. Is it crazy to think that our little old church could build a church in Africa by helping to train pastors at Banyam seminary? Yes. Is it crazy to think that our change in a pot each week, or our donation of a curious George book might change the life of one of our children, who might change the world for God. Absolutely.

Will it all happen? Will the world be different because of what we do today? Will everyone’s life be better? Will we end racism and hatred? Will we build a church in Africa? Will we change a child’s life? I don’t know. That is in God’s hands. Having a crazy faith means taking the risk and letting God care for the success.

   The only way to fail... is not to try. When we get to heaven Jesus will not ask, “Did you succeed?” …But just like Peter, he will ask “do you love me?... Did you do it because of me?”  If we can answer, “Yes lord we did it because we love you” …and that will be enough.

When the leadership team set the goal of “Every person in ministry.” That is exactly what we mean. Every person taking a chance…

Every person trying something new…even if it seems crazy

Every person in ministry … because of Jesus.

Now go and get crazy for God.