20 January 2008 1 Ordinary Time (1 Kingdomtide)

Do I Really Matter to God?

focusPoints

Sometimes people get pretty down on themselves and need help. they sometimes make statements like:

* There is nothing I do well. I'll let someone else do it.
* I've really messed things up in my life and here is no way to repair the damage I've done.
* Everything I attempt fails. I'm a jinxed person.
* I am not useful or needed by anyone. I am just a goo for nothing.

What do you say to that person? If that is your belief, how do you get out of that "rut" or way of thinking

(Fookes: Stockwell UMC worship Message, 20 January 2008)?

forwardPoints

We really do matter to God--without a doubt! How can we be sure? Here are some biblical reasons for believing that you are special in God's sight:

1. You were God's idea before your mother conceived you. (Jeremiah 1:5)
2. You bear an amazing resemblance to God. (Genesis 1:26, Psalm 139:14)
3. God ransomed you at an enormous price. (I Corinthians 6:20)
4. Even the least of us is an enormous value to God (Luke 8:24b-48)

(Fookes: Stockwell UMC Worship Message, 20 January 2008)

fellowshipPoints

Gods idea--Congregations flourish when their members' being and doing are in sync. Ministry as formation taps into the arts of storytelling and story-listening to create a healthier partnership between congregation identify and action (Crainshaw 2007, 37).

Amazing resemblance--Are we restless prophets or patient priests? Embodying the gospel is sometimes resisting and sometimes crying for reality now (Crainshaw, 48)

Ransomed you--there is an artificial and nonproductive theology gap in daily life. the hospitality ministry reflects the ransom and should permeate Monday through Saturday by way of 3-mail and phone calls (Crainshaw, 54).

Enormous value--The play Tamara's staging in a house with a dozen rooms allows spectators to choose 479,001,600 story lines (Crainshaw, 63). In God's house are many dwelling places (John 14:2). health and wholeness comes as people anointed by God's creative spirit make room for the gospel story to unfold in the diverse story lines of people created in the image and sound of God (Crainshaw, 65).

findingPoints

God's idea--What are some ways our being and doing as a congregation are not in sync? Why do we not proactively recognize these? How can we on the vanguard to identify and deal with these? Should we?

Amazing resemblance--How do we know when we should be a restless prophet and a patient priest?

Ransomed you--How is our Monday-Saturday (and even Sunday) hospitality ministry? What is stopping us from doing what we want to be?

Enormous value--How can we make room for God's creative spirit so we have room for the gospel story to unfold in diverse way?

fatihPoints

Meditate on this question--Are we truly following Jesus or do we have a veneer of following Jesus under which lies individualism? Put in a corporate/communal/societal sense: Are we a Christian nation or are we a nation with a Christian veneer under which lies nationalism? when our voices and our leaders' voices aren't in sync with the gospel, they are in sync with other drivers.

6 January 2008--Epihpany--Habits for the New Year

focusPoints

Habits--steady or regular patterns of behavior. A neutral term as habits can be good and bad.

Just as it is important to develop good habits, it's just as important to develop one's character.

forwardPoints

We can harness spiritual development habit power (St. Paul: "Train yourself to be Godly." I Timothy 4:7). He was urging us to develop holy habits and then reinforce them by repetition (Fookes: Stockwell UMC Worship Message, 6 January 2008).

fellowshipPoints

Possible resolutions for personal revolution:

1. I will take better care of my body. The Bible teaches that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19).
2. I will start each day with God. Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."
3. I will take on a specific ministry for Christ. St. Paul urged all Christians to "excel in gifts that build up the church (I Corinthians 14:12).
4. I will control my tongue. St. Paul gave us the ideal standard in Ephesians 4:15: "Speaking the truth in love , we will in all things grow up in Christ."
5. I will become a more joyful Christian. The joy of the Lord is strength (Nehemiah 8:10).Developing holy habits is a year-long journey that begins anew each day.

findingPoints

Comparing the Fookes' Quintessential Quintelateral with Jill Crainshaw's approaches from Keep the Call: Leading The Congregation Without Losing Your Soul,

1. Taking better care of my body
Voice Clay, and Fiber: Does "who I am" march "what I do? (Crainshaw 2007, 114)?" Are the spiritual, mental, physical, financial, and social dimensions of my soul "preaching without words?

2. Starting each day with God
Ministry as Transformation/Imaginative Questions: How are our neighbors' voices and stories part of the gospel's tapestry? what can we do to open the doors to shared growth and learning with our neighbors (Crainshaw 2007, 105-106)? Are we willing to acknowledge that our treasured comfort zone, manners, rituals, and traditions are not the only way others have to be?

3. Taking on specific ministry
Ministry as Formation: Who are we as people of faith? What are we to do as people of faith. Who are we as God's church? What are we to do as god's church (Crainshaw 2007, 33-37? Have we given into a veil of passvitiy or are we garnering a volume of proactivity?

4. Controlling my tongue
Ministry as Proclamation/Do You Hear What I Hear? What if Christian proclamation is energized not only by God's transcendent voice but also be God's indwelling voice (Crainshaw 2007, 2-3)? Are we hearing from God only through others or are we hearing from God directly?

5. Becoming a more joyful Christian
A God Who Makes and Forms: How can the Christian story be proclaimed so those listeners respond with the recognition, "That's my story, too"? Can individual and congregational stories also be lived, remembered, and told in such a way that listeners respond with recognition, "That's the gospel story too (Crainshaw 2007, 43)?" Do we love others enough to translate for them that which we take for granted?

faithPoints

Psychologists tell us that it takes three weeks (21 days) to develop a habit. Prayerfully consider commit to beginning/continuing/developing/evaluating "holy habits" to position us to receive god's blessings in 2008 that will equip us to make disciples to God's glory.

6 January 2008--Epihpany--Habits for the New Year

A habit is a steady or regular pattern of behavior and can be good or bad. Just as it is important to develop good habits, its just as important to develop one's character.

St. Paul urged us to develop holy habits and reinforce them by repetition (I Timothy 4:7).

Possible resolutions for 2008--
1. I will take better care of my body. The Bible teaches that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19).
2. I will start each day with God. Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."
3. I will take on a specific ministry for Christ. St. Paul urged all Christians to "excel in gifts that build up the church (I Corinthians 14:12).
4. I will control my tongue. St. Paul gave us the ideal standard in Ephesians 4:15: "Speaking the truth in love , we will in all things grow up in Christ."
5. I will become a more joyful Christian. The joy of the Lord is strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

Developing holy habits is a year-long journey that begins anew each day.