Chained for Good: John the B

It's been awhile since there's been time to write here, but we're in the middle of a 7 part sermon series about biblical characters who were imprisoned.   I have to mention, before I write anything else, that I absolutely KNOW you're going to love the video intro to this week's message.  If you've been in worship, you know that each message in this series starts with a story about an unusual prison.  This week's is one of the best - really fun (which isn't the way you might normally describe prison stuff).  But I don't want to spoil it for you, so you'll have to show up if you want to see the prison story I'm going to share this week.  It's great!

Anyway, this is week three in the Chained for Good series, and we're taking a look at John the Baptist who is an interesting guy.  (Matthew 11:1-19)

[Part I and II of Chained for Good can be downloaded here]

John's ministry is fairly short-lived and yet Jesus describes him as the greatest of all the prophets.  He has an amazing ministry of proclaiming the coming of the Messiah and getting people to look at their lives.  But soon after Jesus comes on the scene, John gets tossed in jail for daring to tell Herod that he was an adulterer.  Instead of being rescued as some of Jesus' disciples were later, he comes to a grisly end when his head is lopped off to please a bratty dancer (makes a nice painting though, doesn't it?).  

If you've ever believed that a radically faithful life lived for God will lead to success and comfort, this guy torpedos that idea.  What does John have to teach us then?  That's what we'll discover Sunday.

- Curtis

Decisions, Decisions . . .

It's Lent already.  That's the 40 days leading up to Easter which really doesn't seem like it should be as close as it is.  I'm beginning some sermons that don't technically qualify as a "sermon series" but there is a common string that winds through the next three Lenten sermons.  That common string is "Decisions."  Life is full of decisions small and large.

"Will I get out of bed today? .... Oatmeal or cereal?" 

"Phone call or email?"

"Should I quit my job?" 

I'm suspicious that, like the guy who opts for junk food instead of something healthy, we fill up on relatively unimportant choices and neglect the truly important and less numerous decisions.  We ponder what TV show we'll watch, whether to buy a new gizmo and fifty other meaningless choices each day, but we don't bother thinking about whether there's any significant purpose to the day we just completed.

The problem with such a pattern of small choices taking precedence over important decisions is obvious:  Life feels meaningless.

What if the solution to this problem is very simple?  Could it be that there are perhaps just two or three decisions that require our focus?  And, once we honestly make these genuine decisions and live daily in concert with what we've chosen, then everything else will fall into place rather well.

Over the next few weeks we'll look at what these two or three decisions might be, and how they impact every other aspect of life.  Check out the weekly question above - I 'd love to read about some of the decisions you have made this week.
- Curtis

Generous Living - But maybe not ...

It happens from time to time.  I get started with the study of a passage for the upcoming sermon and then I realize, "What I thought this passage was all about isn't what this passage is all about."  That's happened this week.  The passage is from Mark 12 where Jesus spies a widow dropping her two small coins into the temple treasury.  An act of sacrifice and generosity, no doubt.  It was a significant offering, not due to the amount, but due to the extreme sacrifice.  That's the direction I've always taken with this story (retold almost identically in Luke 21).  Here's what one commentary says about it:

The Christian lesson of the widow's mites, as relayed in Luke (21:1-4) and Mark (12:41-44), is an enduring testament to the value of faith. A destitute widow has only a few mites to her name, and those she gave selflessly as her donation to the Temple. (Mites were ancient pennies, fairly worthless at the time). Jesus comments that her modest gift was worth more than the ostentatious contributions of the wealthy, for her mites represented all that she had. This virtuous woman had demonstrated true faith in God -- she could not know from where her next meal would come, but she believed that He would provide for her.

 But there's a glaring absence of comment in the actual story.  At no point does Jesus commend the widow.  Jesus actually says she "put in all she had to live on."  Was that a good thing?  The context of the passage, in respect to the events before and after it, is important too - and very revealing.  Another thing: What exactly was the "temple treasury" - where was the widow's money going?  These are things I started to wrestle with this week.  Have we been reading this story incorrectly all along?  And if this other direction for the sermon is right, what does it say to us today?  That's always the big question.  The answer might be disturbing for me as a "church leader" (I hate it when that happens).


The sermon title is printed, ready to go in the bulletin.  But if I could still reprint it, I'd title it differently.  Without spilling all the sermon beans already, I'd love to hear what you think the title should be.  Share your ideas!  And I hope your Thanksgiving was good.
- Curtis

Are You in a Funk? Maybe It's Cultural . . . and Curable

Deuteronomy 6:1-8; Mark 12:28-34

Message: Uncommon Community

I was reading about a study done at Northwestern University that provides some fascinating findings about individualism, community and mood - especially depression. You can find the actual study HERE but, trust me, it can be depressing just to sort through the pyscho-lingo in these things. (I think that one day they'll do another study revealing that those who do these studies are more likely to be depressed). This wasn't a People magazine pop-poll sort of thing; it was a real, scientific, brain-mapping, chemical, genetic, confusing study.

They looked at genetic markers for depression. It turns out that some people have a specific "short allele - a depression gene," that predisposes them to depression. So one part of the study looked for any sort of correlation between cultures/races that have a bunch of these pesky short alleles. Here's what they found:

• Some cultures have a significantly greater genetic predisposition to depression (the short allele)
• Some cultures have much higher rates of depression

The study also looked at where cultures are on the spectrum of individualism vs collectivism. In other words, are collective cultures (those that are structured more towards the community than the individual) or individualistic cultures more prone to depression?

Then they smashed all the data into a fat computer and hit the "go" button. Here are the surprising results:

• The culture with the genetic marker for depression has significantly lower rates of depression.

• The culture that, genetically, should suffer lower rates of depression - is the the one full of depressed people.

Huh? What's going on? It turns out that the cultures with lower rates of depression are the ones that live in greater community. People's lives are tied together more; they inherently value collective harmony, expression and support each other much more. Perhaps community is an adaptive way of dealing with a genetic predisposition towards depression. In fact, something about these cultures - maybe the community they enjoy - heals or prevents depression to some extent. Amazingly, 80% of people from these collective-valuing cultures have the short allele that makes them more likely to suffer depression. Eighty percent!! But they aren't as depressed as the long-allele-ers.

The part you've probably guessed by now is that we in the western cultures - especially the United States - are the ones who suffer the greatest rates of depression, despite the fact that we don't have the big genetic predisposition to depression. Amazing. On the other hand, Asian cultures (and probably other collective cultures) have a high genetic predisposition towards depression, but suffer it far less than we do in the west.

The study raises many questions about cause and effect and what (countless) other factors might be involved. But one clear possibility is that we would all do well to live in greater community.

Hey, wait a minute - doesn't the bible say something like that too? What do you know.

- Curtis

Got Poop?

Lessons Learned in a Recession # 2: Power & Light

We've all heard the phrase, "Hindsight is always 20/20," meaning that once we live through an experience, it makes more sense or we realize how we could have done things differently. From a faith perspective, the phrase also includes an understanding of how God accomplishes his will and purposes through events that take place. That's one of the great things about the bible stories. We get to see how things end up. It's like we travel through time and see how the pieces fit together, even though things might have seemed pretty lousy for those living through it.

The thing that amazes me about my own limited perspective is that, even though I know God always has purpose for the poop that life brings, I still tend to wallow around in that poop wondering if there really is a purpose and wondering what it could be. It doesn't matter that I've done this poop wallowing hundreds of times before and that, almost every time, I could eventually see how things worked out for the best. Or, at the least, I later came to a point of trusting that God was doing something I couldn't see or sense at the time; that he was at work in hidden ways. I know these truths quite well, but when I'm in the poop, I still wonder and wallow.

This week we study two people who handled life's lousy events far better. Bartimaeus was a blind man who cried out to Jesus even when others told him to shut up. What made him so strong and persistent? And then there was Elisha who was surrounded by enemy soldiers ready to kill him. But he was sure of victory, though he had only one frightened servant with him. He was confident something else was going on. No wallowing with these guys. That means, of course, there are some beautiful things we can learn from them.

Got poop? Bring it on Sunday and we'll all see what God does with it.

- Curtis

Too Close to Home

Mark 10:17-31

This week we start a new series of messages called, Lessons Learned in a Recession. Part of the plan was for me to intro each message with a short interview of someone who lived through the Great Depression and therefore has a wider view on what's happening in our world now. It seems to me we could use some of that perspective and their wisdom these days.

What I didn't count on was that these wonderful, humble old saints don't really want to be interviewed on video. Each one I've asked so far (maybe it's me!) has said, "Oh, I can tell you some things, but don't turn a camera on!" I need one of those 60 Minutes cameras hidden in a brief case button, but I don't carry a briefcase. I might try just audio interviews, but it's a little more fun to watch people. Anyway, all that is to say that I'll be starting the series off sans video interviews!

I started thinking about this series because everything I've been reading and hearing about the economy says that this "recession" may really be the start of a very long-term shift. We've all been looking at this economic situation as if it were a dislocated shoulder that economists can knock back into place with a few twists and pushes here and there. Painful, but things will be okay once it pops back. Now we're all waking up to the fact that it isn't going to be that way. Things have changed. There's a new normal ahead and it may not look like what we've been used to. We're nowhere near what it was like during the Great Depression, but we also don't know what's ahead.

When we start to realize that things have changed, it might feel discouraging. Dreams of security, college, travel, homes, retirement . . . are wavering and may vanish for many. But there are a lot of very good things that come out of such a shift away from our past experience of super-abundance. For instance we start to realize our interdependence and our dependence on God (hopefully). Along with new perspectives, we'll be studying some bible passages and stories that give us insight about better ways to live; what we can learn; what's important now. I hope you'll do more than just listen to these messages. Part of the lesson we're already learning is lean times mean we need each other more than ever. So share your thoughts and wisdom! And watch out, I may have a video camera rolling.

- Curtis

Doing Something Right

(Take the "evil" poll at the bottom of this post!)
Each week Garrison Keillor begins his weekly radio address with the words, "Well, it's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon Minnesota, my home town out there on the edge of the prairie..."

If this were an audio podcast I might start it with similar words, but instead of "quiet" I'd have to switch the "e" and the "t" - saying instead, "It's been quite a week in Cedar Hills..."

Most of you have heard that the church building was slammed into by a 20 yr. old young man who had been drinking heavily. His car was totaled, but fortunately he was not seriously hurt and no one was in the building at the time. It happened 11:15 Sunday night. The building has stood up well. There's a good sized hole that impacts 4 different rooms and some minor structural damage that we're having both contractors and structural engineers deal with. There are ongoing messes to clean up. But it could have been much worse - for us and especially for the young man who made some serious mistakes. I'm heading out today to get a copy of the police report and see if I can can contact him or perhaps visit him. Without exception, the people in our church family have expressed concern for him and hope we can make a positive, course-altering impact upon his life. So pray for openings into his life.

I can't help but wonder how that event might be related to something much more wonderful we were a part of the day before, Saturday October 10th. On Saturday about 12-14 people from Cedar Hills joined with hundreds of other volunteers from 20 Beaverton Churches to form Compassion Beaverton - a free clinic for uninsured people who needed medical or dental care. It was an amazing day! I've posted a video here on Youtube (above) of my perspective as I traveled around the clinic as a "flow" person - helping people fill out the right intake forms and then move along through the different steps in the process. Though there were hundreds of people who didn't get everything they needed, and many who were not able to be helped at all - still, there was a tremendous atmosphere of gratitude, grace and mercy that filled the air. God as tangibly present in the people serving and in those being served. It was a privilege to be a part of the day.

Now I'm not one to find Satan under every rock and behind every tree. But I do know that evil is personal; Satan is real. At times we credit him with too much power and, in the process, give him more power over us. Jesus acknowledged him, but never once feared him. More importantly, he overcame Satan and defeated his kingdom. And if Christ lives in us through the Spirit, there's no reason we should see evil differently. So when this young man took a terribly wrong turn in his life and smashed into our church, I don't know whether it is his own personal demons that were at work, or a sign that we're doing something right as a church family and Satan isn't pleased. Maybe it's both. Really, I don't know that it matters. It just means we have to stick with God, stay on the course he sets for us, extend forgiveness and Jesus' redemption to the young man, and pray that evil is bound and powerless. Then we get to see the old story retold in our lives: Evil defeated; God's glory shining brightly. That's what I'm counting on.

Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.

So if you find life difficult because you're doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he's doing, and he'll keep on doing it.

1 Peter 4:12-13; 19 (The Message translation)

Finally, I'm EXTREMELY happy to have Gavin Silaski preaching this week! What perfect timing with everything else that is going on! Gavin will be preaching from Jeremiah 9:23-24 (linked at right). His message is called, "Voiceless."

- Curtis

When God Lets Us Down

So I started this blog earlier in the week with a childhood story of dashed expectations. But it turned out so well, if I do say so myself, that I decided to use it as my opener for the message on Sunday. If you want to hear it, you'll just have to attend worship. Or listen once it gets uploaded to the podcast page. But I highly recommend worship for all other benefits that come from being together in God's presence. Of course, if you get your expectations up too high for a clever sermon-opener, those expectations might be dashed as well - leaving you with double-dashed-expectations. What could be better? So get your hopes up and I'll let you down, leaving you with the very point I'm attempting to get across.

Luke 7 contains lots more miracles by Jesus. And then something strange happens: John the Baptist sends two of his followers to ask Jesus, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" We don't know what exactly led John to ask this question, but it's quite possible that he was dealing with dashed expectations. He was, perhaps, thinking that Jesus would be someone different or that he would do things that he wasn't doing. In the message we will explore what these expectations might have been. We'll also look at our own expectations for God and what happens when God disappoints us in some way.

- Curtis

Snowflakes & People

Luke 5:1-31

Categories. We love categories. We put everything into them, perhaps because categorizing things gives us some sense of control over life. We categorize experiences, restaurants, cars, books, chairs and chewing gum among millions of other things.

Most of all, though, we categorize people. People fall into categories like friend, enemy, loud, shy, ugly, sexy, smelly, nice, gay, straight, smart, stupid, compassionate, rude, happy, cranky, successful, loser, cool, geek, Christian, lost, this race or that . . . the categories are endless. I'm not sure if our categories are all about trying to control people, or if we're just trying to figure them out. Placing people in a category gives us a sense of, "Well now, I've got that one figured out." And so it's easier to stop worrying about who they really are very much because we already have them placed neatly tucked away into our mental file cabinet. We can almost hear God saying to us, "My oh my. What ever will I do with you?"

When we look at Luke chapter 5 we find Jesus meeting several people for the very first time. Some will become his apostles, some he will heal, others will reject him. Each encounter is surprisingly unique. What does this tell us about God and ourselves? About our relationship with him? That's what we'll explore in this week's message. - Curtis

Sneak Previews

Luke 4:31-34

Up! Along with being a great movie, the previews for Up define what a good sneak preview is all about.

When I go to a movie, I like the sneak previews - the coming attractions - almost better than the feature film. Why? Because the previews almost always look good. They whet the viewer's appetite, even if the real film later turns out to be a letdown (which, of course, is common). Previews are exciting and fun.

I wonder if Luke thought of chapter 4 of his gospel as a sneak preview? It has so many of the major themes that come out in the rest of the story. Consider all he packs into one chapter:

• The big temptation by Satan
• Jesus' "this is what I'm all about" sermon in the Nazareth synagogue - and the rejection that comes along with it
• Driving out evil
• Healing people
• Preaching Good News

That's a pretty good preview of the whole story. And the best part is, while Luke whet's our appetite, we don't feel let down at the end of the story. In fact, we realize it's just a beginning - our beginning. - Curtis

Truth in Advertising

John 3:1-17

This is the "early in the week" version of the sermon blog. In other words, I don' t have much for you yet. But for starters... in John 3, Jesus talks with Nicodemus and discusses being "born again." More than any other phrase, "born again" has become wrapped in mis and pre conceptions. I think that's where my title, "Truth in Adversing" comes in. We get promised a lot of things when we come to faith, but how real are these? I don't know if it was ever really specifically said, but I got the idea that when I became a Christian I'd always be happy, and that I'd always feel God with me. I don't think I'm alone in thinking someone did the 'ole bait and switch on me. So what is the truth? More on that later in the week.

We'll take a fresh look at Jesus' talk with Nicodemus and where it leads us in our understanding of Jesus today.

- Curtis

Locksmith of the Soul

Mark 7:24-37

One of the great ironies of life with God is that we are so very reluctant to be fully known, and yet we desperately need and want to be known. Why do we fear something we crave so much? It's possible that the most heartfelt - and terrifying prayer is this . . .

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Psalm 139

This week we'll start a new series of messages called Getting Reacquainted with Jesus. The way Mark's gospel starts in the early chapters seems to point to a profound truth: We can't know God fully until we allow him to know us - or perhaps until we simply realize how deeply he knows us. The good and the bad; the light and the dark within each of us. It is Jesus who knows us better than we know ourselves. That's wonderful and frightening.

One of my current favorite songs explains this need and paradox well. It's Times, by Tenth Avenue North. The first part is a person's prayer to God; the second part is God's reply. Lyrics and song are below. See you Sunday - Curtis

Strong Medicine

Acts 3-4

Do you sometimes feel like you tip-toe around the topic of Jesus? Most of us do. Lots of things come into play. We don't want people to think we're a religious nut. There's enough of those around and who wants to fall in with that lot? Not that I'm judging, lest I be . . .well, anyway. And then we don't want to alienate people, or say the "wrong thing" or - you name it.

We tip-toe.

Not Peter.

After the resurrection this guy comes out with guns blaring, figuratively of course. No more hiding by the bonfire, denying Jesus. He's offending and alienating about everybody possible. Except those that he's saving with his sharp message. How is he able to be so insanely bold for Jesus? Why doesn't he care what happens to him? We'll dig into these questions this week.

Something to consider: Would you be willing to be as bold as Peter if you God said, "I'll do a miracle through you that will completely change someone's life and eternity"?

The Passion Week

Passion.
That's hubba, hubba stuff, right? What does that have to do with what Jesus went through during his last week? Turns out that our English word "passion" comes from the Greek word, pathos. Pathos, like many words, can have more than one meaning. One meaning referrs to something suffered, and in this sense the "passion of Jesus" refers to the suffering that he endured. Through the years passion morphed into the additional meaning of strong emotions - probably because enduring strong suffering involves strong emotions as well. And if Jesus was willing to suffer so much for us, he must have strong emotions, feelings, passions for us.

Things don't get a lot busier around the church than during Holy Week, Passion Week. There's the Good Friday service, the Egg Hunt on Saturday morning, and Easter festivities. It seems that there's always an extra need during the week as well. But for some reason I'm not feeling overwhelmed this time. It could be denial about all I still have to do; that's a strong possibility. Or maybe God has simply given me a bit of extra peace. I prefer that explanation.

For the sermon this Easter I decided to preach on the least popular account of Jesus' resurrection - Mark's. Mark's gospel ends in a very unsatisfying way. Like a movie ending that doesn't complete things as you wished. Gibson's Passion of the Christ captured this feeling very well, I thought. It leaves you wanting more, sensing that so much more must have happened - and why wasn't it conveyed better?!

In Mark 16, the women come to the tomb with their spice rack to freshen things up around the stinky tomb. But an angel disguised as a guy in white is there to greet them and he gives them the coolest news: "Don't be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him." There's a bit more, but that's pretty much it. The part in our bibles that comes after this section was most likely added years or decades later by someone who wanted to complete the scene in a more satisfying way. It used to really bug me that we don't have more in Mark. But the truth is, we don't need more. And Mark must have ended it there for a very good reason. What was it? What do you think?
That's what we'll explore this Sunday for Easter. - Curtis
PS: NT Wright provides a scholarly look at resurrection in the 1st century. Go here if you dare!

Simple Greatness

Matthew 23

If anyone ever tells you that the Jesus of the Bible is too mamby-pamby for their liking, have them read Matthew 23. There Jesus lays into the Pharisees, a very pious and dedicated religious group, more than he ever nailed any other group. He calls them "white-washed tombs...hyprocrites (6 times)...blind guides...a brood of vipers." This isn't the same guy who's having PBJ's with little American kids on my children's bible, is it? It's revealing that Jesus saved his harshest words, not for those who were far from God, but those who seemed to be the closest - religious people.

What might that say to us? What do you suppose Jesus would say about the ways we seek to follow God? What sorts of holy habits do we have that would irk him? We'll discuss how Jesus' warnings to the Pharisees can help us to have a more genuine faith that impacts our community and world.
Remember to VOTE!
- Curtis

For Easter Sunday - A New Era

Matthew 28:1-10
Why? Why does it happen like it does? Wouldn't it have been great if Jesus' resurrection had been a bigger deal to the public? Some sort of publicity or announcement would have been nice, for heavens sake. Like when Obama came to town this week, they let everyone know. Thousands showed up and cheered. Those who didn't like the message could have showed up to protest (maybe they did, but it wasn't covered).
But it didn't happen for the biggest even since creation. How come?
Palm Sunday's entry in Jerusalem was a big public event. But not the resurrection.
The trial of Jesus was a public event witnessed by many. But not the resurrection.
The death of Jesus on the cross was a very public event. But not the resurrection.
Why? Wouldn't the Father want as many people as possible to see it, experience it, believe it?
Yes the Bible says that hundreds later saw Jesus after he rose in subsequent weeks. Yet it didn't happen at first. What's the deal? That's what we'll explore in the brief message this week, along with why it matters. Thoughts? - Curtis

For Sunday, February 3 - The Ways of the Kingdom

Matthew 5; Isaiah 53
On the surface, these two passages don't have a lot to do with each other. But I consider it a spiritual gift to be able to bend and twist disparate passages and ideas into something that will preach as one - or maybye it's heresy, who knows?
Matthew 5, what we normally call "The Sermon on the Mount" is Jesus' inaugural speech about the Kingdom of God/Heaven that he brings. Most believers, even non-Christians, stand in awe of Jesus' words here. Though he re-states many of the ideas of the prophets and sages of Jewish Old Testament history, he does so with perfect clarity, simplicity and beauty. One can't help but read through the Sermon and simply think, "Yes, if only the world and people were like this..."
Which is exactly the problem. It isn't and we aren't. Instead we find that, at our best, we consider Jesus' words impossible ideals. But we don't really think there's any way things can be as he describes.
Here's a thought: What if he really meant what he said? On both the individual level (inner me stuff), and on the social level of how we treat each other - and (gasp) - how tribes and nations treat each other? What would it mean to turn the other cheek and bless those who persecute us? How do we possibly do that? If we get ticked off when someone cuts us off in traffic, who we don't even know, then how do we ever forgive someone who has injured our soul? And yet here we are with these words about a very different kingdom.
That's where I think Isaiah 53, the passage of the Suffering Servant comes in. I don't know how far I'll get towards tying all of this together in the sermon - maybe it will be more than one. We'll see...
Your thoughts?
- Curtis