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31
Aug '20
September 2020 Pastor’s Corner – How to Vote in November
31
Aug '20
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33)
In a couple of months we will vote for who will serve as President of the United States of America for the next four years. We now know definitively that it will either be Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Many Christians are wondering how they should vote in the upcoming election. Some Christians have already declared that the only “true” Christian vote is for the candidate they support. Well, let this article serve as the definitive guidance on how Christians should vote in November.
There’s More Than Just the Presidency
It is important to remember that there is more happening this November than just the presidency, and it is quite possible that the various local governing offices and the issues on the ballot could well have a greater impact on your day-to-day living than who is elected President. So often, we are so focused on the one office that we don’t pay as much attention to the other issues or political offices that are more local to us and therefore have greater impact on our lives. The presidency is important, and certainly grabs all of the headlines and news, but don’t miss the rest of the electoral forest for this one, admittedly big, tree.
Vote for the Kingdom of God
The most foundational objective for every Christian is to work to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth. In addition to the verse at the beginning of this article, most all of us pray for this every Sunday in the Lord’s Prayer: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10). As you look at the candidates for office (including but not limited to the presidency) and the issues on the ballot, how can your vote contribute to bringing the Kingdom of God here on earth? Perhaps the first question to ask is, what are the values and character of the Kingdom of God? Jesus lays out his most succinct and thorough vision for the Kingdom of God in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Over the next weeks and months, take time to read through the Sermon on the Mount prayerfully and intentionally and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your discernment as you look at the candidates and issues on the ballot.
Vote Your Conscience
One of the most beautiful hallmarks of both our faith and our democratic process is that we are all free to vote our conscience. I’ve seen a lot of folks make comments to the effect of, “if you don’t vote for _________, then you aren’t really a Christian.” That statement is, to quote one of my seminary professors, ‘straight from the pit of hell and smells like smoke.’ People will want to know who and how you are voting, but you are under no obligation to answer those questions — and, to be honest, I encourage you not to answer them. How you vote is between you, your ballot, and God. The beauty of our process is that the only vote that is “thrown away” is a vote not cast.
Disagree with Grace
This election seems to be more emotionally charged than any I can remember before, which amazes me because I didn’t think things could get more charged than the last one. It is more important than ever before that we learn to disagree with grace. Faithful, God-honoring and -loving Christians are going to discern how to vote for the Kingdom of God and their conscience in very different, and opposing ways. As Augustine once said (and is the motto of our denomination), “Unity in the essentials, liberty in the non-essentials, and in all things charity (love).” How we vote is not an essential of our faith, and we need to be able to dialogue and disagree with love and grace.
Accept the Results with Humility and Submission
The person and issues you vote for won’t win every time. It’s entirely possible that the issues you care about most end up with the result you would least like to see. No matter how things go, accept the results with humility and submission. If your candidate wins, be excited, but don’t gloat. As Paul reminds us in Romans 13, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” (Rom. 13:1–2) Keep in mind that Paul wrote this when Nero was emperor of the Roman Empire, one of the most tyrannical emperors ever seen. If Paul could encourage the Christians of his day to submit to Nero, we can submit to the candidate that wins the election.
So there you have it. The definitive guide to how a true Christian should vote in November. May God bless you as you seek to discern how to vote in November, and may His Kingdom come.
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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01
Aug '20
August 2020 Pastor’s Corner – Essential?
01
Aug '20
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:14–17)
Essential?
As state and local governments imposed increasingly strict rules regarding public gatherings in response to the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic this past spring, churches found themselves facing a difficult position. “Essential” businesses were somewhat exempt from the closures, but most states did not classify churches as “essential.” While most churches and pastors submitted to the guidance (and thanks to the blessings of modern technology were able to continue worshipping online or in outdoor settings), the restrictions chafed, particularly the determination that churches were not “essential.” To be honest, for many of us pastors, it chafed because the government was saying out loud what most of us have been feeling for a long time. It’s one thing to feel like you don’t matter… it’s entirely different when someone else says it.
As Virginia and many other states have begun reopening and churches, including ours, have resumed in-person worship, this question briefly moved to the background. But as the COVID-19 numbers continue to increase rapidly, many people think it’s just a matter of time before public gatherings are again restricted. Additionally, the Supreme Court recently ruled on a case in Nevada that imposed tighter regulations on churches than on casinos. In his minority dissent, Justice Gorsuch wrote, “In Nevada, it seems, it is better to be in entertainment than religion. Maybe that is nothing new. But the First Amendment prohibits such obvious discrimination against the exercise of religion.” This has returned the question of whether churches are essential or not to the foreground.
The Essential Church?
What is it that makes a church “essential”? Frankly, it doesn’t (or shouldn’t) matter what any government says. The Church is not subject to the government, but to Christ. The First Amendment doesn’t give the Church its authority or make it essential, it merely affirms and protects the authority given through Christ to the Church. As Edmund Clowney writes, “The great mark of the church is in the message it proclaims: the gospel of salvation from sin and eternal death through the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life.” (The Church, pg 103). The proclamation of this message comes through what we say and what we do. We proclaim the Gospel through our words by preaching and sharing our testimony and lives with others. We proclaim the Gospel through our actions by the administration of the sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper) and acts of service and ministry in which we love our neighbors as ourselves and care for “the orphans and widows” (James 1:27). It is my belief that we, the church in general, have become “non-essential” because we have failed to love and serve our communities well in Jesus’ name. A question I often ask myself and the Session is this: “If Northminster (both the building and the congregation) were to disappear from the corner of Clearview Road and Route 29, would anyone notice?” If the answer to that question is “no” then we have made ourselves non-essential.
But there is another reason the Church is essential, one that likely won’t be discussed in many of these conversations. One of the roles of the church is to intercede on behalf of the world. In addition to the call to pray for governing authorities (1 Timothy 2:2), there’s the example of Abraham’s intercession for Lot and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:22-33). We are here to seek God’s healing and blessing for Caesar, our communities and the world. The opportunity we have through our corporate prayer on behalf of the communities and world around us is an enormous privilege and opportunity.
As we continue through this pandemic, may the question of whether Northminster is essential or not be answered, not by a government edict, but by the ongoing faithful proclamation of the Word through our words and even more through our acts of love and service to our community.
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
Rev. David Garrison
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01
Jun '20
June 2020 Pastor’s Corner – How’s This for Unexpected Irony?
01
Jun '20
Pentecost brings to a close the first half of the Christian year. The seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter trace the grand arc of God’s saving action in Jesus Christ. In addition to that rhythm, we have spent the past 90 days reading through the entire Bible. It’s felt something like a whirlwind. Then add in the chaos we’ve all experienced in our lives and our world with the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s enough to leave you dizzy, confused and probably a little overwhelmed. At this point, most all of us are yearning for just a little bit of ordinary.
The second half of the Christian year is one long season called Ordinary Time. This year, Ordinary Time begins today, June 1. As Philip Reindeers explains, ‘“Ordinary” doesn’t mean boring or second-rate but simply “everyday.” The Christian faith is not an otherworldly faith; it’s about this creation, your life, these days. Ordinary Time gives us the space to consider all the implications of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ for our day by day, week-in, week-out lives.’ As we find ourselves yearning for something of the ordinary in these very extraordinary times, the Christian calendar offers an invitation to consider the implications not just of all that God’s salvation in Christ means for our daily lives, but also how this pandemic is impacting us as well — and perhaps even to ask how does the Gospel inform and affect our understanding of the pandemic’s impact?
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Rom. 12:1–2 MESSAGE)
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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06
Apr '20
A Call to Prayer and Fasting – Good Friday, April 10, 2020
06
Apr '20
This Friday we invite and encourage the members of Northminster Evangelical Presbyterian Church to join our brothers and sisters in the EPC, PCA, ECO, ACNA and many other denominations and churches in a day of prayer and fasting to cry out for God’s help in addition to a day of worship. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep the globe and our nation, this is an opportunity for us to set ourselves before the Lord and plead with him to intercede on behalf of His creation.
If you’ve been joining us on B90, you’ve seen how, time and again, when the people of God were convicted of their sin and sought His intervention, they began with a period of fasting and then prayer. While you might consider fasting from technology or something like that, there is something particular about going without food for a short period of time. The pang and tug of physical hunger reminds us of our deeper, spiritual hunger for God and his action in our lives and our world. As Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13–14)
Setting aside a day of prayer and fasting isn’t something to be entered into lightly. To help us prepare for this Friday, the EPC has provided several resources which you can find on their Good Friday Call to Prayer and Fasting Resources page. There is a very helpful Guide to Prayer and Fasting, a suggested prayer list, and a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer that addresses the needs of suffering people in troubled times.
Our Day of Prayer and Fasting will conclude with the Good Friday service, streamed live on our Facebook page which you can find at www.facebook.com/npcmh (you do not need a Facebook account to access the livestream). The service will begin at 7:30pm and is a simple service of scripture, song, candlelight and prayerful reflection.
We hope you’ll join us in this day of prayer and fasting, asking God to intervene in the face of this ongoing pandemic.
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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01
Apr '20
April 2020 Pastor’s Corner – The Conundrum of the Cluster
01
Apr '20
The Conundrum of the Cluster
We are creatures of habit, it’s a part of human nature. Part of that habit is grouping together with like-minded individuals, collections of people with shared beliefs, routines, customs, vision, etc. This is very normal and natural, it’s how communities form — including church communities — and it’s encouraged. We need the mutual support, accountability and encouragement that comes from the Body of Christ. In fact, in adolescent development theory, the “cluster” is an important and necessary part of the social development of the teenager. Where “cliques” are unhealthy and exclusive, “clusters” are not only inclusive and healthy, they are necessary for proper and appropriate development.
But this “clustering” also presents a problem, a problem we’ve been talking about in the church for several decades now. We aren’t called to be the church “gathered in” or “clustered together” but rather the church “sent out” (we’ve called this being a “missional” church) But the “sending out” part is hard — well, it’s very easy to talk about theoretically, but gets harder when we actually go to put it into practice. Why is it hard? Because it means leaving our comfort zone, our “cluster,” and going “out there,” wherever that may be. Our natural inertia is toward the cluster, not away from it. Throughout history, it has taken an outside force acting on the cluster that forces it to disperse and be sent out.
The Church Scattered
There is an interesting word used several times in the book of Acts, diaspeiro. It appears in Acts 8:1, 4, and 11:19 and it means “to scatter abroad.” After Stephen was stoned to death in Acts 7, there was “a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem” (8:1) that caused the Christians to be “scattered” (diaspeiro). And what happened? “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4) From the very beginning, Christians preferred to cluster together (see Acts 2:42). It took a persecution of the Christians in Jerusalem to send them out to Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch and further. It was the persecution of Christians by Nero in AD 64 that sent them out to “the ends of the earth,” spreading the Gospel far and wide. But God doesn’t always use persecution to scatter the church.
The Church Closed. Or is it?
We are, in many respects, in an unprecedented time. It certainly isn’t the first time humanity faced a pandemic like this, but it is for most of us it’s the first in our lifetime. It’s forcing us to rethink much of how we understand being “church.” How do we “do church” if we can’t meet for worship on Sunday mornings? But the church never was a building or a time. For the sake of the health of each other and our community, we can not gather in groups of 10 or more until this pandemic passes. But that doesn’t mean the church is closed. A colleague of mine posted this on her Facebook wall the other day,
A couple of years ago, God gave my associate pastor a vision of our church having transparent walls. For two years, we have been wondering how on earth God was going to turn stone and stained glass into transparent walls. We got the interpretation today. He’s making them transparent by locking our doors. Suddenly people will be able to see in from the outside! May God make transparent all the walls of our churches, that the world may know the Good News of Jesus Christ… He has been preparing us for this since November. We just didn’t understand what he was saying until now. Our church is being called to love and serve one another. We are the church sent out, not the church closed!
Through the wonder of modern technology, we will still “gather together” for worship, but in our own homes. Each Sunday morning, we will still worship in our sanctuary, and you can join us for the worship service at www.facebook.com/npcmh (no, you don’t need a Facebook account to get to it, just a phone or web browser). The service will be adapted to focus on and facilitate at-home worship as families and individuals.
The Church Sent Out
We are still Northminster Evangelical Presbyterian Church, but we are not closed. We are the church dispersed, scattered, sent out, like dandelion seeds. Even in the midst of the social distancing of this pandemic, we have an opportunity to love our neighbor in ways we’ve forgotten or lost. If your neighbors are elderly or in the higher-risk categories for the coronavirus, offer to go to the store for them and leave the groceries on their porch. If your neighbors have kids and jobs that don’t allow them to work from home, offer to watch the kids during the day. There are many other ways to serve our neighbors, and we’ll help you explore some of those in the weeks to come. This is going to be a difficult season, let there be no doubt. But the church has faced pandemics and difficult seasons before, and every time the light of the love of Jesus Christ has shined brightly in the darkness. Hold fast to your hope, stand firm on the foundation of Jesus Christ and don’t be afraid.
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
Rev. David Garrison
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19
Mar '20
NEPC’s Response to COVID-19
19
Mar '20
March 18, 2020
Dear Friends,
We are in unprecedented times, being forced into new patterns of being that feel unnatural and strange, but are ever so necessary in order to “flatten the curve” and slow the spread of this pandemic. The rhythm and flow of our “normal” lives has been completely disrupted, and we’re just beginning to experience what this is going to be like. It’s hard, it’s scary, and it’s frightening. What are we to do? Well, there are a few answers to that, which I’d like to share with you today.
What am I to do?
Be wise and prudent, but not fearful. We can take the novel coronavirus seriously and apply appropriate social distancing and good hygiene without falling into fear. I encourage you to follow the guidelines issued by the CDC and the federal and state governments. Wash your hands often, don’t touch your face, stay 6’ away from others, and avoid large group gatherings. But even with those efforts you might contract the virus. Whether you do or not, you are always in Jesus’ hands. He is present with us in our isolation, our quarantines and even more in our illnesses. He is already and will continue to watch over each one of us. We need not fear for our present or future, because Jesus is already there.
What is our church to do?
Both Scripture (Romans 13:1) and our confession (Westminster 23.4) command us to submit to civil authorities, and while (at the time of the writing of this letter) no law has been issued barring us from gathering for worship, we do believe that it is our civic responsibility to comply, as best as possible, with their recommendations to slow the spread of this virus. To that end, we have cancelled all ministries and missions outside of worship. This includes Sunday school, Bible studies, women’s circles, and youth group. We are also moving the focus of our worship service to online streaming. As long as you have an internet-connected device (cell phone, TV, computer, iPad, etc), you can join us for worship. Simply go to www.facebook.com/npcmh at 11am on Sunday morning, and you’ll see the livestream there (you do not need a Facebook account to see the service). We will publish the bulletin online so you can follow along. We’ll send more information about how this works on different devices in a few days. In addition, the Sanctuary will still be open if you would like to be present with us, but we encourage folks to sit 6’ apart. But let me re-emphasize: If you are in the higher-risk categories for COVID-19, please do not put yourself at risk by going out. Also, if you have been reading for B90, by all means keep it up! While our discussion groups won’t be meeting, we’ll email you online videos and tools.
The Work of the Church goes on
In the midst of this, we are still hard at work serving you and our community. Our programs might be temporarily cancelled, but the work of the church is more than a program or ministry. Please continue giving. Our community needs the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ now more than ever. Send your tithes and offerings in weekly. If you find yourself quarantined and unable to go to the store or need help, please let us know. Look for ways to to love your neighbor, old or young. Invite a neighbor to join your family for worship in your living room (but practice appropriate social distancing). Call one another and check in to see how folks are doing. And when you hear of a need or concern, please let us know. In the midst of this terrible situation, we have an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus for each other and our neighbors in ways we’d never dreamed.
The Church has faced pandemics like this time and again throughout history. While we don’t know how long this will last, we know that it too shall pass and look forward to the time when we can worship and be together in person. Until then, be wise and prudent. Practice good hygiene, appropriate social distancing, and the guidance of our governing authorities. Help where you are able. And above and beyond all else, pray. For we are all in God’s hands, and we should earnestly pray for his mercy to bring an end to this pestilence both here and abroad.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. David Garrison
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17
Feb '20
Dander, Discipline, and Decisions
17
Feb '20
Paul faced many of the same challenges we face today and he reminds us in Ephesians 6:12 “We are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil spirits…” In the First Battle of Manassas some of Thomas Jackson’s troops broke ranks and charged. At first they made some gains against the enemy but soon where overtaken and overcome. When asked about it later Jackson’s reply was “It’s good to have your dander up, but it is discipline that wins the day.” The words dander and discipline are very effective in our spiritual warfare against the Devil.
Taking the Bait
Social media is rife with bait. The Devil dangles it and we bite down…hard. As Christians, we are called to evaluate what we post and how we respond to the comments of others. Several questions will help us do this? Do these remarks glorify God? Does this unite of divide? Are we exercising the right of free speech to voice an opinion, win an argument, impress others with clever banter or are we trying to advance the kingdom of God? Proverbs 4:22 tells us that God’s words to us bring life and healing.
Jesus never used the tactics of embarrassment, guilt or shame. To the tax collector, Matthew, Jesus extended the hand of fellowship, dinning with Matthew and his friends. (Matt 9:9-13) To the woman caught in adultery, Jesus extended mercy. “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:1-11) To the woman at the well, Jesus offered refreshment – “I will give you living water.”(John 4:7-28)
How Many Times?
How many times will we take the bait? How many times will we allow ourselves to be offended or to offend before we realize that once again we have allowed the Devil to influence our thought and emotions? How many times will we travel down the path of destroyed relationships before wising up to the Devil’s tactics? Thomas Jackson’s advice serves well here. It is good to get your dander up, to become feisty, have little spunk when determining in our hearts that we will no longer be pawns in the Devil’s game of divide and conquer.
Choose Your Hard
Sometimes life gives us choices. It is not easy to exercise. Neither is it easy managing health issues that might have been avoided or delayed by exercising. Choose your hard. It’s not easy implementing a regular time for Bible Study and prayer into our daily routines, but neither is it easy living with anxiety, disappointment, and uncertainty. Choose your hard. Thomas Jackson was right – discipline wins the day. Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount, “If your right hand causes you to offend, cut it off.” Should he be living today, he might have said, “If social media causes you to offend or be offended, cut if off.” It is hard to refrain from social media. It is hard to repair relationships damaged via social media or live with feelings hurt by comments made on-line. Choose your hard.
Discipline requires action. Ephesians 4:31-32 say-, ”Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ forgave you. Colossians 3:12-15 has a similar message. ”Since God chose you to be holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Make allowances for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.” Proverbs 4:23-27 says, “Guard your hearts above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.” Keep, guard, avoid, look, clothe, fix- action verbs galore. Discipline requires action.
Stay full
A basic principle that applies to many areas of life is simple-to avoid bad things, stay full of good things. Paul put it differently in Philippians 4:8,”Fix ( there’s that action word again) your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely ,and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Does reading social media leave you feeling full of good thoughts? Does it nourish your soul or create anger and anxiety? We have choices to make. 2 Peter 1:3 tells us that God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. Will we choose what is sometimes hard to gain what is ultimately for our good and his glory?
Author: Elder Maggie Brockman
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01
Feb '20
Pastor’s Corner – February 2020
01
Feb '20
Almost every Christian would say that they believe in the Bible, but according to a recent Lifeway Research survey, more than half of Americans have read little or none of the Bible. I hear from many folks who have tried to read through the Bible, usually in a year, but haven’t been able to finish. To be honest, it can be a daunting task.
One of the other challenges with reading the entire Bible is that many of us only read the Bible in small snippets, a few verses here or there, usually in a Sunday school class or a sermon on Sunday morning. Don’t misunderstand me here, those are important and necessary ways to understand what the Bible is teaching and how to apply it to our lives. But the risk we run is not seeing how each of these isolated passages relate to the grand arc of redemptive history.
Binge Reading…
One of my favorite TV shows was LOST. The hardest part of the show, though, was keep track of all of the different threads and plots from week to week. A couple of years ago, my son and I sat down and binged the entire series in a few days. Doing so enabled us to keep track of the various threads much more easily. Sometimes we need to experience the big picture so we can appreciate the details even more. That’s what we’re going to do with the Bible – we’re going to “binge read” it.
…The Bible in 90 Days
Beginning on Ash Wednesday, the Session and I invite you to make a commitment to reading through the entire Bible in 90 days. By the time Pentecost rolls around, we’ll have read the whole Bible, from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. That might sound daunting, but it actually works out to just 12 pages a day. And, you won’t be going through this alone — this is a church-wide endeavor, and we’ll be making several tools available to help you succeed.
What Bible Should You Read?
You can read any Bible you like (even an app that reads the Bible to you!) — we’ll provide a reading schedule for those who would like it. However, we recommend purchasing the Bible in 90 Days Bible and participant’s guide (we’ll have these available for $20). You can also find them for your favorite e-reader (Kindle, iBooks, etc). The B90 Bible has a couple of advantages: first, it has the daily readings already broken down in the text, which makes it easier to follow along; second, it has minimal notes and whatnot, which can be very distracting when you’re trying to read on a schedule.
Sharing the Journey Together
In addition to the Bible, we’ll be asking everyone to sign up for a discussion group. We’ll have two times during the week — Sunday mornings during the Sunday school hour at 9:45am and Wednesday evening at 5:45pm. This is an essential part of successfully reading through the Bible in 90 days, as it provides accountability and an opportunity to learn and discuss what we’ve just read the previous week. In addition, each Sunday’s sermon throughout the 90 days will follow along with our reading. To help us focus on our readings, we will only be offering the one class during the Sunday school hour for youth and adults.
Who Can Participate?
Anyone who can read, frankly! Aside from that, we’re encouraging our late-elementary kids, youth and all adults to participate. Please feel free to invite folks from the community to join us on the journey as well, especially folks you know who might be interested in learning more about what the Bible says – this can be a fantastic evangelism tool.
Find Out More on Sunday, February 23
Come to Sunday school on February 23 at 9:45 where we’ll be providing more information about why we believe this is important for our church and how this will work. It’s going to be an exciting journey for all of us, and we look forward to traveling together on The Path of the Phoenix.
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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27
Jan '20
Reading the Bible as a Single Book – A February 2020 Table Talk Series
27
Jan '20
Have you ever felt overwhelmed with how long and diverse the Bible is? Do you struggle with seeing it as “one book” with a single message? Join us at Table Talk as we explore the unity of the Bible. We’ll be meeting at 5:45 p.m. on February 5, 12, and 19. This is a practical, hands-on series that will equip you to read through the Bible with greater understanding. You can expect to gain useful tools and resources that will make reading the Bible from cover to cover a more meaningful experience.
Join us Wednesdays, 5:45-6:45, beginning February 5.
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30
Dec '19
January 2020 Pastor’s Corner – Is Anyone Listening?
30
Dec '19
Is Anyone Listening?
“What is the word that Jesus has for your church?” I looked at my spiritual director a little befuddled, mostly because I wasn’t expecting the question. “Do you believe that Jesus has a word for your church today?” Well, of course I do. “So are you listening for it?” That’s really the question isn’t it? Am I listening for Jesus’ word to Northminster? To me? Just how does Jesus speak to us today? I fully believe that Jesus can speak to us in any form he chooses — directly, through someone else, a nudge of the conscience, the gift of a beautiful sunset, so on and so forth. The primary way He speaks to us is through His Word, the Bible. When we read the Bible, we’re usually pretty aware that we are reading, in some respects, a conversation between God and other people. We easily forget that God’s Word is just as much a conversation between us and God as well. Is anyone listening?
Tuning In
Much like tuning our car radio (does anyone even do that anymore?) to get the best reception of our favorite radio station, we will hear that for which we’re listening. When we step outside on a spring or summer day, at first the world sounds quiet. As we listen, as we “tune in,” we begin to hear the birds chirping and the wind rustling the leaves. When we listen more attentively, we begin to pick out different kinds of birds singing to each other. Eventually we can even locate particular birds in the trees and to whom they’re singing. We might not think Jesus is speaking to us, but He is, and we need to make sure we’re tuning in. Are we listening?
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” (Rev. 1:10–11)
During the season of Epiphany (all of January and February this year), we’re going to focus on “tuning in” to hear what Jesus is saying to us by listening in on what He said to the seven churches in Revelation. In the Bible, the number seven denotes fullness, totality and comprehensiveness. The letters to these seven historical churches represent the church universal. The Word that Jesus had for these seven churches is also the word He has for us individually, for Northminster, and the Church (capital “C” means the universal church, all churches in all times and all places) today. We will use these seven letters to help us tune in to what Jesus is saying to us right now. Once we get tuned in, we can start listening.
The Word That Speaks
Jesus isn’t just speaking to us through the seven letters of Revelation, though. We believe that every page of the Bible is the inspired Word of God, but most of us have never read through the entire Bible. How can we say we’re listening to Jesus if we don’t know what His Word says? Beginning on Ash Wednesday, we will embark on a journey to listen to the Word of God itself, the entire counsel of Scripture. In the 90 days from Ash Wednesday through Pentecost, we will read the entire Bible together. I know that sounds kind of daunting, but it works out to just 12 pages a day. Look at it like “binge reading” the entire Bible. Now that many shows and TV series are available to stream, you can watch an entire series in a weekend. “LOST” makes a lot more sense when you binge it (although it’s still really confusing). We’re going to do the same thing with the Bible. The sermons on Sundays will follow along with the weekly readings and we’ll provide tools and other things to help us all stay on track together. We’ll share more details about how this is going to work in next month’s newsletter.
The Session and I have been talking and praying about this for many months, and we’re really excited about what God will reveal to us — as individuals and as a church — when we tune in and start listening for His word to us. In 2020, let’s make sure we’re tuned in to Him and listening together.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Heb. 4:12)
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
Rev. David Garrison
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