Monthly Archives: November 2018

Pastor Barry

The Fallen World

2 Samuel 23:8-12, Luke 6:27-36 and Romans 13:1-5

Sunday November 11, 2018 marks 100 years since the end of World War I. For most of us alive today that is only history long behind us. But such an event has had lasting impact on all. What should have been a convincing moment to commit to world peace seemed to have only set the stage for World War II; and wars and large scale violence ongoing still into the 21st Century! Something is wrong.

Yet, the remedy is always before us in the struggle to be people of faith in a fallen world. And ultimately as the Creator and Savior, God makes a way for all creation. There is hope.

Our texts today cover only a portion of the vast sweep of scripture addressing the human condition. We should hope for peace yet ask what is to be done before the fullness of the Kingdom arrives. We will look at King David’s “mighty warriors,” Jesus call to “love our enemies,” and Paul’s look to the state as a way to constrain evil.

I dare say we will still struggle with lived faith each day even with Biblical guidance but we will have guidance which comes from beyond mere human wisdom and human planning.

Pray without ceasing even in the midst of “wars and rumors of wars.” Remember those who have served and continue to serve this Sunday! Remember all who walk by faith and not by what they see in a fallen world.

Pastor Barry

Chaplain Rob

Cultivating a Thankful Heart

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers. – Philemon 1:4

The great English writer G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.”

Wow! What a reminder! There’s no doubt in my mind that I could give thanks more often. We set aside meal time, Sunday mornings, and my favorite holiday; Thanksgiving. But, don’t let an hour go by without giving thanks . . . for your work, school, kids, health, your spouse, your blessings and your challenges.

When you have a God-awareness about life and when you see and sense Him in your day (in the big things and the little things), it’s hard not to be thankful.

My prayer today is you will take a moment and be thankful for all that God has given you.

Blessings,

Chaplin Rob

Pastor Barry

Saints Come Marching In

Ruth 1:1-18, Hebrews 9:11-14 and Mark 12:28-34

I write this on Halloween. Or rather All Saints Eve. Kids of all ages tend to enjoy the “scary” night of costumes and candy! Fun scary not really scary. Behind the ghosts, zombies, Frankensteins, action heroes, and cartoon characters, there is a whiff of the real thing: our death. And also those of whom we love.

All Saints Day celebrates those who have become the Church Triumphant, the Church at rest, the Church at the Eternal Banquet Table. But the only way there is through Death and Resurrection and that too only through the Risen Lord Jesus. Our scriptures have the “bookends” of the grief of Naomi and the utter loyalty unto death by Ruth AND the High Priestly death of the sacrificial Lamb of God in Hebrews 9. In between those we have Marks’s Jesus describing the full life in loving God, neighbor, and self!

Death is real but love of God, neighbor, and self is greater still. And so we remember Jesus and all our hidden-in-Christ family and friends this Sunday. Dead, not forgotten, and ultimately alive in a Kingdom that has no end and has only the Light of God in whom there is no darkness!

Come to worship and Fellowship in this All Saints Sunday!

Pastor Barry

Chaplain Rob

Thankful Pilgrims

But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD! – Jonah 2:9

On September 6th, 1620, seventy men and women and thirty-two children climbed aboard the Mayflower headed for the ‘New World.’ Some of the people were looking for religious freedom, others in search of wealth. The ship was crowded. There was little room to sleep or eat. There were no bathrooms and little privacy.

Soon the treacherous ocean tossed the ship about, forcing the people to remain inside the foul-smelling quarters. Many suffered from seasickness. For two long months, the people endured these conditions. Until November 9th when they spotted land.

Now the voyagers faced new challenges. Hard land. Wild animals. A harsh winter. And little to no medical supplies. More than half the adults became sick and died. What were they to do? They considered returning to England. Then God brought a miracle to them: an English-speaking Native American named Squanto.

Squanto is a remarkable man of history. Kidnapped by Englishmen, Squanto was taken to England and taught English for three years. Many years later he was returned to his people only to be once again kidnapped by British seamen. This time, he was taken to a Spanish slave port. He was purchased by Spanish monks. They took him to their home, fed him, and told him he was free. He learned that it was their love for Jesus that prompted them to purchase him and set him free. These Christian brothers taught him the Christian faith and soon Squanto came to love and trust Jesus Christ too.

In time, he returned once more to his native village in the ‘New World.’ But this time, he found only desolation. His friend Samoset, another English-speaking Native American, told him that a sickness from the white man had in one year wiped out Squanto’s entire village. Six months later more white men arrived: the pilgrims. Squanto hid and watched them, these people looked different to him than the men who had once taken him from his native land.

Eventually, he visited the pilgrims with his friend Samoset and decided he wanted to stay and live with them.

He could have easily harbored bitterness over the lost years he spent kidnapped and enslaved. He could have watched the pilgrims die; after all, wasn’t it their kind who were responsible for the extinction of his entire village? But Squanto did not choose to hate or abandon these people. Instead, he showed them where they could find fish. He taught them where and how to plant. And he had the joy of celebrating the first Thanksgiving with them. The feast lasted for three days. The pilgrims gave thanks to God for their Native American friends, especially Squanto. Squanto gave thanks for his new family. And they all gave thanks for the One who rescued them: Jesus Christ.

Blessings,

Chaplin Rob