Reassure Your Doubts.

Greetings on this Tuesday!  Good to be with you in the Pastor’s Workshop.

This week we’re preaching the second message in our series entitled, “Ready to Reopen?”  It’s based on the story of Gideon in Judges 6 and 7.

Our first message “Recover Your Confidence” encouraged us to not be afraid to consider this guiding question, “Are we ready to reopen?”   Instead we were invited to be open to entertaining what it would mean to reopen, knowing that we can do so wisely and well.  The Scripture highlighted that confidence is found in the covenant relationship we share with God and through the commission God gives us to be about God’s work in our world.

Our second message is entitled “Reassure Your Doubts”.  Just because we are encouraged to be confident doesn’t mean that we won’t have doubts, questions and fears.  In Scripture for this week Judges 6:14-21, 36-40 we see Gideon had all of those.

On Tuesday we look for an underlying logic in the Scripture.  The whole notion of having doubt about God’s leading is all through this Scripture.  At the same time God’s reassurance runs continuously in  the text. 

In verse 15 Gideon asks, “How can I save Israel?”  God answers in verse 16, “I will be with you.”

In verse 17 Gideon says, “If I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that I may know it is really you talking to me.”  Gideon brings an offering of a sacrificial meal to the angel.  And in verse 21 the angel “consumes” Gideon’s offering in a flash of fire.

In verse 36-37 Gideon says to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have said, look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor.  If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.”  In verse 38 God sends so much dew that Gideon wrings out a bowlful of water.

In verse 39 Gideon says to God, “Do not angry with me.  Let me make just one more request.  Allow me one more test with the fleece…” This time the test is that the fleece is dry and the ground is to be covered with dew.  In verse 40 it says, “That night God did so.”

In each of the four “tests” Gideon seeks reassurance.  And God patiently provides it every time.

For me there is great grace in this Scripture.  Sometimes following God’s leading in life is challenging and hard.  It stretches us.  We question.  We need a “fleece” to know we’re on the right track.  We need a sign to go forward.

And God provides.  Maybe the sign is an answered prayer.  Maybe it’s a word of encouragement that really touches your heart.  Maybe it’s a successful experience.  Maybe it’s a meaningful learning.   There are many ways God provides reassurance we need to keep us moving forward in faith.

As you consider this text this week I invite you to think about signs God has given you that have encouraged you in your walk of faith.  There is not only a “Blessed Assurance” (as the hymn says) there is also a “Blessed Reassurance”.

In that faith I’ll let you get to remembering and reflecting.  As you do I invite you to write down your thoughts. 

I’m grateful for our time today and I look forward to being with you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank You for Your call to follow You in faith each day.  We both know that some days are more challenging than others and sometimes we have doubts, questions and fears.  At the same time we’re grateful for Your patience and reassurance that keeps us going forward.  In that grace we give You thanks in Jesus’ name.  Amen

The Story of Gideon.

Good morning on this Monday!  It’s great to start the week with you in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Last week we began a new series, “Ready to Reopen?”  It’s based on Judges 6 and 7.  We looked into the question so many are asking, “Are we ready to reopen?”,  through a perspective of faith using the story of Gideon.

Our opening message was entitled, “Ready to Reopen? Recover Your Confidence”.   We explored how essential it is to have confidence as we begin to answer the question, “Are we ready to reopen?”  As we looked into the Biblical narrative from Gideon we saw how we can gain confidence through remembering the Covenant we share with God (where God is the Lord) and recalling our Commission (where as God’s people we have God’s work to do in God’s world).

This week we’ll continue our journey in answering our guiding question.  As we read the story of Gideon we see that recovering confidence is not as easy as it seems.  Even when we remember the Covenant and recall our Commission we may still have questions, doubts and fears. 

Gideon certainly did.  To reassure his fears, Gideon needed signs from God.  Our text this week is Judges 6:14-21, 36-40.  It is a well known story about Gideon, God and “the fleeces”. 

Judges 6:14-21

14 Then the Lord turned to him (Gideon) and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.” 15 He responded, “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16 The Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.”

 17 Then he said to him, “If now I have found favor with you, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Do not depart from here until I come to you, and bring out my present, and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay until you return.” 

19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a kid, and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour; the meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the oak and presented them. 20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so.

21 Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.

Judges 6:36-40

36 Then Gideon said to God, “In order to see whether you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 I am going to lay a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let your anger burn against me, let me speak one more time; let me, please, make trial with the fleece just once more; let it be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

Read this text several times.  Are there words or phrases that stand out for you?  Read the passage using several translations or paraphrases (biblegateway.com).  What captures your attention?  How does this text stir your “holy curiosity and creativity”?

Since it’s Monday, it’s time to get started.  I invite you to “jump on in”!

I look forward to what you’ll find.   And I’ll see you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the beginning of a new week.  Thank you for the Scripture which is Your light of truth that guides us.  Thank you for the ways that when we have questions, doubts and fears You have patience.  We trust in Your reassurance as we move forward in faith.  In Jesus’ name we pray.   Amen.

Put It All To Prayer.

Grace and peace this fine Saturday.  It’s good to end the week with you In the Pastor’s Workshop.

This week we’ve focused on recovering our confidence as we prepare to answer the question, “Ready to Reopen?”   We’ve followed the story of Gideon as he started to recover his confidence by remembering the covenant he shared with God and receiving the commission God issued to him.

As we come to Saturday we’ve finished our writing.  But our work is not done.  To fully prepare for Sunday we have to “put it all to prayer”.   To be set for tomorrow we have to ready both our minds and our hearts.

So what would be your prayers for our worship?  Particularly as you think about this past six months with the Covid pandemic and the reopening preparations before us what are your prayers as we move ahead into the future God would be opening?

Here are a few of mine:

·       I pray for all those who have been seriously impacted by this season with the Covid virus, particularly those who:  have been ill, had loved ones ill, had loved ones pass away, lost jobs, lost financial security, had educational development seriously disrupted, had mental or emotional turmoil, or suffered any other debilitating effects in these past months.

·       I pray for all who have known a “cloud of Covid”, a low grade depression and  ongoing dis-ease that has been associated with this disease.

·       I pray for all who have lost a feeling of freedom they once had, a sense of confidence they once knew about how they lived life.

·       I pray for faith as we move forward in this season ahead, a faith that we can take steps, make progress, mitigate risk, and advance ministry thoughtfully and carefully, wisely and well.

·       I pray that the covenant relationship we share with God would be a source of strength and assurance for us.

·       I pray that the commission we receive from Christ to be doing God’s work in the world would inspire us beyond any “doldrums”, back into service that is appropriate for these days.

These are a few of my prayers. What are yours?  Particularly as you think about the story of Gideon, the reopening of Israel and the reopening of our community and country what are you asking from God?  What is God asking from you?

I’m glad we can share in this “preparation with prayer” today.  I’ll let you get to your personal time with the Lord.  

And I look forward to being with you tomorrow either at “Together at the Tower” or online in the Master’s Workshop.

Prayer: Gracious God, as we prepare to take steps which answer the question, “Are we ready to reopen?, guide us with your Spirit.  Keep all safe in Your Care.  Call us forward in Your Service.  Help us to see the ways we can help one another through these uncertain days.  In our covenant with You help us discover the confidence we need to re-engage in life with the sense of promise and hope that is of You. This we pray in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen

Moving forward confidently.

Greetings!  Good to be with you on this Thursday in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Thursday is a “big” day.  It’s the highlight of our creative process.  We review our notes from Monday-Wednesday, our paraphrase and initial impressions of the Scripture, our understanding of the logic of the passage, and our view of the context into which the text speaks. We seek to discern a message in the midst of our reflections.  Then we “write it out”.

This week we started a new series, “Ready to Reopen?”  It comes as a question.  It asks what so many are considering as we enter into the fall. Are we ready for all that is before us?

The Scriptural basis for our series is found in Judges 6 & 7.  It’s the story of Gideon.  It’s the account of the liberation of Israel from the oppression of the Midianites.  

The specific focus for our message this week comes from Judges 6:1-16.  It is the opening of the story of Gideon.  It provides the setting for all that is about to unfold in the following chapters.  As you read this passage the parallels between the circumstances of the Israelites and our modern situation is striking.  As these two stories, ancient and current, overlap we hear words from the Scripture that hold guiding wisdom for us today.

Here are my talking points for Sunday.

The Covid pandemic has been a difficult season for us.   There was the initial outbreak, the total shut down, the sheltering in place and the later resurgence of the virus.  When you put all of this together it has had a powerful impact on our lives.

And that impact has had consequences measured in lives lost, livelihoods imperiled, educations disrupted, and general well being threatened.  To use a phrase from Judges 6, we have been “greatly impoverished”.

This dark season has cast its own cloud over us. Perhaps one of the greatest “shadows” of this cloud is a crisis of confidence. 

It is hard to move forward when we are uncertain and insecure about what’s ahead.  And yet that is the position in which we find ourselves.  And those are the circumstances into which this Scripture speaks.

As you “dive into” this Scripture the parallels between ancient Israel and modern America are striking.  The Israelites were also “greatly impoverished”.  They were oppressed, not by a pandemic, but by a neighboring tribe, the Midianites.  The “sheltered in place”, in caves and strongholds in the mountains.  Every time they tried to rise up and resume life as normal, the Midianites would crush them.  They suffered.  And in their suffering they cried out to God.

God answered their cries in two ways.

First, God sent a prophet to the people.  The prophet reminded the people to remember the covenant they shared with God.   God is the Lord.  The Lord is in control and they are under God’s care.  The Lord is a liberator. God is at work to free from oppression and restore to wholeness.

Second, God sent an angel to Gideon.  Gideon was a man who was afraid, threshing wheat in a wine press.  The angel greeted Gideon with a challenge.  God wanted Gideon be a leader in the liberation God was about to work.  Gideon didn’t  see that potential in himself.  Gideon had doubts, questions and fears.  Yet God called and commissioned Gideon, not on the because of Gideon’s qualifications but because of God’s intentions.  God’s commission summoned Gideon to be about God’s work in God’s world.

As we seek to recover our confidence and move forward faithfully these two truths guide us as well.   We remember the covenant we share with God.  We recall we are commissioned by Christ to do God’s work in our world.  These truths will help us to embrace the future unfolding as we answer the question, “are we ready to reopen?”

These are my thoughts.  They will be expanded and more fully developed for Sunday.

What is your message?  How did the Spirit speak to your mind and heart through the word of the Scripture found in the story of Gideon?  As always, it’s good to write down your thoughts.  “Putting pen to paper” (or “strokes to keyboard”) is work that will bless you.

Now that we’ve done a draft, we let it “sit”.  As it percolates our minds are still at work.  This “space” allows for time for the message to sharpen.  It’s an important part of the process and the final “product”.

I’m glad we had this time today.  I hope as you work in your writing it will be an exercise in faith which will bless you.  In that gift of grace, I’ll let you go to work.  And I look forward to being with you on Saturday as we “prepare with prayer” in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer: Gracious God, thank You for the gift of reflection and writing.  Thank You for the guidance of Your Spirit which leads us into fresh insights for living from the word of Your Scripture.  Even as we come through this difficult season help us to move forward confidently, knowing that You are our Covenant God who has commissioned us to bring Your good news to Your world.  In that blessing, we lift this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen

Backyard Worship Service

Families and students of all ages join us for our Backyard Worship . This will be an evening of Praise and Worship by Mason and a special Ministry Moment/Sermon by Mrs. Nancy. Mrs. Nancy is a renowned puppeteer in the DFW area.

 We will have our special Children’s Worship Service under the trees and the Kona Ice Truck will be back.

Recover Your Confidence.

Welcome to Wednesday in the Pastor’s Workshop!  I’m glad we can be together in God’s Word today.

This week we are starting a new series called, “Ready to Reopen?”  It’s a question everyone is asking.  We’re guided in our answer by the story of Gideon from Judges 6 and 7. 

This week we’re focusing on the first part of Gideon’s awakening and adventure.  Our text for this Sunday is Judges 6:1-16.  Our message is entitled, “Ready to Reopen?: Recover Your Confidence”.

Yesterday as we traced through this passage we saw there were two major components to recovering confidence.  The first was remembering our covenant with God.  In this text, the phrase, “The Lord is with you” is repeated several times.  It reminds Gideon and us we are not alone.  We are in a relationship with a God who delivers from oppression.

The second significant step in recovering confidence was recalling our commission from God. What we learned from Gideon’s story was that in the freedom God was bringing, Gideon and we have a part to play.  The angel greeted Gideon with the welcome, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” And then later is the conversation said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel…”  Gideon had a role and responsibility in what God was working.  So do we.

On Wednesday we look at the context of the text.  We look at the world into which the Word was spoken. We ask, “How does this background knowledge both broaden our understanding of the Scripture and sharpen our message for Sunday?”

Judges 6:1-6 describes the setting.

6 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel; and because of Midian, the Israelites provided for themselves hiding places in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites put in seed, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the land, as far as the neighborhood of Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they and their livestock would come up, and they would even bring their tents, as thick as locusts; neither they nor their camels could be counted; so they wasted the land as they came in. 6 Thus Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian; and the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.

It was a time of tribal warfare in the life of Israel.  Even though the Israelites had gone in and occupied the “Promised Land” there were other tribes who either lived on that land, or were neighbors of that land, who did not want or welcome their presence. 

The picture is one of great oppression.  Phrases like: “The hand …prevailed over”, “hiding places”, “come up against”, “destroy … and leave no sustenance”, “thick as locusts”, “wasted the land” and “greatly impoverished” leave little to doubt about the suffering of the people.

Moreover in their occupation of the new land, the Israelites made the mistake of acclimating to the surrounding culture of their new neighbors. Verse 10 tips us off to this critical mis-step, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not pay reverence to the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not given heed to my voice.”  This verse gives us insight into what verse 1 was referring to when it said the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight.

As I look at this Scripture there are some obvious parallels between Israel’s predicament and our own pandemic. There is a sense of deep suffering that has gone on for a full season (“seven years” In the Scripture).  During the oppression, we have “sheltered” in hiding. With the suffering has come “great impoverishment”.  There have been detrimental consequences economically, educationally, and emotionally.  When we tried to Reopen too early, in May and June, there was a rising and resurgence of the virus. 

I am not one who believes this pandemic was in any way a “judgment of God”.  Verses one and ten have those overtones as the “cause” for Israel’s hardship.  I would not advocate that connection as part of our understanding for our current circumstances.  In Jesus Christ, we have come to know God as a forgiving and delivering God, rather than a punishing God. 

All this being said, the parallels between the Scripture and our situation are striking.   In noting that correlation we also can understand how important the guidance of the Scripture is to lead not only Gideon and Israel but also us as believers and as a church through these days.

I invite you to think about these parallels.  And find even more on your own!

And as you do that, I’ll do the same. And I look forward to being with you again tomorrow as we “put it all together” In the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer: Gracious God, thank You for the light the Scripture shines on the situations of our lives.  Through the stories of the Bible, we gain greater insights into the story of our lives with You.  Help us to be good learners and faithful “livers” of Your Good News in Jesus Christ.   In his name, we pray.  Amen

Ready to Reopen?

Good morning!  It’s good to be together on this Tuesday in the Pastor’s Workshop.

This week we’re starting a new series: “Ready to Reopen?”  Its Scriptural base is Judges 6 and 7.  This is the story of Gideon.

The title of the series is a question.  It’s a relevant question for this month.  Particularly as all segments of our society are asking the question and answering with their own unique strategies and plans. 

At Spring Valley we will also be asking and answering are we “Ready to Reopen?” As a people of faith we know our considerations in how we view and how we answer this question are in some ways similar and in some ways different than other folks in our community.

Of course we will be mindful of and responsive to the medical and health considerations which are part of the pandemic.  And at the same time we know that the actions we take are also acts of faith. As we move forward it is not as a reaction to fear as much as a response of faith. II Timothy 1:7 says it well, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

And so as part of our “answer” we turn to Bible, particularly Judges 6 and 7, to inform our response to “Ready to Reopen?”  This Sunday we’ll start with the beginning of the story of Gideon, focusing on Judges 6:1-16.

If you are a regular reader you know that on Monday we immerse ourselves In the Scripture. We read and re-read, write and re-write, paraphrase and pray.  It’s all about listening and letting God’s creative Spirit stir within us through the words of the Scripture.

On Tuesday we look into the structure of the Scripture.  How does the Scripture flow?  How is the main idea presented?  What are key concepts we may need to include in Sunday’s message?

As I read the text here’s how it unfolds in my understanding:

·       Israel has forgotten its covenant relationship with God. In that forgetfulness it has pursued life in ways that are outside of God’s will.

·       They have experienced the consequences of their choices. They have suffered at the hands of an oppressor, the Midianites, for a “full season”, seven years.

·       Because of that oppression that have had to shelter in caves and strongholds in the mountains.

·       Whenever they tried to “rise up” and resume life as normal (planting and harvesting), the Midianites would resurge, like “locusts”, and obliterate everything.

·       The Israelites were “greatly impoverished” by this oppression in every way.

·       In this oppression they turned back to God and cried to the Lord.

·       The Lord answered.  God sent a prophet to the people, reminding them of who God was, “I am the Lord” and the relationship they share, “…your God”.  Verse 10 is a call back to Covenant.

·       Then the Lord sends a messenger, “an angel”, to the one who would be leading the people out of oppression.  An angel comes to Gideon.

·       The angel finds Gideon threshing wheat in a wine press.  The picture is one of “operating under oppression”. 

·       The greeting is one of challenge, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!”  God sees something in Gideon that Gideon doesn’t see in himself.

·       Gideon has questions, doubts and fears.  If God is “our God” why has all this happened?

·       The angel doesn’t spend time answering, “Why”.  Instead the angel commissions Gideon into action. Verse 14, “Go… Have I not sent you?”

·       In fear Gideon focuses on himself and his weaknesses.  “I am from the weakest clan and the least in my family.”

·       God reminds Gideon that when God commissions, God accompanies and empowers.

There is a lot of material in the text.  So as we discern a message for Sunday we’ll need to get to the core and be succinct. Sometimes the obvious parallels of this story and our story are a good place to start. 

Since there is a lot to cover I’ll let you get to work.  And I’ll do the same.  I pray God will guide us, not only in our message writing, but also in our ministry preparation.

In that faith and blessing I’ll look forward to joining with you again tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer: Gracious God, thank You for Your word of truth as it would come to us through the Scripture.  We pray that in these days as we answer what it means to Reopen we would be guided by faith and not by fear.  Remind us always of the Covenant relationship we share and the Commission You give.  This we pray In the name of the One who gives us a spirit of love, of power and of a sound mind, even Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prepare with Prayer

Grace and peace on this Saturday.  It’s good to finish up the week with you in the Pastor’s Workshop.

As you know this week we are finishing up our series, “Begin with Basics”.  Our messages have been based in Genesis 1, the first Creation story of the Scripture.  We are finishing up our series with God finishing up Creation.  This week we have focused on Day 7, on Sabbath and on being “Blessed by Rest”.

Saturday is a day in the workshop when the writing is done.  That part of the creative work is over.  And so in one sense, Saturday is a Sabbath day.  It is a day of rest.

In another sense Saturday is an active day.  On Saturday we “prepare with prayer” for what is about to come tomorrow.   We lift our time of worship up to God.  We ask our Lord to be at work.  We pray that God would use our message to fill hearts with hope, minds with truth and wills with strength.

As you pray for tomorrow, for worship, and for all who will be “tuning in” what are your prayers?  Particularly in relation to the Sabbath and being “Blessed by Rest” what blessings are you praying for yourself and for others?

Here are a few of my prayers:

·       I pray we would not let our lives be overrun by busy-ness, by work, or by worry.

·       I pray we would know God has created Sabbath as a gift of rest for us.

·       I pray we would know God has commanded that gift of rest for us because we need it.

·       I pray that through Sabbath time, worship time and personal prayer time we would be renewed and replenished in our energy for engaging life.

·       I pray that through Sabbath time, worship time and personal prayer time we would be reconnected with our Savior in ways we know the refreshment of Christ’s saving grace.

·       I pray that as we enter each new week, with all the challenges ahead, we would do so as those who are fresh, rested and ready, we would do so as those who have experienced the blessing of Sabbath.  We have been “Blessed by Rest”.

These are my prayers for tomorrow and our time of worship. What are yours?

I covet your prayers for our time together in worship.  I know God hears what you hope and pray for   our worship.  I believe God answers in ways that bring blessings for you and for all.

In that gift of grace, I invite you to spend time in prayer today.

I look forward to being with you tomorrow in worship in the Master’s Workshop!

Prayer: Gracious God, thank You for the blessing of prayer.  Thank You for the gift of Sabbath rest. Thank You for how refresh and renew us in Your creative love.  Thank You for how You reconnect with us in Your replenishing mercies.  For all the blessings that Sabbath rest brings and for all the ways we enter into Your grace through “Remembering the Sabbath and Keeping it Holy” we give You our thanks and praise in Jesus’ name.  Amen

Together at the Tower

We’re excited about our new early morning, outdoor worship option “Together at the Tower”.  Here are some things you’ll want to know as you enjoy this new onsite worship experience.

What: “Together at the Tower” is an early morning outdoor worship experience.  This informal worship features music, prayer and a message.

When: Starts Sunday, September 13, 8:30 – 9:00 am and continues weekly going forward

Where: Spring Valley UMC, the Northside (the Spring Valley Rd. side) Parking Lot

What you can bring:  Lawnchairs (if you want)

What you can expect:

·       When you enter the parking lot you will be guided to your parking space by parking attendants.

·       The Worship Platform will be set up on the North End (the Spring Valley side) of the Parking Lot.  You will be facing north (not into the sun) as you worship.

·       You will be parking in a “checker board” pattern facing north.  This means you will be parking in every other parking space, and the row behind you will stagger their parking so they will park facing into the empty parking space between vehicles.

·       You can choose to worship seated in your car or outside in the empty parking space in front of or behind your car (depending on your parking spot).  If you choose to sit outside please bring your own lawn chairs.  Chairs will not be available from the church.

·       If you worship in your car, you can tune into FM 98.7.  If you sit outside, we have adequate amplification.

·       An Order of Worship will be available on your phone at our website (svumc.org).  Paper copies are also available upon request from an attendant.

·       Please bring and plan to wear your mask!  If you are in “your space” (your car or the parking space directly in front or behind your car) and you are separated by 20 feet from anyone else wearing a mask is voluntary.  If you move out of “your space” to go to the restroom, to get bottled water or for any other reason you will come within 10 feet of a non-family member please wear your mask.

·       Masks made by the Spring Valley Craft Ladies will be available for $5 on the front steps of the church.

·       Restrooms will be available in the church.  We ask that you enter and occupy a restroom one person/family at a time.  A Red (Occupied)/Green (Open) reversible sign will be hanging on the door of the church and the restroom to assist you.  If you use the restroom, make sure you reverse the sign when entering and exiting.

·       Water Fountains will not be available.  Bottled Water is available on a limited basis In the loggia.

·       The Loggia will not be available for sitting or resting, unless in case of emergency.

·       An offering will not be received as part of worship.  If you wish to make a donation a box will be available by the Tower for you to drive by and “drop off” your donation as you leave worship.

·       We will have worship “Rain or Shine”.  If it rains we will reorient our parking and face the main front entry steps.

·       If you choose to remain in your car and leave your car running to use your air conditioner during worship, we ask you to park in the designated row near the rear of the lot.  Please let the parking attendant know.  Orange cones will mark that row.

·       A full and regular worship service will still be “live-streamed” at 11:00 am on svumc.org.  It will also be recorded and available for viewing at a later time.  Pre-recorded Worship will not be available earlier than 11:00 am.

·       Please know that this outside worship is a new experience for us as well as for you.  We are sure there will be a “learning curve”.  We appreciate your patience as we work to make “Together at the Tower” a meaningful and safe worship experience for all.  

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower.  The righteous run into it and they are safe.” 

Proverbs 18:10

Congregational Letter - September 4, 2020

September 4, 2020

Dear Friends at Spring Valley,

 Grace and peace as we begin September. I hope this letter finds you safe and well.

 It has been six months since we last met face to face. I’m grateful we’ve been able to stay connected “virtually” through online worship.  At the same time, I have so missed being with you and sharing in worship, education, and fellowship as a church family.

 As we head into the fall, we are still asking the same questions as we have for a number of months.  “When will we get back together?”. And the second question is, “What will that reopening look like?”

 Fortunately, we have some different answers to those questions than when I last emailed you in June.

 As you may remember the Bishop decided to monitor the COVID virus caseload as a determining factor in opening churches in the North Texas Conference.  And as you may know, that caseload is going down.  On September 2 Dallas County went to a “level orange” risk ranking (“Extreme Caution”) for the first time since the pandemic began. This is good news, not only for our church but for our community.  We are grateful for this development as an answer to prayer.

 The Bishop is still cautious about opening.  He has decided to keep the churches of the Metro District (Dallas County) closed through the end of September.  At the same time, he has encouraged the pastors to prepare for a possible opening in October, barring an unforeseen resurgence.  This is a disappointing yet understandable position.  At the same time, there is a “light of hope” for what is ahead.

 Even though we are not opening for inside, onsite worship, I celebrate with you our outside, onsite worship that will be starting on Sunday, September 13.  “Together at the Tower” will be an early morning, informal worship opportunity held from 8:30-9:00 a.m. in the north side (Spring Valley Rd. side) parking lot.  You have received an email with details and I am grateful for this development in face to face ministry.

 I also rejoice with you about other outside, onsite ministries we have shared together in the last month.  On Sunday evening, August 23 our children and families assembled in the parking lot and received a prayer blessing and backpack tag as they began the new school year with Blessing of the Backpacks.  Following this assembly, the Club 26, Youth and Youth families had a Picnic and Fellowship under the oaks.  Additionally, our women have been meeting for Women on Wednesday (WOW).  This group has circled in the south lot (Peyton side) for fellowship and support. It has been well attended. All these ministries have been conducted under the best policies and safe practices as outlined in the North Texas Conference and Dallas County guidelines.

 Even as these outside, onsite options are emerging I want to remind us of ministries currently available online.

 Sunday worship is available online at svumc.org beginning at 6:00 a.m. every Sunday.  The posting time for this worship will change on Sunday, September 20.  Starting on Sunday, September 20 online worship will be live-streamed and recorded.  It will be available for viewing at 11:00 am. and following.

 Many adult Sunday School classes are meeting regularly by Zoom or conference calls.

 A daily blog,“The Pastor’s Workshop” is posted on svumc.org and is also being emailed. This pastor's blog is a devotional guide which will enrich your Sunday worship.

Children's Sunday School lessons are being emailed each week.

 Youth are meeting via Zoom every Sunday at 6:00 p.m.

 I am grateful for this virtual outreach that has brought the blessing of ministry into our homes during these days.

Our second question is, “What will our reopening look like?”  At the beginning of August our Trustees and Church Council passed a Reopening Covenant.  It is a document outlining the policies and protocols we will practice as we reopen and detailing the spirit of mutual caring which will guide our gatherings. You can view the entire Reopening Covenant online on our website here.

 Many of the practices you are already familiar with from other settings. Masks, physical distancing, regular cleaning and disinfecting, minimized surface contacts, and hand sanitizing are all part of the policies.

 I know this has been a lengthy communication. I appreciate your patience in reading through it. If you have any particular questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at pgould@svumc.org.

 I also appreciate your continued mutual ministry with one another as a church family. None of us have ever experienced anything like what we are going through. In the midst of these difficult days, I have heard wonderful stories of how you have kept in contact and cared for one another. This mutual support has sustained our church. It is an expression of the Holy Spirit working in our midst. I praise God for this blessing.

As I said in my opening, I know how much we miss being with one another. The gift of fellowship is something we will never again take for granted. And I can't wait until we reopen our doors and are together.

 With faith in our gracious God, who leads us in these difficult yet hopeful days, I am grateful to continue forward in Christ's ministry now and always with you at Spring Valley.

 Blessings,

Paul Gould, Pastor

God's Shalom.

Greetings on this Thursday!  It’s a blessing to be with you in the Pastor’s Workshop.

This week our message is entitled, “Begin with Basics: Blessed by Rest”.  Our Scripture texts are Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus 20:8-11.  Our focus is putting boundaries on our busy-ness and finding a “blessed rest” that is a gift of God’s grace.

If you’re a “regular reader” of the Pastor’s Workshop then you know about Thursdays.  They are the creative highlight of the week!  On Thursdays, we take our notes, reflections, and prayers of Monday through Wednesday and we see how they come together.  We ask, “What is the Sunday message that is emerging?”  In our Thursday writing, we are finding out that answer.

So as you look at your collected thoughts what’s “coming together” for you?

Here are “talking points” that come to me from Genesis and Exodus for Sunday morning.

Getting a good rest is hard to do. Restlessness is pervasive in American society.

It’s so easy to get caught up In Busy-ness, particularly the busy-ness of work.  We identify ourselves by our jobs.  We are driven by a “work ethic”.  We blur the boundaries of “Home and Work”.  We can even make our Worry our Work.

This Six-Day Syndrome of work, work, work can suck us in and take over our lives.  We forget about Day Seven.

What we find in Genesis is that God worked, worked, worked on days one through six.  But then God finished.  The work was complete.  All was done.  All was good.

And then God rested.  God relaxed into this “total completeness and wholeness”.  And God blessed that rest.  It was “Shalom”.

And God gave “Shalom” (this total completeness and fullness) its own day.  It was the Sabbath, the Seventh Day.  The Sabbath was not separate from the other six days.  Sabbath was part of the Creation picture as it comes to completeness.

In Exodus, we see that God thought resting in that completeness was so good that God decided to share that blessing with God’s people.  In fact, God commanded it for God’s people.  The commandments delineate the covenant relationship we share with God.  Rest is part of that relationship.  It is commandment number four – “Remember the Sabbath and Keep it holy.”

The Commandment counsels what so many people are spending “big bucks” to discover, that we as people need to be “Blessed by Rest”.

Rest has and is its own Rhythm of life. Scientists know that our lives are made up of very basic “life rhythms” called circadian rhythms.  During our 24 life cycle, certain life functions happen that are necessary to keep us healthy.  Rest is one of those Rhythms.  We experience that rhythm of rest in a daily way as we sleep. We experience it in a weekly way through Sabbath.  Sabbath is a “circadian rhythm”.  It is one of the essential rhythms of life.  Just we need sleep, we need Sabbath.

Rest renews and restores.  Just a field needs to lie fallow to replenish in essential nutrients, we need to be replenished and renewed by rest.  When we rest we can be more patient with those around us, gain a better perspective on the problems before us, be more positive in the challenges ahead of us.

Rest reconnects.  Sabbath is quality time to reconnect with our Savior.  Jesus said, “I am Lord of the Sabbath”.  He invited us to “Abide with him and he with us”, just as the branches abide in the vine. Sabbath is our opportunity for that life-giving, quality reconnection.  As we engage in Corporate Worship or enter into Personal Prayer those moments of quality time “resting in Lord” is like no other in life.

Today (Sunday) is Day Seven. Tomorrow (Monday) is Day Eight.  The busy-ness, the craziness of the world awaits you.  It’s right out ahead of you tomorrow.  As you get ready to engage it I want you to be fresh, ready, and rested.  I know you have a Work Ethic.  You also need a Rest Ethic. Make sure you have taken time to rest in God’s Shalom in the gift of God’s Sabbath. Be “Blessed by Rest”.

This is how my message is taking shape for Sunday.  Of course, it will be expanded and enriched by illustrations and additional points.

What are your thoughts?  Particularly as you think about God’s creation and the commandment of Sabbath how does that gift of grace bless your life? What would you be praying and preaching this Sunday if you were in my place?  The message God is giving you is important.  In fact, it’s sacred, so be sure to write it down!  It’s God’s word to you.

Since it’s still part of the workweek (and not Sabbath rest time yet), I’ll let you get to work.  God bless you in your writing and creating.  I look forward to joining you again on Saturday in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the blessing of Creation.  Thank you that we too can take part in creative work.  More than that, thank you that we can join You in “creative rest”.  We know You have blessed rest and made it a pathway by which we are renewed, replenished, and reconnected with You.  Let our time of Sabbath bring those blessings into our lives through the One who is Lord of the Sabbath, even Jesus Christ our Lord.  In his name, we pray.

Resting in a Working World.

Welcome to Wednesday.  It’s good to be with you as we reach midweek in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Our message this week is “Blessed by Rest”.   Our primary Scripture is Genesis 2:1-3.  Our supplemental text is Exodus 20:8-11.  Our key question: “How can we put boundaries on busy-ness and claim God’s gift of Rest for our lives?

On Wednesday we look at the context of the text.  What’s the world into which the Word was and is spoken?

As I look at our Exodus text I wonder if the world of the ancients was like our own, a Busy World, a “Working World”.  Why else would you need a commandment for people to keep Sabbath and observe holy rest?

Particularly when people are struggling to survive, working every day seems essential.  Rest seems a luxury.  And yet when God speaks to Moses about how the people of God are to live in covenant with God, “Remembering the Sabbath” and “Keeping it Holy” is the fourth commandment.

Could it be that people of that day, as well as people in our day, could become consumed by their work?  In the Sabbath Commandment as proclaimed in Deuteronomy 5:15 the reason given for keeping the Sabbath is, “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there…”  Could the commandment have been given because God was not interested in God’s people being “enslaved” by their daily labor? Referencing “Egypt” as a reason for the commandment leads one to think that work may have been dominating lives in some way that was debilitating.

Could it be that people of that day, as well as people of our day, undervalue the benefits of Rest?  Could it have been that the people thought they could keep on working and working and working and not eventually get worn out?  Could the command have been part of God’s plan for human “self-care”?  Genesis 2 makes it clear that even God took a break.  Even God stopped working.

Could it be that God wanted people to experience the positive benefits of becoming refreshed and replenished that come with rest?  Is that why God commanded that Sabbath be kept not only by the heads of the household, but also by the sons and daughters, manservants and maidservants, draft animals and even “the stranger in your gates”?

Or could it be that the ancient world is like our own in that they tended to forget about spending quality time with God?  Could it have been that the pressing demands of each day continually crowded out quality time of being with and reconnecting with their Lord?  Could it be that the Sabbath commandment was a way of making sure that the people set aside time to put “first things first” and prioritize God above all?

Who knows what was on the heart and mind of God as God rested on that seventh day (Genesis 2) and when God commanded that we rest on the Sabbath as well (Exodus 20).  What I do know is that in a world that can get so busy, where work can be so consuming, where rest is undervalued and where time with God is easily lost the importance of Sabbath becomes critical.   We are “Blessed by Rest”.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank You for every gift of Your grace.  Thank You for the blessing of rest.  Thank you for the ways “Blessed Rest” helps us keep our work in perspective and our relationship with You as a priority.  Help us to obey Your command and keep Your Sabbath as a blessing for us and a glory to You.  In Jesus’ name we pray.

Rest.

Welcome! How good it is to be together on this Tuesday.  It’s a blessing to begin a new month with you in the Pastor’s Workshop.

This week we’re working on a message about Rest.  Our title is “Blessed by Rest”.  Our primary text is Genesis 2:1-3.  Our supplemental Scripture is Exodus 20:8-11.  Our key thoughts – How can we put “Boundaries on Busy-ness” and reclaim the blessing of rest that God created and commanded?

On Tuesdays we look at the structure of the texts.  We see how ideas and images sequence. In that sequencing we look for a logic.  How is “the message” emerging in the midst of the words of the Scripture?

The three verses in Genesis “flow” like this:

·       God completes Creation.  All is done. All is finished. All is very good.

·       That sense of Completion, Wholeness and Divine Satisfaction, that Very Goodness of Shalom, dawned with Day Seven.

·       In that Completion, Wholeness and God Satisfaction, God rested.  God let that sense of total goodness abide and be and bless all things.

·       And God saw that this Holy Rest was Very Good.  And God blessed the Rest and hallowed the day, creating Sabbath.

In essence, in Day Seven God “created” Rest.  God instilled “Rest” as part of the Created Order.  “Rest” came into being as an essential part of how things are and of who we are.  

The three verses in Exodus “go” like this:

·       God is giving the Ten Commandments to Moses. God is “speaking” to God’s people, outlining essential elements of the relationship (the covenant) God shares with them. 

·       The first four commandments are about the direct relationship the people share with God.  The last six commandments are how that direct relationship with God is then reflected in the relationships God’s people live with one another and the world.

·       The fourth commandment reminds the people to “remember the Sabbath”.  Don’t get so caught up in the business and busy-ness of life (the first Six Days of the week) that you forget about the Day Seven.  Remember that Rest is part of Creation, of how things should be.

·       They are to enjoy Shalom and observe Sabbath because God is enjoying Shalom and observing Sabbath.  God is resting and as they follow God they are to rest too!

·       The people are to keep it “holy”.  Not only are they to rest, but more importantly, they are to rest with God, rest in the Lord, and reconnect with God.  

·       Not only do they need to observe and claim Sabbath.  They are to provide it for all they have “dominion” over, their family, their workers, their animals, and even the “stranger within your gates”.  All are given the blessing of resting in the Lord.

In the fourth commandment we find that what God creates and instills in God’s initial Order of All Things, God commands and institutes in the covenantal life God shares with God’s people.

These texts emphasize the place that “Rest” has in the world and the importance it plays in our lives.  They call us to examine not only how God commands Sabbath Rest because it is part of God’s original goodness, but how we keep Sabbath Rest for our own good.

I’ll let you think on that one, as well as any other ideas/themes that have come to your mind during your reading and thinking.

And I’ll also let you get busy, because today is Day Two (“Twos” Day – sorry, I couldn’t help myself!) of our new work week.

See you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank You for the blessing of the work today.  Thank You for the gift of sharing our gifts, talents, abilities productively in your World.  More than that, thank You that in the rhythms of life You have instilled the rhythm of Rest.  You give us Rest  so that we might be fresh to fully engage each day.  When we get too preoccupied with all we do, remind us to put boundaries on our busy-ness so that we can have quality Sabbath time with You.  This we pray in the name of the One who is Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessed by Rest.

Good Monday morning!  Glad to with you and start out the week together in the Pastor’s Workshop.

This week we’ll be concluding our series “Begin with Basics”.  Our Scriptural base has been Genesis 1, the Biblical story of the Beginning.  Our premise has been, “When you start right, things go better.  And when things go better, you can finish well.”

Our series began with “Starting Right”.  As Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God…”  When God is at the beginning of each day, we’re starting at the right place!

In week 2 we were encouraged to “Get Creative”.  Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created …”  Every crisis we face (and we face a lot of crises these days), holds a challenge to get creative.  God creates in love and we can be creative in God’s love!

Week 3 directed us to “Shine a Light”.  In Genesis 1:3, as God created God said, “Let there be light…” As you get Creative in God’s love your thoughts, words and deeds will brighten the path of another. 

Week 4 called us to “Care for Creation”.  In Genesis 1:26, human beings were created in God’s image and given dominion over creation. As we saw “dominion” was not a license to exploit, but a responsibility to care.  We are to be good stewards, protecting and preserving the goodness God made.

Week 5 invited us to “Claim the Good”.  Genesis 1:31 celebrates that as God surveys all God has done, it is “very good”.  Life holds a “Very Goodness”, instilled at Creation, that is ours to claim and live each day.

That has been our series so far.  If you want to get a fuller recap on any of the weeks you can read my blog, “The Pastor’s Workshop”, or go to our sermon archives.  Both of these are online at our website.  There you can “catch up” on anything you may have missed.

This week, Week 6, we end our time with God’s Beginning.  We finish the first Creation story in the Scripture.  We read about Day Seven and God’s Rest.  The title for our message will be, “Blessed by Rest”. Our focus Scripture will be Genesis 2:1-3.  Our supplemental text will be Exodus 20:8-11.

Genesis 2:1-3

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. 2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

Exodus 20:8-11

8 Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.

As you can see, the focus of both texts is “Rest”.  “Rest” was created as part of life.  “Rest” was commanded for our good, as part of our covenant relationship with God.

If you’ve been in the Workshop for a while you “know the drill”.  Today we “bathe” In the Biblical texts.  We immerse ourselves in the Scripture.  We read and reread, write and rewrite our passages using several translations.  Then paraphrase the Scripture, as if you were the writer.  Internalize the Biblical word.

As you do that make notes of words, phrases, images and ideas that capture your attention and stir a “holy curiosity and creativity” in you.  This opening phase is a most important part of your creative process.  As the premise of our series goes, starting right is key!

Since it’s the first day of the week, I’ll let you get to work!

I pray it’s a productive day for you.  I’ll see you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer: Gracious God, thank You for the blessing of a new week.  Before us are opportunities to claim Your Goodness and to live Your Grace.  Even as we engage in life keep us ever fresh.  Let us begin each day feeling rested and restored because we know that we find our Rest and Restoration in You. Help us by Your Spirit to know Your gift of Sabbath.  This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayers for Sunday.

Grace and peace on this Saturday!  It’s a blessing to end the week with you in the Pastor’s Workshop.

As you know Saturday is a Sabbath day.  It’s a day of rest (which we all need!).  And it’s a day of resting in the Lord (which we all need!).

Part of what we do on Saturday is preparing for Sunday, but not by writing.  We get ready for worship by preparing with prayer.

This week our focus has been on the “very goodness” of God and the “very goodness” of life that comes from God.  As you pray, how would you pray that blessing for all our worshippers and our world? 

Here are some of my prayers:

·       I pray that during these difficult days (the hurricane, the pandemic, social unrest, political polarization) we know there is an underlying, foundational “goodness” of life that comes from God.

·       I pray we realize how much of God’s “goodness” comes to us in life as potential, possibility, and opportunity – the potential to see beauty, the possibility to do good, and the opportunity to be and bring a blessing to others.

·       I pray that by God’s Spirit we claim and live into that “goodness”.

·       I pray that we know deep within ourselves, in our own souls, we are made in the image of God.  There is a deep and abiding “goodness” in each and every one as creations of God.

·       I pray we know that when this “soul goodness” is buried, hidden, or covered up, Jesus Christ is present in the goodness of God’s grace to redeem, revive and resurrect the very goodness of God’s love in our lives.

These are a few of my prayers for worship.  What are yours?  Particularly as you meditate on Genesis 1:31 (“And God saw all that God had made, and behold, it was very good.”) what are your prayers for yourself, others, and our world?

I’m grateful to join you on this day of prayer.  And I look forward to worshiping together tomorrow.  Worship is a time when we can start the week off right, centering ourselves in God’s “very goodness”. We know that when we start our week right it will go better, and as our week goes better it can finish well.

In that blessing, I invite you into prayer today in the Pastor’s Workshop  and I’m excited about being with you tomorrow in the Master’s Workshop!

See you then!

Prayer:  Lord, thank You for this day of prayer!  Thank You for how we center our lives in Your Goodness.  Thank You for how You have created us in Your Very Goodness and invited us to live lives that reflect that Very Goodness to others.  In that blessing, we lift this prayer, in the name of Jesus our Good and Gracious Lord.  Amen.

See and seize the "very goodness."

Greetings!  It’s good to be with you today in the Pastor’s Workshop.

As you know Thursday is a “highlight” in our creative process.  It’s the day we gather all our notes, thoughts, and reflections and see how they “fit together”.  We discern and write.  And then we discern and write some more as our message for Sunday comes together.

Our title for the message is “Claim the Good”.  Our key verse is Genesis 1:31.  Our focus phrase is “very good”.  Our supplemental Scripture is Acts 17:22-28. My message is “How can we “see and seize”, name and claim, the “very goodness” of life in which we ‘live and move and have our being’?”

Here are my talking points for Sunday –

There are actions people are taking during this Covid season that are “very good”.

It’s important for us to let our hearts be “lifted“ by their witness, particularly when times are hard, things seem bad and we feel overwhelmed.

The “very goodness” of their actions speaks to the “very goodness” of God and how life can be very good with God.

Genesis 1:31 proclaims that life is inherently infused with “very goodness”.  As God surveys all God has done and sees it is “very good” that divine satisfaction is both a benediction God makes upon Creation and a recognition that Creation reflects the goodness of its Creator.

In Acts as the Apostle Paul addresses the learned folk of his day he proclaims this “very good” truth to them.  It’s worth noting he doesn’t seek to convince them they are sinners in the hands of an angry God.  He addresses them as seekers who can discover an amazing grace. The “Unknown God” they worship is a very good God.  God is knowable. God is nearer to them then they can imagine. God has given them life and breath and all things.  God is the One in whom they “live and move and have their being”.  In themselves they carry the image of that very good God, as even the Greek poets said, “We are his offspring.”

We hear this witness to the very goodness of God and the very goodness of life with God, but sometimes we still aren’t convinced.  There is so much that seems to contradict that conclusion.

Perhaps one of the reasons we don’t experience the goodness of life is that we don’t realize how it comes to us.  The Goodness of Life comes as Potential, Possibility and Opportunity.  The Goodness of Life asks our cooperation and participation.  To know “Goodness” we need to name it and claim it.

We want to “Claim the Good” in the world around us.  Our prayer is that we “see the sacred” and behold the beauty that is around us each day.

We want to “Claim the Good” in the people before us.  Our prayer is that we see others as Jesus sees them. Our aim is that we treat others in ways that nurtures the “goodness” of their lives.

We want to “Claim the Good” in the person within us.  So often we speak of “self-image”.  There is also “soul image”, the essence of who we are as human beings.  God has made us in God’s image and that “imago deii” is in each one of us. So often this blessing has been hidden, covered and buried.  The Good News is that Jesus was also at one point “hidden, covered and buried”.  But Jesus rose, and in rising Jesus Christ redeemed the Imago deii, very goodness of God, in each of us.  He continues to redeem, restore, and renew that very goodness as we live our lives with him as Risen Savior.

As children we learned the prayer, “God is Great, God is Good”.  In our early days God’s greatness and goodness was a matter of the meal before us.  As we have grown we realize that in God’s greatness, God has blessed life with God’s goodness.  We can name and claim and live that “very goodness” all to God’s glory.  In that faith I invite us to “Claim the Good”.

This is the outline of my message.  As always it will be filled in with illustrations and additional development. 

What are your talking points?  How do your reflections of the week come together?  What is the important message the Spirit is speaking to your heart about the “very goodness” of life with Christ?

I’m glad we can write our message today.  And it’s good that we can let it “marinate” for a couple of days before we preach it.  It’s amazing how when you go back and review your message the Spirit will suggest better ways to proclaim the truth.

So I’ll let you get to work on your message, and I look forward to being with you again on Saturday as we prepare with prayer in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the message you give.  We are grateful that even as we have been at work all week, You have been at work too!  As You create, all You make is “very good”.  And we pray that what we have written will reflect Your Goodness.  Moreover, we ask that our words would be filled with Your Word in ways that it would help others claim and live Your “Very Goodness” in their lives.  This we pray in the name of the One who redeemed us in and for Your Goodness and Grace, even Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen

God is near.

Welcome to Wednesday.  I’m glad to be midway through the week with you In the Pastor’s Workshop.

Our title for this week’s message is “Claim the Good”.  Our key verse is Genesis 1:31 (a verse where God sees all God has made as “very good”).  Our supplemental Scripture is Acts 17:22-28 (verses where the Apostle Paul proclaims we “live and move and have our being” in this “very goodness” of God). Our guiding thought is: Be deliberate and diligent about stepping up and living into the goodness of God that is inherently around us and embedded within us.

On Wednesday we look at the world into which the original word of the Scripture was spoken.  This week we’ll particularly focus on Paul’s preaching to the Athenians at the Areopagus (Acts 17:22).

In classic times the Areopagus was a court where “cases of deliberate homicide, wounding and religious matters” were tried.  In Paul’s day it was also place where matters of law, philosophy and religion were discussed and debated.

In this setting Paul lays out his case for Christianity.  It’s important to note that Paul made it a point to meet his listeners “where they were”.  Even though they were not Christian, they were “religious”.  They sought after God. In their seeking they wanted to “Know God”. But their seeking was misguided.  The statues and shrines all throughout Athens witnessed to their spiritual “groping” (verse 27).

Their religion was polytheistic.  With their many gods they sought to find a sense of the divine in the many needs of human life.   They essentially created gods in their own image and gave them form by what they fashioned with their hands.   And in case they had “left out” a god, they even had a statue to an “Unknown God”.

For Paul that statue to the “Unknown God” was symbolic of where the Athenians were spiritually.  They were searching but they did not know God.  The Apostle starts at that point, the statue of the “Unknown God”, to help the Athenians realize they can know God. 

In his sermon Paul proclaims: God is the Creator; God gives life and breath to all; God created all people and permitted all empires; God is near; God is knowable; In God “we live and move and have our being”; and we are God’s children (“His offspring” – verse 28). He points out the irony that they are trying to make with their hands an image of the One who made them with His hands.   In a few short verses he covers a wide expanse that invites the Athenians to turn their searching towards a Savior, Jesus Christ.

Paul’s approach is basically one not of fear (frightening his listeners into faith) but of discovery (enlightening his listeners into faith).  As “seekers” they can be “finders”.  They “live and move and have their being” with  “life and breath” given by God who created them and formed in them God’s good image.  God is so very near and so very knowable.  It is a compelling proclamation that has drawn people to Christ throughout the ages.

We live and move and have our being in this same truth today.  God is near and knowable.  God is good and gracious. God has made us and everyone in God’s image.  God invites us to know and grow in God’s goodness in ways of witness and service. It’s not only a compelling proclamation, it’s a compelling lifestyle.

As you go through today I invite you to consider how you can “Claim the Goodness”.  As you do that know that our Good God is near and would lead you into that blessing.

In that faith, enjoy your “good day” and I’ll see you again tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the blessing of this “good day”.  As our Creator You are in the midst of every moment, forming and fashioning in Your love.  And You are inviting us to join You, sharing and showing Your love to those around us in ways that all might know Your Goodness and be blessed by Your grace.  Lead us to live our lives with You, all to Your glory.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

Very goodness.

Greetings on this good day! I’m thankful to be together with you on Tuesday in the Pastor’s Workshop.

We’re continuing our series “Begin with Basics”.  Our work over the last four weeks has been grounded in the first chapter of Genesis.   This week we come to the end of the chapter, Genesis 1:31.  In this verse God surveys all that God has done in Creation and makes an assessment, it is “very good”.  As a companion to this verse, a supplement to our thinking, we also include Acts 17:22-28 as Scriptural source material for our message.

Yesterday we did an “immersion” in the texts.  We read and wrote these words of the Bible.  We let them “wash over” our minds.  We let our “holy imaginations” be curious, maybe even captivated, by the ideas and images the Spirit lifted.  It was Day One of our Creative process.

Today, on Day Two, we take a more “objective” look at the Scripture.  Is there an underlying theme we see?  Is there a “logic” woven into the fabric of what we’ve read that we need to note?

The choice I’ve made for the message centers on the “Very Good-ness” of Creation.  As I read the Scripture I picture God “stepping back” after all the days of hard labor and in a moment of satisfaction  saying, “That’s good.  That’s very good!”

On one hand this phrase “very good” is a benediction, a blessing, on all God has done.  In making this assessment and saying these words God pronounces a judgement, a good judgment, on all God has made.  On the other hand I look at this phrase as a recognition. It is an acknowledgement that during the creative process the “goodness” of the Creator (the very Goodness of God), has “rubbed off” and is inherently part of all God has made.  There is an essential, existential “goodness” present because all Creation is “God made”.

In Acts the Apostle Paul builds on that thought as he lays out his case for Christianity to the Athenians. He compliments them – they are religious people.  They have hearts and minds that search for what is true.  And he wants to introduce them to the “Truth.  He offers them this intriguing insight, the “Truth” is much nearer than they think.  In fact they “live and move and have their being” (verse 28) in the Truth.  Moreover their very lives reflect the Truth, “they are offspring (children) of God” (verse 28).  Whatever they can make with their hands is nowhere near as “real” as the Hands who have made them.  Their very lives are a testimony to the goodness of our Creator God. 

As we develop our message and “make our case” this core truth needs to be at the center of what we say.  There is a “very goodness” that is inherently, existentially and essentially part of our world.  It is woven into the fabric of our lives. It is nearer than we can imagine. In all that lives and breathes there is a “goodness” of God. When we look deep within our souls we need to see what God sees, the “imago dei”, the created image of God. Both the writer of Genesis and the Apostle Paul point out this truth.

I look forward to highlighting this “very goodness” in all, in you and in me as we advance in this week.  It is a powerful and positive understanding of who we are that alters our perspective on life and shapes our self-image. Tomorrow we’ll see how it challenges some other interpretations of Christian faith.  When we say, “God is good” – that truth has far reaching, lifesaving impact.  When we know this goodness comes to fullness in Jesus Christ, we are close to understanding the glory of God’s salvation.

In that blessing I pray for you a “good day in God’s goodness”.  I’ll see you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for the “goodness of today”.  It is a reflection of Your Goodness in which I live and move and have my being.  Open my eyes to see this grace.  Open my heart to trust this goodness.  Open my hands to share this blessing.  All this I pray in the name of Jesus our Good Lord.  Amen.

Claim the Good.

Greetings and welcome to Monday. It's good to start the week with you in the Pastor's Workshop.

This week we're continuing in our series, "Begin with Basics." Our core Scripture for this month has been Genesis 1. The premise for our series, "When you start right, things go better. And when things go better, you can finish well."

Week one we began with "Start Right." When you think about beginning the day, the week, the month, or the new school year what better way to start than, "In the beginning God..." (Genesis 1:1). Week two we were encouraged to "Get Creative". "In the beginning God created..." (Genesis 1:1) and as people who face crises and have challenges in our lives we need to be creative as well.   In Week three we were invited to use our creativity to "Shine a Light." In the beginning, when God created, God said "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3). You and I are part of the "light shining" of God into our world. Week four we jumped to the end of chapter. Our theme verses were Genesis 1:26-31. We saw how God created us (humankind) in God's image and gave us dominion of God's "very good" Creation. We were invited to think about how we could be good stewards of God's wonderful world. Our title was "Care for Creation."

This week our focus verse will be the last verse of the chapter, Genesis 1:31. Our supplementary Scripture will be Acts 17:22-28. We'll explore the phrase "very good". Our title for the week will be "Claim the Good"!

Genesis 1

"31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

Acts 17

22 Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, "Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. 23 For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. 26 From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him - though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28 For 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we too are his offspring.'

By now you know how our creative process works. Monday is our "immersion day." Read and re-read both Scriptures silently and aloud. Write and re-write each text. Use several Bible translations and paraphrases (Biblegateway.com). Paraphrase the text in your own words.

Are there words, phrases, images, ideas that capture your interest? Make sure to note these. Jot down any "random thoughts." The Spirit is stirring in your creative process so don't let these "movings and musings" get away.

It's Monday so I'll let you get to work. I'll do the same. And I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow in the Pastor's Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the blessing of this day and the gift of the week ahead. Help us always to be mindful that in You we live and move and have our being. Let us know that the goodness of Your grace is in this day. Help us to claim it and live it to Your glory. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen

In Christ,

Paul

Praying for Sunday.

Grace and peace on this Saturday!  It’s good to close up the week with you in the Pastor’s Workshop.

As you know this week we’ve focused on what it means to be good stewards in God’s good creation.   Our theme text has been Genesis 1:26-31.  We’re blessed to have Rev. Kenny Dickson preach on that Scripture and a companion text tomorrow.  We’re grateful for him being with us and his ministry of the Word.

On Saturday in the workshop, we prepare for Sunday in a special way.  So much of Monday through Friday is “head” work.  On Saturday we do “heart” work.  Saturday is a day we pray for what the Lord will do on Sunday.  We pray for the Lord’s blessing on our worship.  We pray the Lord uses our worship to strengthen us to serve with Christ in the week ahead.

So as you “prepare with prayer” what are your prayers for this week?  In particular, what would be your prayers for our stewardship of God’s good world?

Here are a few of mine:

·       I pray our eyes to be open to seeing the true beauty and wonder of the world around us.  It is magnificent!

·       I pray our minds to be open to understanding the interconnection we share with all of creation.  We are part of a “whole” of God’s making.

·       I pray our hearts to be open to caring for creation even as God cares for creation.

·       I pray we grow in our understanding of being good stewards in God’s good creation.

·       I pray we recognize one or two simple changes we can make that would help our environment and that we make those adaptations.

Those are a few of my prayers.  What would yours be for this most important issue of the stewardship of creation?

Since Saturday is a day of prayer and a day of rest, I’ll let you get to praying and resting.  Know that I’m praying for tomorrow too!  I pray that your worship will be a powerful blessing to get your week started right!

In that gift of grace, I’ll join you tomorrow in worship, in the Master’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank You for the week past.  Thank You for Your word of truth and love.  Thank You for being part of Your good creation.  Thank You for the special role You give to us as stewards.  Use our worship tomorrow to strengthen us for this ministry in ways that we can live it to Your glory.  This we ask in the name of the One who is Lord of all, Jesus Christ our Lord.