Psalm 42 - A Reflection for Worship

Psalm 42

As the deer pants for streams of water,

so our souls long for you, O God.

Our souls are thirsty for You, we are thirsty for the living God.

When shall we come into your Presence and see your face?

Our tears have been our portion night and day and many have asked, Where is your God now?

Why are our hearts so heavy, O Lord? Why this unrest within us?

Our souls are quite burdened, the load is hard to bear;

Therefore now we will remember Your work in our midst.

We remember your help in this place.

We remember the waves of your Presence rushing over us.

Lord, you have given your loving-kindness in the daytime,

And in the night-time we did sing of you. We now make our prayers to you,

O God, the Lord of our lives.

At times we wonder, ‘Have you forgotten us? Why are our adversaries so heavy upon us?’

Our bones are being broken, we are oppressed and scorned. We are asked again, Where is your God now?

Even though our hearts are still heavy, O Lord,

Even with our souls’ unrest.

O God, We will put our trust in you.

We will give thanks to the One who is our Help and Presence,

Our Light and our Life. Amen.

A Lenten Devotion

Friends,

I hope this brief note finds you doing well. Perhaps you realize that the Christian church is in the season of Lent. This is the season of the year leading up to Easter. Here are some general Lenten facts:

~ Begins on Ash Wednesday and includes 40 days minus Sundays.

~ Adapted from the word, lengthen, as in the lengthening of the days.

~ In the early church, converts used this time to prepare for baptism on Easter Sunday.

~ This time represents the time (40 days) Jesus spent in the wilderness focusing on God. His vocation was

clarified as a result.

Today many ‘give up’ something during these

40 days. This may or may not serve a spiritual purpose.

(Examples might be t.v., caffeine, alcohol, the news

media, chocolate, etc.)

Here are some practical applications for us:

~ 40 days is ten percent of a year, thus representing

a tithe.

~ Habits formed during this time can carry over.

~ ‘Giving up’ something is never trivial when it is done for the greater purpose of glorifying God. Nor is ‘taking on’ something new for a period of time.

~ Less of any one thing can mean more space and room for God. We can welcome this.

Years ago I decided to ‘take on’ something new during Lent. This year I am carefully praying through selected psalms. I take a particular psalm a week and pray through it several times over the course of the week. I read it in a few translations, new and old. I read what a good commentary or two says about this psalm. Finally I write it in my own words as a prayer.

Sunday I shared Psalm 42 with the church during our time of Morning Prayer. The extended and relaxed reflection on this psalm helped me notice the general message of the psalmist: in the midst of turmoil, as the psalmist was asked, Where is your God now?, the psalmist remembered God’s work in the past. This remembering sustained for the present. Remembering brought comfort; remembering was also a commitment.

This week I’ve moved on to another Psalm, and am finding the exercise even easier and more enjoyable. How will God use this during these forty days and beyond? We shall see.

Blessings,

Ande Myers

The photo in this email is of our Communion Table this past Sunday. The Flower Committee does a great job with seasonal displays.

Comments? - I'd love to hear from you: ande.myers@gmail.com

Completely Legal and Absolutely Wrong

Friday, March 04, 2011

Early yesterday morning I saw some friends at the coffee shop and they asked me, What do you think about this Westboro Baptist Church and the Supreme Court decision?

Nothing like this to start off a Thursday, huh? Well, have you seen this story? Westboro Baptist is a church known for their hate and hate-filled demonstrations at inaugurations, courthouses and ,yes, funerals. You’ve probably seen their posters. These appeared at the funeral under consideration: "God Hates Fags," "God Hates You," "God Hates America," "God Hates the USA/Thank God for 911," and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” to name just a few.

This week the Supreme Court heard a case involving Westboro Baptist and the grieving father of a fallen soldier. The soldier was Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, a Marine who died in Iraq. All Mr. Snyder wanted for his son was a private and solemn funeral. And then they show up with their posters and their hatred. (Here you can find several good and thoughtful stories about this Westboro Baptist Church, the Supreme Court, and the issues surrounding this case: www.abpnews.com.)

So, back at the coffee shop…Ande, what do you think about them?

I said, It makes me sick that they call themselves Baptist and it makes me sick that they call themselves a church.

Would you worship with them? No.

Would you serve them Communion? They wouldn’t come to our church.

That’s not what I asked…if they did, would you serve them Communion? We would have some sort of conversation beforehand and I would not.

The Supreme Court decided 8-1 that Westboro Baptist could make these nasty protests. In this case it is evident that they decided that what is legal in America can still be totally wrong. Even in this ugliness America remains beautiful.

The Associated Baptist Press referred to the lone minority opinion:

Justice Samuel Alito filed a dissenting opinion, saying that while the church’s speech might be protected if directed toward a public figure, plaintiff Albert Snyder of York, Pa., was a private individual who suffered “great injury” due to “outrageous conduct” by a group seeking publicity…“In order to have a society in which public issues can be openly and vigorously debated, it is not necessary to allow the brutalization of innocent victims like the petitioner,” Alito opined.

Here is why I am so mad at Westboro Baptist. I celebrate that they can legally express their opinions. And I am resigned to the fact that they can be tacky about it and tasteless, even vulgar. But the church is called to a higher standard. That church and all churches. And I see in this church no reflection of Jesus Christ.

In our nation freedom is a privilege. Freedom is a responsibility. Sadly, not everyone is mature enough to earn privileges and take responsibility.

Justice Alito prevented a unanimous decision because he could not get his eyes off of the victim. In this case the victim was the grieving family of Lance Cpl. Snyder. I am proud of Justice Alito’s decency. And if I err, I hope to err on the side of grace and compassion.

As we think about our lives and our callings we should aspire to live lives of purity, generosity, and compassion. In this case I believe this would have been to tend to the grieving family. James said it like this in chapter one verse 26 – 27:

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

After leaving the coffee shop I was still angry at Westboro Baptist. I probably always will be. I also realized that the world is looking to the church. They notice. And I wonder: Do we give them substance and seriousness? Are we like Jesus? Our job, job number one, is to be witnesses for Jesus.

Please, God, give us your help.

Blessings,

Ande Myers

Questions or comments: ande.myers@gmail.com.

An Invitation to Grace

On the way back from a visit today I was listening to National Public Radio’s coverage of the events in Egypt. Hosni Mubarak has resigned. The people are ecstatic as hopes are high. One person interviewed said that in 6000 years of Egypt’s recorded history the people have never gotten to speak this way and choose a government for themselves. If that is true, and it very well may be, that is remarkable to me. Truly we are blessed here in our nation, warts and all.

I want to shift gears and focus a moment on grace. You have often heard (from me) that each day we have opportunities and invitations given to us by the Lord to serve him with our lives. We can choose to show mercy, compassion, generosity and forgiveness – to name a few. The question is, Are we open to these invitations?

Recently, in a Smithsonian Magazine article, there was a cover piece written about the history of the Colosseum. It was quite fascinating. In it a story was told about Emperor Gallienus. He ruled Rome from 253 – 268 AD.

It seems the Emperor’s wife had been swindled by a local merchant. He had sold her glass jewels instead of authentic ones. Of course, this turned out to be a bad idea. As his punishment the Emperor sent him into the Colosseum to face a ferocious lion. (So much for an eye for an eye.)

Well, when the cage on the arena floor opened a chicken walked out of the cage and the crowd roared with laughter and applause. The Emperor had the herald proclaim, ‘This merchant practiced deceit and then had it practiced on him.’ And the Emperor let the man go.

I wonder if the merchant learned his lesson.

In the world today if you practice mercy, it will be noticed. If you are gracious, even when you’ve been wronged, this will catch someone’s attention. When you are generous; people see it. If you are patient when you don’t have to be or when it is very hard to be, someone just might wonder… ‘How in the world does he or she do that?’

And then a witness can begin.

Blessings,

Ande

Your comments are welcomed at ande.myers@gmail.com.

Prayer for Egypt

Have you watched much international news lately? I have been interested in the goings on in the Middle East more than normal, first in Tunisia and now in Egypt. As you may know, protests began in Egypt two weeks ago and they began with a few thousand people. It was relatively quiet. Only one week later, literally hundreds of thousands of people assembled in Cairo to demand the removal of long time President, Hosni Mubarak. These ensuing protests have not been quiet at all.

Mubarak began ruling thirty years ago when then President Anwar al-Sadat was assassinated. Mubarak was wounded by the gunman in the attack but survived and began his presidency declaring a ‘state of emergency’ that was imposed then and has not been lifted. This ‘state of emergency’ has severely limited the freedom of some 80 million Egyptians. (Currently newspapers and websites have been shut down and some estimate that up to 15,000 Egyptians are political prisoners.)

It is interesting that many of the protesters are young and many have spent significant amounts of time in the United States and Europe. In other words, they have seen democracy and now wonder, If much of the world can have freedom, why can’t we? This is a good question.

Why the riots? Well, with the current government and the institutions that have been developed the people have not been heard. They feel they have no voice. (Much of the info I have seen concerning this crisis is found at the Economist and the Washington Post websites.)

Several years ago I attended an inauguration here in the US. My cousin, who’d worked for the then Senate Majority Leader said, I don’t care if you voted for him or not. I don’t care if it is your party that has won or not – you just have to attend an inauguration.

Sure enough, my cousin was right. I witnessed a peaceful transfer of power. The people had been heard; the majority ruled; and the minority ultimately respected this. It is amazing that this happens so often in our nation. What a blessing!

Join me in praying for the Middle East and for Egypt in particular. We in the West have an opportunity to help with new directions for democracy. Increased freedom in this corner of the world will be good for all of us. Let’s pray for our Egyptian neighbors today. For God so loved the world…

Blessings,

Ande

Comments? I'd love to hear from you at ande.myers@gmail.com.

Searching for God

Friends,

I want to try something new and post last Sunday’s message here. First let me share a couple of observations. A sermon is a spoken – not written – message. Each week I type up a manuscript and go over it a couple of times but don’t bring it into the pulpit. Sometimes the written message and the spoken one are very similar. Sometimes they are not at all.

One day this past week I took my written manuscript and edited it based on how I remember the sermon being spoken. I did this days after Sunday – so what is here is not what was shared last week. However, I hope it is recognizable.

I have edited and cleaned up the grammar, etc., but this is meant to be a ‘reasonable facsimile’ of the message you heard.

Notice many times I give credit when I refer to someone else’s ideas. I also recognize that there is no way to give credit every time someone else’s ideas have shaped mine, but I will do my best.

Blessings,

Ande

As usual - questions or comments are welcomed at ande.myers@gmail.com

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Ande Myers - Cornerstone Baptist Church

Genesis 1.1 – Searching for God

‘In the Beginning God’

Intro (to the series):

Last year one of the most reputable and most utilized Bible search engines on the web analyzed the searches done on their website and published the results. Between March and April of last year, BibleGateway.com was used to make over 25 million Bible searches. Late last year the results of those searches were published.

As I read this report, I realized that there were some sermons in here, sermons on the most searched passages in the Bible, and perhaps a sermon or two on the flip side – what people are not looking for. So, for the next few weeks we’ll examine some of these passages.

First, a word in general about what I’ve found. I’ve taken some time to read the top 100 verses and of them, sixteen (16% for those of you who are good at math) were from the Old Testament. This is not really surprising to me but I do believe it illustrates that we neglect God’s story in the Old Testament, many times.

I use an Old Testament Passage today and may use one more, but will focus the rest of the time on the New Testament. As I read through the most searched Scriptures I put them into categories: those dealing with courage to face fear, plans for life, sin, salvation and practical advice for the living of life. We will focus on these themes over the next few weeks. I am very excited about this journey and I hope you’ll plan to be here along the way.

I

One of my favorite singers (David Wilcox) has written a song called, Start with the Ending. In it he imagines a relationship that from the beginning has the honestly and clarity that often times is only revealed at the end of a relationship. Sometimes I’ve thought this would be nice, what about you? Start with the ending. Just this week I noticed a particular celebrity breakup. And this had been a very long relationship – at least in standards used for those that occur in the public eye. They said, When we were away from the lights and cameras we began to realize that we were headed different directions in life. We love each other, our time together was a blessing; we are just going different places in life.

This story told about the fact that after their breakup they both got away and asked some of these questions, Do I love myself? If I am to be alone am I o.k. with this? What will it take for me to be happy? What do I want in life?

At the end of their relationship they went back to the basics. Today I don’t want us to start with the ending. I want us to start at the beginning.

Some of us in life come to a point where we think we have some of it figured out. You see, there is a particular way that things ought and ought not to happen. We act and react and think and plan and have contingency plans for each situation. Yet, somehow, now we realize that in life one can’t plan for nor can one anticipate everything. This truth is compounded in family life. At this point we might find ourselves with no particular guiding clue. (Inspiration and Tolstoy’s words from Anna Karenina, part III, chapter 20.)

My advice at this point in life is unlike the singer’s advice to ‘start with the ending.’ My advice is to start with the beginning.

II

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This is how the chapter starts…and over and over again, for seven days a pattern is repeated.

Unfortunately these verses have, in my opinion, been the source of the wrong kinds of attention. There are some who’ll read the Bible in general and Genesis specifically to answer certain questions in life, and this is alright. The questions they want to answer are, How, exactly did this happen? And, When, exactly did this occur? I really believe that these are the wrong questions and here is why.

These are some of the oldest Scriptures we have and the earlier Jewish audiences would not wonder about this. They would not ask, How old is the earth? Or, How did it come to be?

They were a minority people in the world and they had been surrounded by other people and their gods. Four hundred years in Egypt and then on to Canaan and eventually on to Babylon and back, and in each place they were surrounded by all these other gods. Some of these journeys were voluntary and some were not.

When they would find themselves at wits end and in need of help they would lift their eyes unto the hills for help and what would they see? (Do you remember from our look at Psalm 121?) They would see other gods carved into the hills and temples there. But they were reminded by the psalmist, Your help will come from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

So, specifically, verses one and following say, In the beginning was God. We’ll also know him as the great I AM, I was, I have been, I will be. Each person was reminded that there is something that always was, and this is the Lord God.

Verse two shifts the focus to the earth and says, The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep…

Here we see an image of formlessness, of void, there was nothingness and chaos. But, notice - a ray of hope, and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said…in chapter one, ten times God speaks and it comes to pass.

The early Jewish person is not concerned with How? or When? But she is burdened by Who? and What? In the beginning there was God and God made order out of chaos. God spoke and it came to be. And because of God’s Spirit, God’s presence, there is always hope.

III

I want to come at this Scripture from two angles this morning. The first one I have alluded to, Let’s start at the beginning.

A friend called me on Monday very excited about his team’s advancement in the playoffs. (I always am eager to talk football.) He then shared with me that this past year his father passed away, something I had not known. He decided, really, he committed, to spend more time with his family. His words were, Dad was my rock and without him I’ve been spinning, but now I know what I am to do.

I have spent 18 years giving my all for my company and they’ve moved me to Fredericksburg. And I realized, All this toil and all this giving I’ve done for them has gotten me nothing. And in the process I have neglected my responsibilities and obligations at home. I am not going to make this mistake again.

He had to go, but I hope our conversation is not over. You see, we didn’t touch on the spiritual aspect of things, but I recognize as clear as you are sitting here today that God’s Spirit was hovering – moving over the face of the waters. There has been darkness. There has been disorder. There has been chaos. But, the Good News of the Gospel is that there is Hope.

Genesis one has a pattern. God speaks, it happens, and it is good. Do you remember that God looks at each day, at all of what he’s made and sees that it is good?

Now, if you look at your days, if we look at our lives we see that all is not good. I believe this is because we – mostly un-intentionally – step further and further away from God and his goodness. We don’t do this on purpose or with malice. We just, like sheep are prone to wander and stray. We nibble and nibble and walk and walk and low and behold we are a long way from home.

IV

The second angle is related to the first. Remember that when God created human beings he made us in his image. What does this mean? Not only are the fingerprints of God all over us, but each of us is made in God’s image. So, when we look at one another we should remember this and watch closely for images of God.

Perhaps today – in our world – we should remember, when we look at our enemies or our adversaries (a better word) that God has created them in his image. I have fingerprints of God all over me…you have them over you…our neighbors do to…as do our enemies.

Recently there was an older couple retired from ministry looking for a church. (Gordan MacDonald’s Seat Selection for Worship.) As they came into the empty sanctuary they chose seats near the front – out of habit.

Not long after an older man in his eighties came in and sat in front of them. He was alone. Once the music began they sang and sang and sang and the older gentleman had to sit down. The former pastor asked, Are you o.k.?

Yes, I’m fine.

Knees, hips or ankle problems?

All three.

During the announcement he and his wife moved over and asked the gentleman to sit with them. He wanted to decline but did not and gathered his coat and moved back.

After the service he said that it was nice to have someone to sit with, for his wife died two years ago and he had no one to come to church with him. He also shared that his son’s family was having problems and he was quite worried, as they were all the family he had. They seemed to bond well together as fellow worshipers can.

The retired pastor said, May I pray for you? And he did.

This week you will get these chances, for they don’t just happen from eleven to noon on Sundays. This week you will have opportunities to serve the Lord, will you take them?

On last Saturday evening I went to Asheville to see a member of our church in the hospital. Afterwards Michelle had given me the go-ahead to take some personal time and find a Barnes and Noble.

I knew there was one south of town on 26 but had missed the exit. As I asked a young man how to find my way he said, You need to turn around and go back.

I said, Can’t I just go up here and through there and so on and so on?

He realized I would never find Barnes and Noble that way so he said, No, you need to turn around.

The Scripture has a word for this and it is Repentance.

Some of us are heading the wrong direction. It isn’t malicious. It has been gradual. Either way no length of travel down the wrong road will lead us to the right place. This morning maybe we need to stop, turn around, start with the beginning, even. This may be the best thing you can do today. If so, use this time of commitment and respond to the Lord’s leading in your life.

Amen.

Come and Worship

Friends,

I hope your New Year is off to a great start. On last Sunday we began a look at some of the Songs of Ascent. These are Psalms 120 – 134. There are fifteen of them and they were sung going up to Jerusalem to worship. If you were here Sunday you remember that the theme for these weeks is this, Come and Worship.

As a pastor I have heard many reasons people give for not worshiping. Some have been thoughtful and valid, some have been doozies. And I have endured most of these – even the doozies – with a straight face.

We could each probably come up with a dozen reasons not to worship but I can think of one big reason to Come and Worship and that is to meet God. It can be plain and simple.(Inspired by the thoughts of Eugene Peterson.)

This year I have been reading portions of Mark Twain’s autobiography. The portions I am reading were compiled from monthly magazine articles roughly a hundred years ago.

Twain tells of a pastor friend of his, Rev. Joseph Harris, quite an interesting guy (this story is from 1880). In Twain’s words:

Harris has had many adventures. He has more adventures in a year than anybody else has in five. One Saturday night he noticed a bottle on his uncle's dressing-bureau. He thought the label said "Hair Restorer," and he took it in his room and gave his head a good drenching and sousing with it and carried it back and thought no more about it. Next morning when he got up his head was a bright green! …As the days went on and Sunday followed Sunday, the interest in Harris's hair grew and grew; because it didn't stay merely and monotonously green, it took on deeper and deeper shades of green; and then it would change and become reddish, and would go from that to some other color—purplish, yellowish, bluish, and so on—but it was never a solid color. It was always mottled. And each Sunday it was a little more interesting than it was the Sunday before—and Harris's head became famous, and people came from New York, and Boston, and South Carolina, and Japan, and so on, to look. There wasn't seating-capacity for all the people that came while his head was undergoing these various and fascinating mottlings. And it was a good thing in several ways, because the business had been languishing a little, and now a lot of people joined the church so that they could have the show, and it was the beginning of a prosperity for that church which has never diminished in all these years.

I could say, Come and Worship Sunday to see what color the preacher’s hair is…But, I’ll stick with this, Come and Worship you might just meet God. Have a great day.

Blessings,

Ande