What's the order?

Per his usual stellar self, Pastor Dave Miller from Bellwood Mennonite Church in Milford, NE scores a touchdown, or plants a seed, or loves us like a father, or calls us to respond.  I wish I could have written it myself.  Click the link below, it's not what you may be thinking:)
And Go Huskers!

Pastor Dave's Doodles: The four "F" words: "Now that I have your attention, let me explain what I mean. Suppose an alien were to visit Milford (or any Midwest town). Suppose this vis..."

Pursuing wealth

Yesterday's sermon was a hard one for me.  And it was hard for those who heard it.  When we allow God's Word to evaluate our hearts we find:
hardness, deceit, misplaced love, wrong motives, self-righteousness, mediocrity, sin, treachery, selfishness,...  and that's just my list:(
We should do this more often.
As I was reading the following article this morning, it reminded me of the sermon and how so much of entertainment pulls our hearts to wrong desires, and to be discontent.
http://www.daveramsey.com/newsletters/online/edition/personal-finance-newsletter-092710?ectid=cnl1010.final_11#bighouse
One of the dangers of a "wholesome" cable channel like HGTV, is that it's really just one big commercial all day long.  A constant diet of home improvements, house hunters, redecorating, etc. breeds discontent with what we have; it calls us to finer living, when our hearts should be called to "pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness"  (see 1 Timothy 6:11)

Pain

A couple days ago I was doing an exercise called a "Sumo Deadlift High Pull" (Disclaimer: That is not me in the video).  Evidently my form was poor and I was trying to muscle up the weight with my lower back, instead of letting the momentum of my hips snap the weight to my chin.  Now I have a sore lower back.
  Nothing that restricts movement, but I know it's there and it hurts a little.  I have found relief in keeping the muscles warmed up, and gently stretching all the connected muscles (calves, hamstrings, glutes, trapezoid, rhomboids, latisimus dorsi, etc.)  I also have noticed more relief when I sit and move with a neutral alignment.

Why am I telling you this?  I'm really not a complainer, and I don't want your sympathy, and I shy away from sharing what I do for exercise.  What this is really about is an analogy for our lives.  Sometimes we try to muscle up the good works and get things down on our own power.  Sometimes we are even successful at it.  But it will catch us, when we are tired or lazy and it is going to hurt.  When it does, the cure is to step back, rest, take a lighter load while we work on the details of the movement.  Then we practice supporting movements (Spiritual practices) that realign the framework and move us back into a healthy state where we can run the race, carry the load, and throw off the sin that so easily entangles us.  Finally, when we once again encounter the movement that set us back, we trust Jesus to complete the work that he began in us to completion.  This is Jesus' movement; we join him in carrying the momentum that he has already begun.

Addition, and there was much rejoicing:)

Suzanne, and 3 little girls, left a couple hours ago and drove to Salina, KS.  When she returned there were 6...
Hmm...
This doubling of the girls will last from now until Monday sometime.  It's gonna be a hoot!

The unclothed:) anabaptist

I just finished reading The Naked Anabaptist: The Bare Essentials of a Radical Faith.  It was a thought-provoking read.  Here are some links to give you an idea what the book is about.  If you are:
-Mennonite
-attending a Mennonite church
-avoiding Mennonites
-attracted to the core of following Jesus but don't like religion or church
-wondering about God

THEN - this book just might resonate with you.
I found it challenging and encouraging as one who is or was all of the above at some point.  Stuart Murray does a good job of identifying what they have found to be the helpful things in Anabaptism, while being honestly critical of lessons to learn or things to avoid.  This is a book I will need to read again.

Fruity...

Anybody feeling fruity out there?

Read the article from the link above.  I know I have thought as the author did, that I was supposed to work at being fruitful.  I was supposed to push out my own fruit.  I know that fruit is produced as we become more like Jesus; as we grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus, as we are transformed by our prayers, reading, confession, reflection, action, worship, etc.
I would still suggest that we can monitor, evaluate, and prune the fruit that we produce.  These actions remind us that we can't produce fruit on our own, and that we must stay on the vine.
God bless with water, sun, and nutrients!

An Overview of Mennonite History

I was recently made aware of a new book on Mennonite History.  You may be asking why you should be interested in reading Mennonite History.  Well you might find out you are a Mennonite and you didn't know it!  For those of you who know you are or were a Mennonite, it may be the book you need to read this week.
It is written in an accessible and nonacademic style, this revised edition updates the story and incorporates new historical research and discoveries.
Check it out at http://store.mpn.net/productdetails.cfm?PC=1431
You will find that you can read the introduction, preface, and epilogue at the link above as well.

The Lord's Prayer

This Sunday, I will be finishing the 5th of 5 sermons on the Lord's Prayer.  I broke it into verse 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and focused on one verse with supporting other passages each week.  Up to this point, I have used the lectionary scriptures as the basis for each week's sermon.  This has been a fulfilling study for me.  I have also appreciated the comments from others of the deeper meaning they have found in praying and learning about the Lord's prayer.

Most common responses:

• Importance of praying on the whole churches behalf, not just my own requests, and yet, on the other hand, the significance of changing the pronouns to first person reminding us our individual responsibility.
• Importance of not just repeating prayers and expecting magic to happen, but also recognizing that repeating traditional prayers can shape or re-energize our spontaneous prayers.
• This prayer is such a simple prayer that can be understood at our first reading, however, in depth study of this prayer continues to reveal fresh learning about the heart of God and our relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior.

Blessings, and keep praying!

Pastor Dave's Doodles: God-focused Worship

Here is an excellent post from a thinker, theologian, awesome musician, fellow Mennonite Pastor, friend, funny guy, and supper guest this evening... Think about it.

Pastor Dave's Doodles: God-focused Worship: "Does our worship service lead people to an encounter with Christ and the Holy Spirit? Think about why we do what we do in worship. Do we wo..."

The Lord's prayer

Last Sunday I began a series on Matthew 6:9-13, The Lord's Prayer.  Each week I plan to focus on one verse.  Last week was verse 9.  Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be your name.  These are the main points I hoped to bring out:
-Our, we, us used instead of My, I, me.  We are brothers and sisters in Christ and of Christ and because of Christ.
-Father denotes an intimate family relationship.  For those who have a loving relationship with their fathers, it is instructive to relate to God with the same openness and trust.  For those who don't have a loving relationship with their fathers, God becomes to them what they have never had.
-Heaven is beyond this world.  God's presence and power are everywhere and with us.  Remembering that God is in Heaven, reminds us that God is limited by our earthly existence.  God can break into our reality and bring healing and hope.
-Hallowed means holy and glorified.  This phrase is actually the first request.  We are asking that God's name will be held high and shown to be holy, by our lives.  We are asking for God's power to make our faithfulness bear fruit.  When we live righteously in God's power we lift God's name and reputation up and bring God glory.

May it be so in my life.  I am unable to live this out in my own power.  How about you?