What Atheists Can Teach Christians

What Atheists Can Teach Christians

Matthew 4:12-23   |   1/26/2014

The Church of the Wayfarer

Norm Mowery, Pastor

          Commentary on the scripture:

          John the Baptist, Jesus’s cousin, best friend, and mentor was just arrested.

          For Jesus the time had come when He must get on with his task.

          This scripture features three dynamics of Jesus at the opening of his ministry.

          First, is the way Matthew connects Jesus to the prophetic tradition—the Hebrew Scriptures

          Next, is Jesus' initial calling of his disciples.

          The passage then concludes with a brief description of Jesus carrying out his ministry throughout Galilee.

          Carl Iverson sent the following titled, ‘Hymns for Everyone.’        

                   The Dentist's Hymn: Crown Him With Many Crowns
                   The Contractor's Hymn: The Church's One Foundation
                   The Tailor's Hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy
                   The Golfer's Hymn: There is A Green Hill Far Away
                   The Optometrist's Hymn: Open My Eyes That I Might See
                   The IRS Agent's Hymn: I Surrender All
                   The Gossip's Hymn: Pass It On
                   The Pilot's Hymn: I'll Fly Away
                   The Paramedic's Hymn: Revive Us Again
                   The Judge's Hymn: Almost Persuaded
                   The Shoe Repairer's Hymn: It Is Well With My Soul 

          Thanks, Carl!

          For the past ten years I have been a part of a men’s group that meets once a year down at Big Sur. It’s an interesting group of business professionals, community leaders and politicians.

          I will never forget that the first year I went to this group we were at Congressman Sam Farr’s property down near Lucia. It is a beautiful place high on a cliff overlooking the Pacific.

          I was being my friendly Norm self and walked up to a guy I had never met before, stuck my hand out, and said, “Hi, I’m Norm. I’m the Pastor of the Church of the Wayfarer.”

          The guy I greeted stuck out his hand and said, “Hi, I’m John (not his real name), I’m an atheist!”

          I was shocked.     

          I just stood there and thought, “Duh, OKAY, so, what do I say now!”

          I was really getting off to a good start with this group.

          I think I said, “Well it’s nice to know you anyway.”

          But then he and I sat down on the edge of a cliff and talked for a couple of hours. Since that time I have become good friends with him.

          You might be surprised to learn that many people become atheists because they are not hearing a strong message of spiritual transformation in their churches.

          In our scripture Jesus gives a strong message.

          "Repent," says Jesus, “turn your life around.”

          Jesus invites people to follow him only if they are willing to pay the price.

          People want to hear this.

          They really do.
          Especially atheists!

          Atheists don't want less Christianity.

          They want a more serious and vital version of it.

          I got this information from Larry Taunton who recently conducted a series of interviews with people who have become atheists.  He reports his discoveries in The Atlantic Magazine (June 2013).

          In his research he found that most people become atheists after spending time in church!

          In the article he quotes a college student who became an atheist,

          “Church became a mushy mix of ceremony, handholding and kumbaya.”

          "I missed my old youth pastor," he said with disgust. "He actually knew the Bible."

          So what can atheists teach us to help us create a stronger church?

          For starters, Atheists want us to be clear about the Christian message.

          Jesus certainly was.

          As he begins his ministry, the gospel of Matthew says that he goes to Capernaum, by the Sea of Galilee, precisely because he sees his mission as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah:

          "Across the Jordan, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the shadow of death light has dawned".

          Jesus moves to Capernaum by the sea so that the people sitting in darkness can see a great light.

          He begins his ministry with a focus on replacing the shadow of death with the light of life.

          We need this light today.

          The darkness of despair still needs to be replaced by the light of clarity.

                    Ignorance enlightened by insight.

                    Addiction overcome by self-control.

                    Illness overpowered by healing.

                    Isolation eliminated by community.

          Each of us has some dark corners in our lives.

          Places where we feel hopeless,

                   sinful,

                             lost,

                                      overwhelmed and alone.

          But when the great light of Christ begins to shine, we move from darkness into a new day.

          Unfortunately, many churches fail to be clear about the Christian message. They put Christ's light under a bushel, ignoring the fact that he says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life".

         

          Next, atheists remind us to keep Christ closely connected to real life.

          Reflecting on her experience in church, a college student in the article named Stephanie said,

          "The connection between Jesus and a person's life was not clear in the church."

          Churches must make a strong link between the life we live today and the life of Jesus.

          We each struggle with sin and Jesus' forgiveness.

          We wander in confusion and need Jesus' clarity.

          We take actions grounded in ignorance—as individuals and communities—and need Jesus' insights.

          Taunton says that "the church exists to proclaim the teachings of its founder, Jesus Christ, and their relevance to the world.”  

          Stephanie did not see that connection so she saw little incentive to stay in the church and became an atheist.

          We will continue to lose young people unless we proclaim the message of Christ, and allow his light to shine on every aspect of human life.

          Atheists teach us to offer thoughtful answers to life's difficult questions.

          The students interviewed said that they went to church hoping to

                   find answers to the great questions of the day,

                             as well as guidance about ethics,

                                      purpose and personal significance.

          What did they find?

          Church services that were often shallow and irrelevant.

          As Ben, an engineering student said in the article, "I really started to get bored with church."

          We must not shy away from offering solid answers to difficult questions, from evolution to human sexuality if we want to stay connected to the serious minded Christians around us.

          Atheists push us to take the Bible seriously and invite people to follow Jesus. Without exception, the former church-attenders interviewed by Taunton expressed respect for Christians who embrace biblical teaching.

          They may not believe the words of the Bible themselves, but they admire people who are authentic and who act on their beliefs.

          Jesus certainly did this when he called his first disciples along the banks of the Sea of Galilee. He sees two fishermen, the brothers Simon Peter and Andrew, casting their net into the sea.

          Jesus says to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Immediately they leave their nets and follow him.

          Jesus is bold enough to walk up to two complete strangers and challenge them to follow him in a life of discipleship.

          He cannot control their response,

                    but he believes in what he is doing and is willing to act on his beliefs.

          They sense that he is so authentic and committed to his mission that they drop their nets and follow him.

          Matthew tells us that Jesus sees two other brothers, James and John, in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He calls them, and immediately they leave the boat and their father and follow Jesus.

          So Jesus is now four for four in terms of succeeding in getting people to follow him.

          The passage ends with Matthew telling us that "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom".

          Jesus is entirely consistent in word and deed.

          He teaches and preaches about the kingdom of God, and then shows that this kingdom is coming by curing disease and sickness among the people.

          His authenticity inspires people to follow him,

                   and then his disciples recruit others to follow as well.

          Unfortunately, we're failing to invite people to follow Jesus with this same kind of enthusiasm. Atheists are critical of this. As one student said, "I really can't consider a person as a good Christian if he isn't trying to convert me."

          To me that is surprising coming from a person who probably doesn't want to be converted.

          Even if the conversion of atheists is not our specific focus, we should certainly be willing to share our excitement about being a follower of Jesus.

          And why shouldn't we be excited?

          - Jesus shows us the truth of God like no other person who has ever lived.
          - Jesus brings the kingdom of heaven into the very middle of human life.
          - Jesus teaches us how to love the Lord and love our neighbors as ourselves.
          - Jesus demonstrates how to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

          Why shouldn't we be excited?

          A religious woman upon waking up each morning would open her front door stand on the porch and scream, "Praise the Lord."
          This infuriated her atheist neighbor who would always make sure to counter back, "there is no Lord."
          One morning the atheist neighbor overheard his neighbor praying for food.       Thinking it would be funny, he went and bought her all sorts of groceries and left them on her porch.
          The next morning the lady screamed, "Praise the Lord, who gave me this food."

          The neighbor, laughing so hard he could barely get the words out, screamed "it wasn't the Lord, it was me."
          The lady without missing a beat screamed, "Praise the Lord for not only giving me food but making the atheist pay for it!!"

          The atheists of the world can show us how to be loyal disciples—people who follow Jesus faithfully and invite others to do the same.

          We can each be clearer about the Christian mission and message.

          We can make efforts to connect Christ more closely to real life.

          We can offer more thoughtful answers to life's difficult questions.

          And we can take the Bible seriously and invite others to follow Jesus.

          The light of Christ has come into our lives, and we should never hide it from others.

          Jesus has called each of us to follow him, and to "fish for people" as well.         We are being complacent if we don't share our excitement about Jesus and the life of discipleship with others. At least that's what the atheists tell us.
                                                                                                                         Prayer
          Jesus, we claim to be your followers and we say that we are your disciples.                          Are we really living as you would have us live?
                   Give us boldness to share your truth.
                   Give us hearts that are willing to turn from our own desires to follow      yours.
                   Give us courage to love our enemies.
                   Give us faith that triumphs doubt.
                   If we are truly your followers,

                             truly your disciples,

                             please show us what that really means

                             and let us not be afraid to live it out. Amen.

Satisfaction Surveys

Satisfaction Surveys

1 Corinthians 1:1-9   |   1/19/2014

The Church of the Wayfarer

Norm Mowery, Pastor

          I don’t know about you but I get Customer Satisfaction Surveys everyplace I shop.

          Aren't you getting a little tired of all the surveys that get thrown at you?

          They're everywhere.

          If you are on the phone with customer service, a robot voice asks you if you'd like to take a survey at the end of the session.

          If you visit a hotel you get home and find an e-mail from every hotel you stayed at asking you to take a survey.

          If you are online making a purchase a survey window pops up.

          Sometimes the surveys are at the bottom of receipts and clerks ask you to go on line and answer a few questions for a promised reward.

          I was impressed with the customer service recently at Auto Zone and attempted to give a clerk a $5.00 tip. He refused it saying that he would rather I complete the Customer Survey.

          I didn’t—because I didn’t know his name and besides I was afraid that if I did complete the survey I would get a ton of junk emails.

          With this sermon on my mind I did attempt to complete one this week.

          It was for Amazon Coupons promising that if I would complete a survey I would receive a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card.

                   Complete the Amazon Survey! Claim your $25.00 Amazon Gift Card!

                   All you need to do is:

                             1. Register

                             2. Complete the Survey

                             3. Claim Your Reward

                    I stopped and said to myself, “I don’t think that I want to do this.”

          Each year, the American Consumer Satisfaction Institute polls thousands of travelers, aiming to get a snapshot of just how happy the average flier is with his or her experience.

          According to the survey, commercial airlines rank near the very bottom of the 43 industries on the index, edging out only cable television and Internet providers in satisfaction.

          Speaking of airline satisfaction last Sunday an airplane landed at the wrong airport in Missouri—seven miles from the correct one!

          An airline pilot hammered his plane into the runway really hard.

          The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying with us."
          Because of the hard landing he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment.

          Finally, everyone had gotten off except for one gentleman.

          He said, "Sonny, mind if I ask you a question?"
          "Why no, Sir," said the pilot, "what is it?"
          The man asked, "Did we land or were we shot down?"

          Let’s put it all in perspective. Perhaps we should stop and smell the jet fuel every once in a while. You are flying at 550 mph—ya’ know!

          Things could be worse.
         

          It's easy to take incredible things for granted.  When something fantastic and truly stunning first emerges onto the scene, everyone is smitten. But soon, that which is extraordinary becomes that which is expected.

          We begin to see this modern marvel—

                   a car that can park itself,

                   a phone that can navigate us to the mall

                   or a genetically modified, hypoallergenic dog.

          Take flying for example.

          Manned flight is just a little over 100 years old. 

          In the course of a century some amazing things have happened.

          What began as one flight in the fields of North Carolina is now more than 30,000 flights every day in the United States alone.

          Yet, for many, the marvel of flight has completely lost its luster.

          If the church were one of the industries the American Consumer Satisfaction Institute polled regarding satisfaction, how would it do?

          One could easily lump the church in with other marvels that for many has lost its luster. 

          I am afraid that satisfaction levels of church members are seriously low.

          I am reminded of the quote, “The Church is a museum of a dream that never came to pass.”

          Sadly for some that is very true.

          Take the church in Corinth.

          The letter to the Corinthians could easily be subtitled "Christians Gone Wild."

          Here you've got people fighting for power,

                   abusing the sacrament,

                   sleeping around,

                   suing each other,

                   false teachers and marriages melting down.

          If a survey were floated around the church at Corinth, chances are that the average parishioner would rate his or her level of satisfaction just above the Department of Motor Vehicles and just below jury duty!

          It was a mess.

          And you thought that some of your church experience was a mess!

          I have kept a file for many years titled, “Stuff.” In it I have little notes about the ‘stuff’ of ministry I have dealt with as a pastor. During my last month here, June, I will share some of that ‘stuff’ with you.

          Bet you can’t wait!

          The sad but sobering truth is that the same is often true in our churches as was true in Corinth.

          When you lift the hood on any congregation—even ours—you'll see leaks and cracks, you'll hear thumps and rattles. We all fall short.

          The church is made up of people saved by Christ and yet still desperately in need of Jesus Christ.

          The truth is that the church in Corinth isn't all that different from every church today.

          There will be immorality that comes to light,

                   politics at play, power struggles,

                   conflicts with pastors,

                   marriages that are messy

                   and a mission that misses the mark.

          There will always be reasons for deep discouragement.

          Pastor Paul, like any good pastor, addresses the issues at Corinth head on.

          In doing so he lifts the Corinthian people out of the depths to which they'd sunk and back into a life of following Jesus.

          He constantly calls the people back to the mission.

          However, before correcting the mistakes, Paul made it clear that despite all that was broken in the church;

          he was still truly satisfied with what God was accomplishing in the church.

          He praises them!

          "I give thanks to my God always for you," Paul writes.

          It's as if he's making a point to say,

"Despite the immorality,

despite the gossip,

despite the immaturity and selfishness on display in this church,

despite the conflicts and depression,

I want it to be clear that I am still overjoyed

at the miracle that is this church."

          Every once in a while, we must pause from focusing on the negative—how much we miss the mark—and put it all in perspective.
         
          There's reason to be satisfied with the church.

          Specifically, Paul reminds the Corinthians of three reasons why he is so thankful for their church, despite its issues.

          For Paul, the Corinthian church was still something to marvel over because it had three things: grace, gifts and a guarantee.

         

          Let's start with grace.

          What makes a church family great is not the great things done by them, but the great mercy shown to them by God.

          God loves the church.  

          God’s grace is all they need.

          The primary reason Paul was overjoyed with the church at Corinth is because of the flood of forgiveness that has washed over them by God’s grace.

          The incredible promise of the gospel is that no matter how messed up we are we're adopted as sons and daughters of God’s kingdom.

          Things could be worse.

          God has forgiven the past wrongs and current problems.

          Gifts.

          Not only did the church at Corinth have God’s grace but it had gifts.

          Paul writes that the church was "... enriched in him…..so that you are not lacking in any gift".

          Sure, every church is a ragtag bunch of broken believers.

         

          But God promised that when the church is established by God's grace it's also gifted and equipped by the power of the Spirit.

          We know that the church in Corinth had its troubles.

          But we also know that it wasn't without hope because it had a reservoir of gifts and talents that simply needed to be unleashed and encouraged.

          Our congregation has many gifts.

          God is meeting needs through our church?

         
          Guarantee.

          Paul found great joy in the struggling Corinthian church because of the bright future guaranteed to each dysfunctional but deeply loved church.

          Undergirding the life of each local church is the truth that, despite all of our imperfections, the end is not in doubt.

          The future of God's mission is not dependent on whether or not Corinth gets her act together or whether or not our congregation is perfect.

          The future is secure because Christ has promised that in the end he will keep his church alive. Remember this truth the next time you sit in a contentious meeting or hear that someone is unhappy.

          It is God’s Church not Norm Mowery’s church or anyone else’s.

                    Christ has guaranteed a good ending.

                    The church will endure.

                    There's still reason to rejoice.

          It's easy to take incredible things for granted. According to the customer satisfaction poll I mentioned earlier, its business travelers—those who spend more time in the air—who give the lowest rankings for their air travel.

          Perhaps the more time you spend with something, even an amazing thing; the easier it is to notice limitations, flaws and missed opportunities.

          That is why it is okay to step back from time to time and put it all in perspective.

          For all her struggles, the church, has a lot going for her because of what God has done through us in Christ.

          Let's deal with our dissatisfaction and dysfunction for sure.

          But may we always remember that there's much to be satisfied with: we are graced, we are gifted and we have a guarantee.

          We may lose some bags.

          But we're traveling through the air at 500 mph.

          That's pretty darn incredible.

          I want to close by sharing four things I like about the church—this church:
          1. Even though this church inevitably falls short it keeps trying.
          2. This church, the Church of the Wayfarer, at its most basic level, expresses what I want my life to express—

                    that there is something out there,

                    that that something is good and

                   that that something loves me and everyone else.
          3. This church gives me a place to belong, to lead, to fail, to experience community and even to learn how to do church better.
          4. This church teaches me about being loved.
          Thanks for being this church! 
         

Prayer

          Almighty God, your Son preached justice and social equality —

                   and the coming of the kingdom of God.

          The apostle Paul reminds us that we are one in Christ, that “There is no such thing as Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, male and female.”

          But we know that is not true in practice and is merely a lofty goal.

          We are divided by race, gender, economics, politics and religion.

          We give thanks this morning for all who have fought and struggled against discrimination, seeking change and equality for all people;

          for people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who preached the gospel so eloquently.

          We ask you to grant us courage to act, and not turn away in fear when we see oppression and discrimination.

          Help us also to preach and live out the gospel each day.

          Open our eyes to injustice and loosen our tongues to speak out against it.         Help us to trust that you always give us the strength we need.

          We pray in the name of Jesus Christ whose prayer we pray together saying…..

         

         

Partial Love

Partial Love

Acts 10:34-43   |   1/12/2014

The Church of the Wayfarer

Norm Mowery, Pastor

          There is something God cannot do: God cannot show partiality.

          Parents usually profess to love their children equally, but in her book, The Favorite Child, Ellen Libby says she discovered that many parents privately admit that they have a favorite child. Did you? Do you have a favorite child?

          When I read that I got to thinking about whether God has favorites.

          "Sometimes my dog is my favorite child—not often, but sometimes she is."
So says Jill Smokler, a Chicago mother of three (not counting the dog), who admits she sometimes favors one child over another.

          Jill is at the forefront of a growing parenting trend: not being afraid to admit she sometimes has a favorite child.

          For years, "I love you all equally" has been the instant response of parents, when asked by their children if one of them is the favorite.

          My mother use to say that she had seven children and they were all different. At times some of my siblings may have felt that I was my mother’s favorite.

          Now, some parents are daring to admit they were fibbing all along and are admitting that they did have a favorite child.

          Psychologist Ellen Libby says, "Favoritism doesn't have to be bad."

          Libby believes many parents have inclinations toward favoring one child or another, over time. Being open about this isn't harmful, she teaches, because each child benefits from the extra affirmation at different times.

          In the end, everyone ends up with some positive memories—hopefully!

          What do you think?

          Is this common sense—or psychobabble?

          Peter in our scripture today says, "God shows no partiality," and by that he means there's no favoritism, no preferential treatment in God’s realm.

          No one on this earth gets more love from God than any other person.

          God doesn't just glance at our faces and make a snap judgments, as so many of us do with our neighbors.

          God doesn't stop with the externals.

          God looks deep within.

          Think with me to the last time you were at an airport.

          Remember the sea of faces surging toward you, displaying a variety of expressions, a range of emotions.

          Remember the skin colors, the body types, the clothing, the hair styles, the tattoos.

          The human mind is a remarkable calculating engine.

          It makes judgments we're scarcely aware of.

          Do you pigeonhole  many of those faces at airports, categorizing them as                              foreigner or native-born,

                   rich or poor,

                   lazy or hard-working,

                   dangerous or benign?

          If so, you did what Peter says God never does.

          You made a lot of judgments, based on very little information.

          Many mixed motives affect our love for other people.

          President Lyndon Johnson said, “There are no favorites in my office. I treat them all with the same general inconsideration.”

          Have you ever heard these professions of love?
                   I love you more than a dog loves his bone.
                   I love you more than the Cookie Monster loves cookies.
                   I love you more than a turkey hates Thanksgiving.
                   I love you more than Romeo loves Juliet.
                   I love you more than you will ever know.
                   I love you more than I love myself.

          There are lots of examples of partial, limited love.

          Three of them come to mind:

          Loving the lovable
          Often, the only love we're able to manage is loving the lovable.

          That's a curious word, "lovable."

          Usually, when we say a person is lovable, we mean the person is attractive, pleasing, gifted in some way, so as to win the affection of others.

          By definition, a lovable person is not hard to love. My little Pixie is lovable.

          Does God call us only to love the lovable?

          Of course not!

          When Jesus says, "Love your neighbor as yourself," he doesn't add the codicil, "that is, if your neighbor happens to be lovable."

          What kind of love would that be?

          Pretty shallow!

          No, the sort of love Jesus is encouraging is not about being attracted to another, as a moth is drawn by a porch light.

         
          So, that's one kind of partial love: loving only the lovable.

          Reciprocal love
          Another type of partial love is all about gauging our love according to the possibility of receiving love in return.

          This is reciprocal love: "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

          Lots of human relationships are like that.

         

          This, too, is only a partial love.

          What happens, for example, if one partner gets sick and is unable for a time to care for the partner's needs?

          Does the love-partnership fall apart at that point?
          Some do.

          Plenty of couples have headed for separation or divorce out of a sense of unfairness, when one partner comes to believe the even exchange is no longer so even.

          The other partner is not holding up his or her end and is not doing enough.

          Any love that keeps score in such a way is only a partial love.

         
          There are times, in some marriages, in some friendships, when one partner ends up carrying more of the weight of the relationship.  

          Sometimes it's just the way it is.

          The simple truth is that, if we're in a reciprocal relationship, there's always the temptation to engage in scorekeeping.

          So that's the second kind of partial love: reciprocal love.

          Controlling love
          The final sort of partial love is controlling love.

          We've all known people like that.

          An element of control often makes its way into human relationships.

          In such relationships, love is offered for a time, free and clear, then abruptly snatched away.

         
          Controlling love falls short of the full measure of love, the biblical ideal.

          By and large, controlling love is not the sort of love we see God exercising in the Bible.

          You'd think it would be just that way, in the uneven power-relationship of an omnipotent God and a frail and flawed people.

          But it's not.

          The track of God's love for Israel had some rocky interludes. Even on their epic journey through the wilderness, the people of Israel sometimes acted foolishly and disobediently. God had to dispatch the prophets, one by one, to call them back to faithfulness.

          Were God's love controlling them, that never would have happened.

          But God's love is never a controlling love.

          God values human freedom.

          The love God offers is truly free—in the sense that we are always free to accept or reject it.

          It's true that if we wander away from the fold,

                   God will go after us,

                             as a shepherd seeks the lost sheep.

          But God never prevents us from leaving.

                   The gate to the sheepfold is always open.

          Complete love
          It's not that there's anything terrible about these three limited types of love—                       loving the lovable,

                   reciprocal love

                   and controlling love.

          They're still examples of love,

                   and love is the one power in the universe that's universally good,

                             even in partial form.

          A love that loves only the lovable can be shallow, but, as far as it goes,

                   it's still love.

          A love that demands to be paid back can still bring much joy,

                   as long as the other partner in the exchange continues to deliver.

          Even a controlling love can yield some benefits, contributing to the loved one's sense of worth.

          So, if these are all partial forms of love, what does complete love look like?

          Jesus gets at this when he teaches, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

          Can there be a more difficult teaching than that?

          Think of a terrorist event like the Boston Marathon Bombers.

          Remember the fear and anger that riveted the nation that day, and in the days of the manhunt that followed.

          Remember the wild speculation in the news media about who had committed this outrage?

          Then, a teenager was discovered cowering under the cover of a boat up on blocks in someone's driveway.

          He was wounded and bleeding.

          He was an American kid.

          He seemed so normal.

          His school friends had no idea.

          By all accounts, he had come under the spell of his troubled, big brother.
          There's little doubt he was guilty of a crime against humanity.

          The law offers little mercy to one such as him.

          Life in prison, with no parole, is the very best he can hope for.

          Does Jesus really expect us to love him?

          Does Jesus really expect us to be anything other than partial in our loving?

          Jesus places the ideal of selfless love out there before us, all the same.

                    He sets the bar high.

          This life of Christian discipleship is a matter of reaching upward after his example,

          trying our best to live as he lives,

          to love as he loves.

          When we allow the love of Jesus to flow outward into our fragile human relationships, we become capable of a deeper and more faithful way of loving.

          In a very real sense, the love we extend to others is not partial at all.

          It is the full love of Christ that comes to us as an unmerited gift and that overflows into the lives of our friends and sometimes even perfect strangers.

          Toward the end of 1 Corinthians 13, that "hymn to love," Paul speaks of love in terms of partiality and completeness:

"For we know only in part,

and we prophesy only in part;

but when the complete comes,

the partial will come to an end."

          That's the model. That's the ideal.
         
          C.S. Lewis said,

          “There is someone I love, even though I don't approve of what he does.   There is someone I accept, though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me.

          There is someone I forgive, though he hurts the people I love the most.

          That person is me!”

          Lots of research shows that love is more effective at bringing us together than keeping us together.

          You may have heard the saying, "Love is easy; relationships are hard."

          That’s so right. We've got our work cut out for us.

         

Prayer

          As we enter into this time of prayer, O God, we ask that you would help us to let go of what is past.

          Release us from anger and resentments and hurts of days gone by;

          free us from bitterness and help us to fill this space with the love of Christ.
          We offer our gratitude for the gift of love.
          We offer our thanks for those people in our lives who love us unconditionally.
          We offer our thanks for those who provide a safe place in the shelter of their unselfish love.
          We offer our praise for those who give expecting nothing in return for the gift.
          We offer our gratitude to those who cause us to rise to our greater selves.
          We offer thanks for those who help us to put the pieces of our lives back together when dreams and hopes are shattered.
          Let us honor the past and look forward to the future with hope so that the fires of hatred might be transformed into flames of love through Christ our Lord whose prayer we pray together saying…...

Children's Sermon

          Put two bags of Goldfish crackers in front of the children -- cheddar and pretzel. Ask them to tell you which one they prefer. Say that most of us prefer one flavor over the other, which means we have a favorite. Then ask if God prefers one kind of person over another: male over female, short over tall, black over white? Shake your head and say that the Bible says that "God shows no partiality.