The Commercial is Ready!!

Here is the final edited commercial that'll be put on certain cable TV stations beginning March 25th. If you're on the Good News Team, email me with your approval or not of this commercial. Oh, in case you're wondering, the watermark Spot Runner, as seen in the background of this commercial, will not be included once it goes to the cable television stations.

The Art of Storytelling

Preaching is a wonderful thing, at least to preachers. Most men and women who become pastors do so because at one point or another in their lives, they were affected by the words of their pastor. Then, they went to college and then seminary. Upon going to their first pastorate, they discover that preachers do indeed preach but that is only one small thing they do. Preachers, as it turns out, do a whole lot more than preaching.

When it comes to preaching, how does one go about doing it? There are many different ways. Some do expository preaching, others preach topically, and a few more tell stories. There isn't any one way that is better than the other, just so long as the Message gets preached. My friend Caught in the Middle explains this beautifully.

I often experiment with my preaching style. Last Sunday, many of you noticed and recognized a new preaching style...and from what many of you said, you enjoyed it. To tell you the truth, it was a very difficult thing to do. Usually I read my sermon and sometimes I only have 5-6 pages of notes. Last Sunday I had a one-page outline and pretty much didn't even use it. There is a huge danger when a preacher gets up to preach in an extemporaneous manner--Lord only knows where he (or she) will end up. We all have lots of stories for sure.

I may have to put in a call to Caught in the Middle and learn how to fine tune the storytelling thing.

The Nicene Creed(s)

We will be studying the Nicene Creed as it helps us honor our faith traditions while also helping to shepherd us along the way towards a deeper understanding of our faith, what we believe, and why it is important.

To help with this endeavor, here are the Nicene Creeds of our faith tradition.

Nicene Creed of 325

We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made both in heaven and on earth; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was made man; he suffered and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; from thense he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

And the Holy Ghost.

But those who say: 'There was a time when he was not, and He was not before he was made, and He was made out of nothing, or He is of another substance or essence, or The Son of God is created, or changeable, or alterable--they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.

Nicene Creed of 381 (revised) This is the one you probably know so well.

We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together are worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

What is the Deal-Breaker for You?

This past Sunday, the sermon focused on Jesus calling Herod a fox and well as Paul's concern over the enemies of the Cross of Christ. In the sermon, we looked at what an enemy of the cross might look like as well as discerning the ways in which we might be like that enemy, if we use the same criteria to judge ourselves that we are so often tempted to do when examining others.

We also looked at the latest hoopla concerning the recent discoveries of the stone coffins reported to contain the actual bodies of Jesus, Mary, and their son Judah. And, I asked some thought-provoking questions (some of the members of the congregation called it that) when I said,

Discerning our motivations and inner life leads me to ask you: How important is the resurrection to you? How important is it to our faith tradition? Perhaps what I am getting at can better be asked in this way: What is the deal-breaker in your belief system? What belief, if found to be untrue, would make you leave or discard it? Or, are they, in light of the stone tomb discovery, an enemy of the cross?

What are your deal-breakers when it comes to faith and religion? When we explore the tenuous relationship between faith/religion and science, we are often forced to choose one over the other. Few times are we able to integrate the two. How much trust do you put in your senses and intellect? Conversely, how much trust do you put in faith and God?

During this Lenten season, we are exploring questions such as these as well as examining the nature of why we believe what we believe. To accomplish this, we will be studying the Nicene Creed and better understand what this almost two millenia old document tells us. In the end, I hope we can come to a place that honors our faith tradition while remaining open to the new traditions that we encounter.

I invite you to join us at our Lenten study every Wednesday night in March at 7:30pm.