Psalm 54.4 (CEB)
But look here: God is my helper; my Lord sustains my life. Recognizing the work of God is a daunting task. It is more than physical: simply assessing the world through our bodies. It is more than mental: answering the where, why, what, and how questions. Discernment is more than emotional: trusting your gut to telling you what to do. Discerning the movement of God is a practice of trust. We trust that God who has acted in our lives will continue to do so. We trust that “I” might not have the right answer for everything, but communally “we” have everything we need to do as God leads. We trust that God will continuously show God’s self to us in ways that we can recognize and that God will give us the wisdom to act accordingly. God is ceaselessly reaching out to us in the lives of those around us, in the words of the Bible, and in our common life together. Evaluating God’s movement is risky business because it just might mean we live differently, we love selflessly, and we give generously. Sunday, we will be staying in the book of 1 Kings and find out how Elijah was sustained by God. See you there… Grace and peace, Rev. Brian
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Psalm 34.11 (CEB)
Come, children, listen to me. Let me teach you how to honor the Lord: Listening to podcasts has become a daily activity for me. Often while walking the dog, I am also learning something new. When I first began it would take me the specified time to listen to the whole thing. Until I found that I could cut the time in half if I listen at double speed. I must confess listening at this rate did take some time to get used to. Yet, I got rather comfortable to it. Then there are several podcasts that I generally listen at their “normal” posted speed. These podcasts are really too hard to understand when sped up. I also listen at regular speeds to the ones that I really want to pay particular attention to and concentrate on. The content is so informative and challenging that I have paused it occasionally just to let some words sink in. Listening to God takes some practice as well. While it seems simple, it’s the simplicity that makes it hard. We have a tendency to complicate listening to God with the right posture and dedicated times. And while this is all well and good, if we have forgotten to trust that God is moving, then all the right posturing will not help us listen and obey. Yet God is always calling to us, showing us the ways to go, if we will but listen. Grace and peace, Rev. Brian Proverbs 22.6 (The Message)
Point your kids in the right direction - when they're old they won't be lost. In life, there are several milestone events each with their own unique celebrations. Graduation is one substantial milestone of many more to come. These 13 years of compulsory education may have gone fast and swimmingly. While for other graduation didn’t come quickly enough. As a result of their dedication, each student completed the requirements to earn their diploma. And while the education is ultimately up to the student to grab hold of there are many that have supported this grand endeavor. Typically it is the parents that offer much of the support. It’s the parents that have picked up forgotten supplies at the all-night store or have carted their child to and from afterschool events. Parents silently cheer them on when everything comes together and feel the heartache of when their children are disappointed. Both children and parents learn together through this grand adventure. Sunday, as part of our worship, we will recognize the accomplishments of our graduating high school seniors. We will celebrate their hard-earned successes and bless them for their work in the world they will soon enter. After all, they have always been a blessing to us! Grace and peace, Rev. Brian John 1.1 (RSV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. La Porte Community Church is part of something that begins with words. The Christian Church started when the Holy Spirit made a big move transforming language into ways to connect people. The disciples then and now are thrust out into the streets, intoxicated with the spirited to share the good news that salvation is for us all. The church is not a building made with hands the church is a building of hands. Its roof is made of reasoning brains that carefully and thoughtfully engage the world with faith. The church’s walls are made of flesh that is permeable letting folks come in an out when the time is right. Its doors are made of open hearts offering again and again and again compassion to all. This is what it means to be the church. God still creates the church of all times and places with people like you and me. As the nursery rhyme goes:” Here is the church, here is the steeple/Open the doors, and there’s all the people.” A suggested verse was added later: “You can have a church without a steeple/But you can’t have a church without any people.” The church is you and me, sent out into the world to share with the world the good news of Jesus’ salvation of us all. Happy Pentecost! Don’t forget to wear Red this Sunday! Grace and peace, Rev. Brian I Corinthians 2.10 (CEB)
God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, including the depths of God. As a kid, I always wanted a bike. And not just any bike, but a truly special one. One day my mom and dad took me to get my first bike. Looking carefully over the racks, I pointed to the one I wanted; a Huffy Wrangler. A tan bicycle with brown banana seat, front and rear fenders, and a depiction of a lasso on the chain guard. And while I loved this bike, both mom and dad reminded me those banana seats where not as popular as they once were. Nonetheless, I was certain this was my bike. We often want for all things we do or have to be certain and popular. Yet sometimes the faith that we affirm moves us to new and different places that are not always well received. The love that we have for God and one another is always being shaped by our scriptures, prayers, and trust in the Holy Spirit. The freedom that we silently affirm allows us all to come to our own conclusion. The popular thing to do is to tell people what to believe, as if all things are already settled and we already agree on the subject. Yet the actuality is that we have as much to learn as we have to say. We trust that God’s will will ultimately be known and lived in us all. Being a Christian means that we believe that God guides us, loves us, creates peace, and brings us together. Popularity is not our aim, faithing is. Grace and Peace, Rev. Brian Romans 14.17 (RSV)
For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit; I was talking with a couple recently and through our conversation we discovered that we knew the same person, Rusty. We reflected on how we knew him. While I knew him in his our days at Brite Divinity School; they met him in a church in San Antonio. On this earth, we find connections in such wonderful and truly refreshing ways and sometimes very surprising ways. Our lives are intertwined in so many different ways. Sometimes, we are connected through simply sharing of food and other resources. And just like with Rusty, our lives are interconnected. As the saying goes, “No man is an island; entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.” Our connections, shaped by the faith we share in Jesus Christ, will have us be responsible in some ways towards each other and the earth. We are accountable to make sure that people have something to eat and that it is grown in sustainable ways. We love and care for one another in ways that bring about wholeness and peace. Sunday, we will be asking ourselves this question: “what needs to be let go in order for us as individuals and us as LPCC so that God’s Kingdom will be more fully realized? What things do we do right now that highlights God’s love and kingdom-ly ways?” As it is in heaven so may it be on earth! Grace and peace, Rev. Brian Excerpt from Acts 11:1-18 (NRSV)
“What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” (vs. 9) Over the past several weeks we have been reading and hearing about the formation of the early church in Acts. As the church was figuring its way, one of the major questions it needed to ask itself was “Who is the church for?” Because up to this point it seemed to be meant only for Jews. However, Peter was given a different idea by God, and it came to him in a very powerful dream. Peter was shown animals that he thought were off limits for Jews, and God says, “they all good. Go, kill, and eat.” What unfolds becomes a table that is big enough for all-Gentile or Jew. Every generation of the church has had to wrestle with this question as well “Who is the church for?” So the vision for Peter becomes our vision in our place and time and in our own unique way. We are to reach out with God’s love to all and be part of church and have the courage to include all people. And like life the answering of this question for the church is a work in progress—God is not done with us yet! We will take some comfort in knowing that it even took Peter three times before he got it as well. Sunday, we look to Peter, an early leader in the formation of the church. What he thought was off limits becomes instead part of God’s plan for salvation for us all. And the question on my mind is this: When have you been criticized for how you choose to live out your faith? Grace and peace, Rev. Brian Romans 12: 9-10 (RSV)
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Moderation is an important practice is some instances. For example food: too much and we will have some health concerns from our overeating or lack of diversification. Our choices will eventually affect our weight, heart functioning, and/or blood chemistry, and any one by itself will complicate our overall well-being. Moderation in other places is not needed. Case in point: is there ever a time when we love too much? And by that I mean love in the way of Jesus. A love that is patient, caring, honest, and forgiving. As challenging as it is to love sometimes, we can never love too much because it is part of how we live the abundant life that Jesus shows us. Life that is defined by contentment. As Paul would attest, “…for I have learned how to be content in any circumstance,” shown through love rather than defining life by what we have or wish to obtain. This Sunday, we are going to be talking about being “alive” even as disorder and possibly chaos circles around us. Our “faithing” moves us to find our life in the resurrected Jesus and not in anything else. It is active, and it is alive! Grace and peace, Rev. Brian Romans 5.3-5 (The Message)
There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. I have become more and more convinced that experience, first-hand accounts, have a unique power to change us tremendously. It can alter our thinking, our perceptions, our roles, and how we move forward interacting with the world and one another. While it is certainly true that we can learn in other ways (and I would never discount that truth), for me experience is a game-changer because it moves me from generalities to specifics. I met “Charles” a few years ago. He happened to walk into the church one Monday. I had my usual to-do list sitting on my desk, and I was busy check-marking each item as done when a knock on my door got my attention. Charles asked if I had a moment, and I said “sure” and invited him to sit. I rounded my desk and sat in a chair opposite him and asked, “So what brings you here today?” What I initially thought of as an interruption from “someone” became Charles who was just trying to figure things out and needed to talk with someone. My experience moved him from a stranger in my mind to a partner in living faithfully in all life’s circumstances. Our “faithing” not only includes our witness but also our experiences. Sunday, we will be “faithing” again noticing how experiences matter! Grace and peace, Rev. Brian Hebrews 11.1 (CEB)
Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don't see. The season of Easter has just begun. We might believe that Easter is but only one day in our life, however Eastertide, as it is called, lasts until the day before Pentecost on May 15th. During this season the church universal will realize the many and multifaceted ways that the resurrection plays into our lives as followers of Jesus. Because of the influencing nature of resurrection, we begin a new series called “Faithing.” Adding an "ing" to faith helps us to imagine that faith is an action word, a verb. Faith is not something that we believe with our heads, as if facts are the only way for us to encounter the world. Faith is also a heart thing that goes beyond fact to truth. It goes beyond simply personal belief; instead our defining faith becomes very public and communal that is lived in and through our often ordinary, occasionally electrifying lives. So I invite you all to be part and find ways to be “faithing” in your living. By being intentional about our faith, we name the places where we make decisions based on our faith. Intentionality shapes who we choose to interact with and how we do so. The invitation is clear that in everything we are to live our faith in ways that promote justice, expresses mercy, and be humble with God and with one another. Naming brings awareness, and once noticed, we can then again practice faithing in mature, active, and robust ways. See you Sunday... Grace and peace, Rev. Brian |
Rev. Brian
Husband, father, minister, child of God, follower of Jesus Christ writing in the context of La Porte Community Church Archives
November 2016
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