Much of history is a record of what’s done with sledgehammers. Men and women, frustrated with the nature and structure of things, cock back the wrecking ball and let it swing; smashing the established order to pieces. Boundary lines are moved, laws rewritten, statues toppled, books burned, and temples leveled for the rebuild. What are Paris, Jerusalem, and Rome but tubs of Legos that emperors, kings, princes, and generals have played in over the millennia? One of the lessons we’ve learned from these furious histories is that many of the things that get smashed should have been left as they were. Some that ends up as rubble should have been guarded as gold.

Ours is one of these iconoclastic ages when the sledgehammers are swinging. Under the banner of progress, a lot of our societal structure has been condemned as unfit for a noble and free people and is being slated for disassembly. As the chaos increases, those of us interested in preserving what’s best for our families and neighbors are left to decide what can be left to burn and what must be preserved. One of the changes Christians are being forced to consider is the rapid legalization of marijuana. Long seen as an illicit narcotic that seeks to arrest the energies of young people and fog the minds of all who get hooked, cannabis is today being championed as a medical miracle, a less dangerous alternative to alcohol, and even a gift from God. What should we say to our lawmakers, our youngsters, and our brothers and sisters battling chronic pain? In Marijuana to the Glory of God?, Pastor Jeff Lacine of Portland, Oregon offers his perspective for our consideration. Come join the conversation at the Roundtable this Sunday morning at 8:30am. Hot coffee will be brewed and baked goods spread out to sweeten the meeting – hope to see you there!

 

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August 12, 2018

Revelation 22:1-5

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

There’s an old Yiddish proverb that asks, “If I try to be like him, who will be like me?”  In this question is an affirmation of the important uniqueness of everyone and everything.  To be created is to be cast by the Great Director to play a part in His great play.  Never be another’s understudy, then – learn your own lines and hit your own marks.

The church was founded and created by God to be the agent of salvation in the world.  What the ark was to Noah and his family, the church would be and now is to Christ and His family.  And just as God gave to Noah very specific details on how the big boat was to be built; the church’s design and make-up was also neatly blueprinted for its builders and custodians.  In recent years, it seems the church in the West has grown insecure in its design and despairing of the peculiar part it’s been asked to play.  Past generations built grand spaces, big enough to accommodate the entire town and on most Sundays it seemed like the entire town crowded in.  But today, the pews are largely empty and the rafters no longer ring with the hearty chorus of hundreds.  The population has flocked to other venues to be about other things.  There is a great temptation for the church to be somebody else; something more hip, more attractive, more relevant.  Our reading for this week is a fascinating Op-Ed by Rachel Evans published in the Washington Post back in 2015.  Entitled: Want millennials back in the pews?  Stop trying to make church “cool”; Evans offers her insights as one who grew up in the church, left the church, and has found it again.  There’s plenty to consider here and much to discuss.  Looking forward to hearing your thoughts this Sunday morning at the Roundtable!

 

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August 5, 2018

Matthew 28:19-20

19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

July 29, 2018

Numbers 6:22-27

22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, 24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. 27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”