From the Pastor
| PASTORAL REFLECTION... |
| Summer, 2010 |
| "Recovering the Vision --- Transfigured in 2010 (Part 4)" |
| v. 28 “… Jesus took Peter, John, and James with Him and went up onto the mountain to pray. v. 29 As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. v. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, v. 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about His departure, which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. v. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with him. v. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to Him, 'Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.' (He did not know what he was saying.) v. 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. v. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him.'" Luke 9:28-35 |
It is very important to remember that right after this glorious spiritual mountaintop experience, Jesus exercises His healing power to cast out an evil spirit from a epileptic
boy. (Luke 9:37-43)
So here in Luke, God is giving our congregation a vision of being transfigured, spiritually transformed, converted to emphasizing growth through healing ministries. God is calling us at Third and Vine up onto the mountain, just as Jesus called Peter, James, and John. The Lord of life is challenging us to go with Him on His wonderful but-not-so-easy journey of recovering a vision of being a saved, healed people, summoned by the Master to help heal others. The church will be renewed when her people are renewed by our individual and common, saving, healing faith … because "we are the church." We want to move toward this healing vision together. During these summer months, I hope that all of you will post and focus on the nine goals first laid out in my letter to you in the annual report. 1. Like His disciples, we are to focus on Jesus, and go with Him when He calls us to go (v.28). We must set aside time to renew our relationship with Him as Lord of our lives and the life of the church." 2. Like Jesus Himself (v.29) we need to recover the gift of praying. Let all of us set aside at least five minutes a day to pray SPECIFICALLY that God will strengthen and grow His church by bringing new, spiritually needy (yes!), people into our fellowship and through the Holy Spirit breathing new life into our current members and committed friends. Invite new people! 3. Let us see the appearance of Moses (the giver of God's law) and Elijah (the greatest of the prophets) talking with Jesus (vv. 30-31) as signs that we are to recover the power that comes from reading "the Book," both Old and New Testament. The Bible is all about God's relationship with humankind from beginning to end. How can we claim to understand what a great God He is and what wonders of love, grace, forgiveness, healing, and joy He is seeking to share with us if we don't read it?! To realize the power of the Word to transform us, let us dedicate at least an hour a week, (eight and a half minutes a day) to reading it. If you don't have an up-to-date Bible, let us know, and we'll get one to you. 4. Beware of spiritually falling asleep (v. 32) while you seek to (a) focus on Jesus; ( b) pray for Holy Spirit's power; (c) read the Word and devotions. The Evil One would like nothing better than to make us victims of "spiritual sloth," one of the seven deadly sins. Remember to "Discipline yourself, keep alert, for your adversary the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith." (I Peter 4:8-9) He doesn't want you to see the glory of Jesus. 5. Peter is taken aback by all this (and who wouldn't be!) (v. 33). But he also says, "Master, it is good for us to be here." For all intents and purposes, the disciples have a glorious worship experience with Jesus. We should enter into worshipping the Lord with an attitude of "It is good for us to be here!" As part of our vision of a robust faith, I challenge all of you to be here at 10:15 in worship at least twice a month. As the Book of Hebrews 10:25 says: "Let us not neglect … to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another." 6. Notice, too, that the whole crew, Jesus included, numbers just six. But what power is there! Think of your presence in a small group where people break down old walls, gain strength, share ideas, plant seeds, dream dreams simply by being together. Right now we have two groups with about sixteen members total. I envision at least three more groups forming. Brothers and sisters, let us draw closer to each other through these fellowship groups, praying in them for the moving of the Holy Spirit in our midst; and then sharing on Sunday mornings what we have learned about how God is working in our midst and calling us to serve Him. 7. We are meant to be in awe, agape at the wonder of what God is doing when He comes near. (v. 34) God is an overwhelming God of power, as seen in the clouds of the heaven, in all their variety. God is transcendent and yet also as close as the cloud that descends on that mountain. Immerse yourself in the splendors of the universe He has given us. Shut off the TV for awhile; gaze at the stars, the birds of the air and, (when they appear) the flowers of the field – and know the awesome Creator who cares for all His creatures (see Psalm 8). 8. God's awe-inspiring voice (v. 35) has a simple message: "This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him!" Let's make this a year to turn down the volume of other voices --- in sports or politics, finance or entertainment, and focus on the vision of abundant congregational life and on the ministry and mission outreach that Jesus wants to give us. 9. It wasn't quoted above, but the story that follows the transfiguration is Jesus healing a child who is possessed (vv. 37-43). It ends with these words: "And all were astounded at the greatness of God." Let me be clear that the vision of our being transfigured isn't just so we can become a more joyful congregation. But we must start by asking the Holy Spirit to come on each of us and on His congregation if in power of God's greatness, we are to move out in our neighborhood and His world in ministry and mission. Especially pray for the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to come on Jesus' Body, the church, His people gathered in "the Light at Third and Vine." In the next Belfry I'll lay out a tenth goal for us: discovering and using the gifts the Holy Spirit has given each and every one of us. May you have a wonderful, fulfilling summer season. God bless you all! In the great love and mercy of our Lord Jesus, Pastor Randy PS: Don't forget that worship is still at 10:15 all summer and that your presence and your support, including financial, is needed, even if the pace of things has slowed down some. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for the proper time we will reap a reward if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 |