Resolutions

New Year's resolutions are interesting. The new year always seems like a great opportunity to turn over new leaves, try new things, give things up, start things over. That's what resolutions are, right? I resolve to do this, or I resolve to stop that. But even though we fully intend to keep them, most of us who actually make resolutions fail to ride them all the way to the end. Regardless of our best intentions, life intervenes.

And as disappointed as we might be in ourselves when we break our resolution, I don’t think God is disappointed in us. Sure, God wants us to change, to grow, to improve, but mostly God wants us to think. This is why Paul tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) And you’ve heard the words of Socrates - “An unexamined life is not worth living” - both Paul and Socrates are calling for us to examine our lives, examine our direction. 

They’re not necessarily suggesting that we beat every bad habit and overcome every obstacle, but they are suggesting that we should be thinking about it. When we miss the mark, we should at least notice. But how much of our life is on autopilot? How often are we just running along and rolling with whatever comes?

James says blaming the devil is a cop out. He says it’s our own evil desires that drag us into temptation. So maybe recognizing that fact is half the battle. Maybe living the Christian life is mostly just paying attention. Don't go off half-cocked. Live an examined life. Think and go. Pray and go.

Join us on January 3, 3:30 P.M., at 111 W. Olive St., Arlington Heights, as we continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-13) with the verse, 13 “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” and learn more about what we pray about when we pray for direction and deliverance.

See you then!

Pastor Ed

- - - - - - - -

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

• When have you been really successful with a resolution? Not so successful?
• What’s the difference between temptation and sin?
• What are some tools that help you steer away from particular temptations?

MAIN PASSAGES:

Matthew 6:13, James 1:13-15, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 5:8-9, Romans 8:31b

Forget About It

Have you seen those bumperstickers that say, “Not perfect, just forgiven.” 

I’m assuming that anyone who sticks one of these on their car is wanting people to know they’re a Jesus follower. Which is fine. And I guess that’s a pretty good description of personal redemption, because it’s true, we’re not perfect, and we’ve been forgiven much.

But if you have one of these on your car, I have a question for you. Did you really think anyone was mistaking you for perfect? Because they probably weren’t. But this bumpersticker brings to mind a bigger question. 

Do people think Jesus expects his followers to be perfect? Because if people think this, it’s probably our fault. We must be giving that impression. Or we’re not doing enough to dispel that impression. And I think it all begins with our concept of forgiveness. 

The other day, I was at the dentist with my wife, and the only parking spot anywhere near the dentist’s office had a two-hour time limit. She ended up getting a root canal, and it took way more than two hours. 

Now, it wasn’t like I didn’t see the sign. I knew I only had two hours, and I knew it’d been longer than that. So, I knew I deserved a ticket. But when we left the office, and I saw the citation on the windshield, I was still ticked. How dare they? Didn’t they know I was caring for my dear sickly wife? The nerve.

Of course, this is ridiculous. What was I expecting? 

When I went in to pay the ticket at Village Hall, I told the whole sad story to the cashier. She seemed very sympathetic. But I still had to pay. She had no authority to forgive my debt. In order to balance the books, I either had to pay the debt or find someone who DID have authority to forgive my debt and convince them to pretend it never happened. 

Notice how neither of these choices had anything to do with being perfect?  

Pastor Ed

- - - - - - - -

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

• What do you personally need to do to be forgiven?

• If forgiveness depended on a scale with your bad stuff on one side and your good stuff on the other side, how would you be doing?

• What does it mean to “forgive and forget?” Is that even a good thing? Why or why not?

Stuff

“What do you want for Christmas?”

Is it just me, or does everyone have trouble answering this question? I’m always tempted to say something like, “World peace,” or, “An anonymous benefactor who’ll pay off my son’s student loans.” But I know that’s not really what they’re asking. What they really want to know is what I want them to buy me for Christmas.

On one hand, I don’t really want anyone to buy me anything. I’m good. But, on the other hand, if someone’s going to buy me something, I’d rather it be something I want or need. It’s not that I’m unappreciative; it’s just that I know money’s tight, and I’d hate for anyone to waste money buying me something I know I won’t use. 

For that reason, if people ask, I try to think of something I actually need that’s not too expensive. That way, I don’t end up with a kitchen appliance that I’ll never use or a bottle of alcohol that I’ll never drink or an article of clothing that I’ll never wear or a Blu-Ray that I’ll never watch. The last thing I need is more things I don’t need.

When I was a kid, more was better, but now, not so much. What do I really need? A roof? Clothes? Something to eat? Someone to love? If we’re supposed to pray that God would provide our “daily bread,” what is that exactly? What do we need? What sustains us?

Join us on December 20, 3:30 p.m., at 111 W. Olive St., Arlington Heights, IL, as we continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-13) with the verse 11 “Give us today our daily bread.”

See you then!  

Pastor Ed

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

- What was the best Christmas you ever got?

- What’s the most precious thing you ever lost?

- If you were stranded on a desert island with with only a backpack containing three things (so no helicopters or motorboats), what would those three items be? What could you get by with? What could you not get by without?

- If you suddenly lost everything, what would you miss most?

SCRIPTURES TO CONSIDER:

Matthew 6:25-34, 11:28-30, Exodus 16

Whose will?

A pastor I used to work with would often suggest that life would be much easier if God just had a big projection screen, and whenever he had something to tell us, he’d just project it all right there on the screen, in all its beautiful, 70mm, technicolor glory. No guesswork required.

Maybe God would just project something like, “Hey, knucklehead, stop floundering around, and do this…” followed by clear, step-by-step instructions on how to make it happen, and possibly some entertaining YouTube-type videos that would walk you through the whole thing. 

Or maybe it would be more like a cosmic google maps.

Anyway, I used to agree. I used to think it would be cool to have a clear path set before me; but recently, I’ve been less sure about that. I’m not sure I like the implications that come with that level of certainty.

First of all, I like to think that what I do matters. I like to think that, if I feel God leading me in a certain direction, my response to that leading actually has real impact. And I think Scripture backs that up. 

Also, I like to think that God is not directly responsible for everything (for example, mass shootings and genocide and that sort of thing), and those things might muck up our plans without notice.

Finally, I believe that God actually desires that we be discerning and responsive and make good decisions based on our relationship with him and our understanding of his Son, not based on visions and dreams. 

What should I do? What difference will it make? Will God’s will be done in my life regardless of whether I choose to align with it? What if I'm trying to do God's will but I don't?

While I’m not sure I will actually answer all of those questions for you next Sunday, I definitely want to invite you into the conversation. 

Join us on December 13, 3:30 pm, St. Peter Life Center, 111 W. Olive St., Arlington Heights, as we continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-13) with the verse 10b “…Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

See you then! 

Pastor Ed 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

- Does God make everything happen or does he just know what will happen (or is it neither of these)?

- Is it possible to know, with certainty, what God’s will is for my life? Is it okay to just be pretty sure?

- Does God still do the whole fleece thing (Judges 6)? Is that cool today?

Your Kingdom Come...

Everybody loves a good spy thriller. 

That's why James Bond is the longest running film series in history. We love secret agents. We love to live vicariously through their exploits, because they are like real-life superheroes. Whether they are defined by coolness, like Bond, or resourcefulness, like MacGiver, or leadership, like Ethan Hunt, or sheer animal determination, like Jason Bourne, secret agents capture our imaginations.

I think it is partly because we wish we were as cool or resourceful or charismatic or determined as them; but I think it is also because they are willing to put everything on the line for a mission. We especially see this with Hunt and his Impossible Mission Force, who receives this secret message about a mission, has to memorize the whole thing, then has to come up with a plan and throw together a team to make it all happen - usually within the next 48 hours or so. Crazy. Of course this is exciting.

An impossible mission comes down from on high, and our faithful agents have to accomplish the mission or die trying. And whoever ends up working with Bond or Hunt or Bourne knows that their leader will stop at nothing to accomplish the mission.

But do you know what’s even crazier? This is exactly what God asks US to do. We have a leader who gave his life for the mission of reconciling God with his creation, and we are God’s agents in that mission. We are his Impossible Mission Force. 

So maybe we’re not as qualified as a secret agent, but we’re teaming up with the guy who is, and he will absolutely stop at nothing to accomplish this mission. Will you join him? 

This Sunday, we'll be discussing how we talk to God about this very topic. So, join us December 6, 3:30 pm, to see what Jesus has to say about our mission.

This week’s message: PRAYER - Kingdom: Speaking for God (Matthew 6:10).

See you Sunday.

Our Father in Heaven...

“Who wants to say grace?”

When my kids were growing up, that question was asked before every meal. Someone was going to pray, it was just a matter of who. Then whomever drew the short straw, so to speak, said grace. Kim or I always enforced this, not because “grace” magically made our food taste better or easier to digest or full of more nutrients, but because it meant that at least twice a day (dinner and bed time) our kids would either hear Mom and Dad praying, or they would be praying themselves.

Christians are supposed to pray, right? We pray for everything. We pray to “bless” our food. We pray for “traveling mercies.” We pray “hedges of protection” (whatever those are). We pray for healing and provision, but we also pray for our favorite football team to win. We pray for missionaries and victims of disasters, but we also pray for all the lights to be green on the way to work. But why? Why do we do that?

Does the stuff we say between the words “Dear Heavenly Father” and the words “In Jesus name, amen” have more power than the stuff we say when we’re swearing out the guy who just cut us off on the interstate?

Do our words move God? Can we get him to change his mind if we pray hard enough? And if not, is prayer just a waste of time? 

Why do we pray? What’s it for? What does it accomplish? What’s the point?

These are really good questions. And for the next five weeks, we’re going to take a serious stab at answering them.

Join us this coming Sunday, November 29, 3:30 p.m., to learn more about prayer as we go verse by verse through “The Lord’s Prayer.” (See Matthew 5:8-13)

This week’s message: HEAVEN.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Ed

Not working...

The dream is always the same.

I'm faced with some opponent who is intent on beating me to a pulp, but when I engage them in hand-to-hand combat, it's like I'm trying to swing my arms through molasses. I'm putting everything I can into the punch, but by the time I make contact with their face, my hand is barely moving at all. There's no molasses, just a complete inability to actually throw a punch.

This goes on for awhile until I give up and run. But then it's like I'm running in a vat of pudding. I can barely move my legs. There's no pudding, it just feels like there is. 

At this point, the guy starts brandishing a chainsaw or an axe, and I can barely move. Fortunately, just as he's about to take me out, I wake up. I'm always shaken and agitated, but worse than that, I'm furious. How could my body fail me so profoundly? Why can't I even defend myself?

I've heard that this dream is pretty common and that it means something. I don't actually remember what the psychologists think it means, but here's my guess. I think there must be some task on my plate for which I feel wholly inadequate. I must have taken something on, but I know in my heart of hearts that I don't really know what I'm doing. Then my min
d tortures me with images of me failing to even protect myself from an attacker. It's terrible.

But regardless of the root of my dream, I wake feeling utterly useless and totally betrayed by my own body. If I am fit and whole, my body should work. If I mean to run, my legs should allow me to run. But if my body doesn't even do what it's designed for, where does that leave me? If something is supposed to do something, it should do something, right? 

Our faith is actually like this. If my faith is useful and real, it should lead to something. It should work. It should change the way I do things. This idea is a major theme in James' letter, and it's what I'm preaching on at The Anchor this week. Come learn how this works this Sunday, 10am, at The Anchor!