In the Gospel of Luke, we read about Jesus and ten lepers who are cleansed, but only one returns to show gratitude, to say “Thank you.”
It is truly an important event as barriers are being broken between Samaritans and Jews, as well as between the clean and the unclean. But it is also an event where only one person receives salvation. Indeed, the whole story reminds us that there is more than cleansing taking place here, and that there is a connection between gratitude and salvation, or between gratitude and being made whole (Luke 17:19).

For that’s what salvation means: it means being made whole, or being made well. The Greek word for salvation means wholeness; and wholeness not just in the physical sense but in the communal sense as well, for when we read the text we read how not even the lepers were going to get close to Jesus. They couldn’t. They all had to keep their distance, as they were considered unclean by Jewish law (Luke 17:14). To return into the fellowship of the community they had to go to a priest to receive purification and once they did that they could worship and fellowship with others again. 

And that’s exactly what they did. They all went to the priests, and they all were cleansed (17:15). But only one returned to give thanks. Why? 

We don’t know. It could be that they had parents who didn’t teach them manners. Or maybe they simply had other commitments. Or maybe they were too busy and simply forgot. All Jesus simply told them to do was to go to the priests. He didn’t say anything about returning to him. They were certainly not required to do so. Once cleansed they could return to the life of the community and do what they wanted.

And yet, it is in the returning of the one Samaritan-leper that the story takes a twist, for here Jesus offers salvation to someone whose identity excluded him on three-fronts: first, he was a Samaritan, second, he was a leper, and third, he was a foreigner. If there was a person we would least expect to show gratitude, or if there was a person we might not expect to receive salvation, it was a Samaritan-leper-foreigner. 
But isn’t that like Jesus to surprise us, showing us how it is typically the least likely person to accomplish God’s purposes? Isn’t that how Jesus operates?

How may we allow God to use us this week to share words of gratitude? How may we take time and express gratitude to others? Let us know what you plan to do. We are praying for you.
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With gratitude,
Pastor Andy

Generosity Lesson 1: She had a stern face but sad eyes and her body language told anyone listening to watch out.  She was one of 6 or 7 kids in the family and on the tail end of birth order by the looks of her hand me down clothes and worn out shoes.  The weather started changing, getting colder, and I noticed her shoes had holes in the toes. First year teachers don’t make much but I went to our local shoe store with the intent of buying some off brand, inexpensive shoes for her.  Of course none of those were on sale, or they didn’t have her size, or they simply sold out. I ended up paying more and buying the brand name shoes. The smile that broke across that stern little face said it all. It wasn’t about the money, it was about a little girl who needed to feel seen, known and important enough for a new pair of shoes and not leftovers. 

Generosity Lesson 2: She had 5 kids of her own.  Countless foster kids. The occasional kid or two from family members that needed a place to stay.  And on top of all that, one never knew what or who mom was going to bring home from the jail. She was known to bring home the stray cat or dog that was dumped by the river near the jail or left at the doors of the building.  She was also known to bring home an occasional inmate that was in process of being transferred or had just been released and needed a safe place to stay for a night or two. I don’t know how it all worked, but there was always enough spaghetti to go around, hot dogs or hamburgers to fill your plate, veggies from the garden and milk in the fridge.  And if that didn’t do it, there was always, always, a jar of peanut butter, some jelly and a loaf of bread on the table. I can’t imagine what my parents grocery bill was, but I learned from mom, it was never about the money, it was about making sure that those who society often discarded (human or animal) were given some love and acceptance before they walked back out the door. 

What did these experiences teach me? 
 Answer: Extravagant generosity is not a money issue, it is a heart issue.
A hard lesson for anyone to learn, but especially a person of wealth and status.  In Mark’s gospel, we read of a man known only as the “Rich Young Ruler.” And rich he was according to society’s standards.  He had wealth, possessions, status, influence, and power. He worked hard and made a name for himself and he was a good man. He followed the rules, obeyed the law, and believed in God. Yet, with all that he had, he felt like something was missing and he asked Jesus, “is there something else I must do to follow you?”  Jesus looked at him with great love and then told him, “sell everything, give the money to the poor, and come follow me.” (Mark 1017-27) Could you do what Jesus asked? Neither could the Rich Man and he walked away devastated.

It doesn’t take long to see we, like the Rich Man, like our stuff too!  We have lots of things and stuff and then we buy stuff to put our stuff in and then we get a storage unit to put the stuff we put our stuff in for safe keeping.  We like having stuff and we don’t like to give it up. We earned it, worked for it, own it, and it’s ours. The crazy sad thing is however, that we are no more satisfied with our extra stuff than we were without it.  In fact, research says we are less happy, less productive at work, and less content in our relationships. The more stuff we have the more unhappy we become.

Why?  Because we were born for something different.  Something better. We were born not to consume, buy up and take on more.  We were born to give, share, and let go.

Genesis 1 tells us that humankind was created in the image and likeness of God.  John 3:16 tells us that the image and likeness of God is love and generosity. “For God so loved the world that he gave…”  Doesn’t it stand to reason then that we were born in the image and likeness of a loving and generous God therefore we were born to embody love and generosity in the living of our lives?  

Generosity is not about giving up your possessions, status, or your wealth.  It is about giving up control; the need to control our stuff and the control our stuff has over us.

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When we read the letter to the Philippians, we read how Paul is grateful for the relationship he has with the Philippians (1:9). He loves the Philippians, and he rejoices over the way they and others are proclaiming the kingdom, even if it is out of false motives (1:18). He knows that God is using them and him to share in God’s mission (1:12). He is both joyful and grateful, and he is certain about what God is doing through the Philippian church: that, despite his imprisonment, the gospel is being advanced.

Upon closer inspection, however, we also ready that Paul is also a bit uncertain. He says as much in verse 22: “I am hard pressed between two choices,” that is, between two ways: that of living and that of dying (1:21). And then he write: “And I don’t know what I prefer” (1:22). What shall Paul choose?

In Paul’s mind, if he continues to live “in the flesh,” if he continues to live on this earth, he will continue to carry out his ministry, bearing the fruit of Christ (1:22), and, hopefully, continue to bring honor to God (1:21). That is a wonderful goal, and he hopes the Philippians will join him in this endeavor.

But if Paul departs this world and dies, if he is executed, he will also be with Christ (and that is not bad either), for the ultimate goal here is to glorify Christ, whether in life or in death (1:20). This is why dying is gain: dying is gain because it will bring Paul into a “nearer and fuller union with Christ.” Not because he wants to die, but because, even in death, he knows he will bring glory to God, for he knows that nothing can separate him from God (Romans 8:38).

That’s the logic: nothing can separate Paul (or us) from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord: whether in life or in death, we belong to Christ (Romans 14:8)! And Paul is not going to waver from this commitment! His top priority is to live Christ! His whole existence will focus on Jesus as Lord, as Savior, as King, as Messiah – as the very foundation of his life. No worldly possession, no sport, no school, no earthly ruler, no celebrity, no country, no-thing – will be able to compete with Jesus!

How may this witness cut against the grain of our society? How may it also give hope? How may we walk in the assurance of God’s peace and grace in this world and in the world to come?
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Pastor Andy Kinsey

In John’s Gospel, we read that Jesus wept (11:36). A great deal is taking place before he raises Lazarus. 
However, one of the things we learn from this passage is that tears are not like a water facet where we can turn them on and turn them off. Our emotions are so much more complex – as with Jesus, whose own heart was in God and God’s heart in him, (John 15:4) and whose own life was affected by what others said and did – as when he saw the hungry masses and responded out of compassion (Matthew 9:36), or as when he responded in anger to other religious leaders (Matthew 23:13-15).  

But Jesus also responded by what others did not say or do as well: as when folks did not display compassion (Luke 10:25-37), or as when they did not see the presence of God’s kingdom among the least of these, our brothers and sisters (Matthew 25:40). Jesus wept.

There is in the Scriptures the portrait of a God whose love is very much in tune with the hurts and sorrows of the people and with the disobedience of the nation too. There is weeping when the innocent suffer (Luke 23:28); and there is weeping when justice is not carried out (2 Samuel 24:1); and there is weeping when the poor are not treated with dignity (Leviticus 19:31-34), or when the stranger is welcomed with respect (Hebrews 12:3). 

This is a familiar theme in the Bible. 

Indeed, the prophet Jeremiah is often called “the weeping prophet” because he sees how lost his own nation had become, and in this own way, he gave voice to God’s own sorrow over God’s judgment to come. His tears were ones of sadness in that his very own people could not hear God’s call to obedience and faith. Jeremiah wept too (Jeremiah 1:1-15). 

Is God weeping today? How are we to weep with those who weep as well? 
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Pastor Andy Kinsey

In Ephesians 4:14-24, the apostle Paul is clear that the Ephesians can no longer keep on carrying the old baggage from the lives they were leading in the past, which keeps them in places of darkness, ignorance, and hardness of heart (4:18). Instead, they need to learn that the Christian life is about the process of putting away one and putting on the new (4:22). 

That is to say, whatever is corrupt or harmful, or whatever prevents us from seeing reality clearly, or whatever keeps us in a state of alienation from God and ourselves, whatever leads to insensitivity or to a lack of compassion, or whatever keeps the vices of arrogance and deceit, or greed and recklessness – put it away! This is not what it means to learn Christ. Rather, learning Christ involves learning who Jesus was and what he did; it means learning what Jesus himself was all about, allowing Jesus’ whole life, his teachings and character, his death and resurrection, to have their full effect on us, Learning Christ involves the whole person! 

It will not necessarily mean sitting around a table in a seminar room, or about feeling a certain way, though these things can be important. No! Learning Christ will mean actually doing and saying the specific things Jesus did and said!

The late Dallas Willard of Southern California University asked a question that may sound a bit shocking at this point, but also so apparently evident: he asked a conference of church leaders once when was the last time they had heard of a group or a church of any kind have a meeting to discuss how they were going to teach people to do what Jesus said and did? In what church did they see that happening? Roman Catholic? Pentecostal? Lutheran? Evangelical? How were the people in these churches (and others) learning to do what Jesus said and did, or how were they learning what Willard calls the “curriculum for Christ-likeness”?

That’s a good phrase! And it prompts us to ask: how we enrolled what Jesus taught? How are we learning Christ? What courses do we need to take?

Whatever they are, may we find ways to sign up!
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Pastor Andy Kinsey
 

Better Together.  Isn’t that ultimately what we all want?  Isn’t that, if we are truly honest, what is at the heart of being human - a desire to be recognized for who we are and a part of something that makes us and those around us better?  A common cause. A common belief. A common purpose. 

Some people would disagree.  Some people would perpetuate the idea that it is a “dog eat dog world” and it’s everyone for themselves - every man, woman, child, dog, cat and canary.  Some people would continue to believe the story that fear and shame tells us by putting us against one another; constantly comparing us to each other in one way or another.  Some people would say “I don’t care anymore.” Some people take on the world. Some people hide from the world. CHURCH, WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SOME PEOPLE. Are we? 

In Ephesians 4, Paul writes a letter to the church.  He doesn’t hold back. He gives them the piercing truth of who they are and how they are to be as the church.  This letter is not written to those outside the church. It is not written to those who don’t know or don’t follow Jesus.  It is written to believers; to those who have said yes to Jesus. It is a spiritual fitness accountability check-ist for the church.  Let’s see how we do on the spiritual fitness checklist.  

First, who is writing this letter?  The apostle Paul - not a first year seminary student, or someone with no background, experience or foundation in what and who Jesus was about.  Not someone with very little experience in all things Jesus and not a rookie church planter. This is Paul we are talking about.

Where is he writing it from?  Prison - not on the sandy shores of the sea of Galilee, or in some immaculate synagogue or cathedral in the safety and comfort of his own home office or study.  He is in prison.   
How does he approach us, I mean the church? He says, “I beg you…”  Not “I think this is a good idea,” or “hey you might want to consider,” or “this is your friendly reminder…”  He says, “I beg you!” One of the greatest spiritual fitness coaches of the church is begging us, I mean the church, to pay attention and get it right. 

Do get what right?  What does he beg us, I mean the church, to do?  To lead a life “worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”  Jesus has a call on our lives; a mark, a reason, a love claim, a purpose, and Paul is saying, lead a life worthy of what Jesus has on you.  Lead a life that honors Jesus. Lead a life that models Jesus’ teachings. 

What does that look like?  How are we, I mean the church,  to treat each other? “With ALL humility, gentleness, patience and bearing with one another in love” (v. 2).  The text doesn’t say, with “some or limited humility”, or “with conditional gentleness.” It doesn’t say, with “measured or calculated patience.”  It says “with ALL humility, gentleness and patience” we are to bear with one another in love. WITH one another. Not for one another, in spite of one another, because of one another, in competition with, or against one another.   With one another in LOVE. Not in judgement, ridicule, or criticism. Not in envy, arrogance, or spite. 

Paul then says, “make EVERY effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  Every effort. Not partial effort, not half way effort. Not only when I feel like it, or when it's convenient for me and my schedule effort, and not if I can do it from my comfort zone effort. The text says, “make every effort to maintain unity...” 

Effort.  That is the key to any fitness routine, workout regime, or health plan.  It is the key for any athlete at any age or skill level. Effort. Whether physical or spiritual, it takes effort to make it happen or see results or have an impact.  It takes effort to be the church. It takes effort to follow Jesus, to help one another, come alongside one another, promote one another, share the burden or load with one another.  It takes effort to respond to or interact with what goes on in our world. It takes effort to keep the main thing the main thing, and keep hold of that which unites us more than that which divides us. 

When we can do that, we embody the essence, purpose and character of Jesus.  When we do that, we are a togethering church and there is no telling what God will do with a church like that. 

Can you imagine what would happen if more churches would exist, pray, teach, lead and maybe even follow out of “all humility, gentleness, and patience, and bear with one another in love?  If more churches would put forth the effort to be spiritually fit rather than spiritually right or spiritually superior? 

What might God do in and through a church like that?  Let’s be the people of God willing to find out. Amen.

Pastor Jenothy Irvine 

It can bring great joy and reveal great sorrow.  It happens at the grocery store, the gas station, and in the line at Wal-Mart.  It can fill a heart with gladness and drain a heart of bitterness. It happens in the car, the school drop-off line, and in the cafeteria.  It happens at work, at McDonald’s and on a bike ride or walk along Greenway Trail. It can make you feel strong and on top of the world, and uncover just how very small you really are.  It is deeply personal and deeply communal.

It has grown churches by the thousands and split churches just as fast.  It has helped and healed people of all makes and models. It has hurt and shunned people of all different makes, and models. It can bring people together and drive them apart.

It’s purpose is obvious yet too often goes unseen or taken for granted.  It’s power is unmatched yet, too often untouched. It’s place is everywhere yet too often unrecognized, therefore presumed nowhere. 

You know it when you experience it but too often you aren’t awake or aware enough to even notice it.

What am I talking about?  I am talking about worship.  Worship - the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity; the act(s) that make up a formal expression of reverence.

How is your reverence workout routine going these days?  Are you working your reverence and adoration on a regular basis?  What do you find most helpful? Most challenging?  

Like any other physical fitness regime, if your cardio isn’t up to par, all the weights, strength training, and yoga bending won’t get your through the long haul.  You need endurance. You need to build your stamina. In the physical fitness world that means cardio training - getting the heart rate up, working it, letting it recover, and doing it again.  Building your lung capacity and muscle endurance. In the spiritual fitness world, your cardio is your worship and if your worship is lacking your spiritual life is lacking.  

Worship is the core of spiritual fitness.  It is the beginning and the end of all the rest and impacts everything in between.  The purpose of worship is both simple and complex, and while we need not overthink or over analyse it.  We DO need to understand, pay attention to, and trust the purpose, power, and place of worship in our lives as individual followers, as a gathered and intentional community of believers, and as a people of a much bigger movement.

In Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul is reminding the followers of Jesus to keep the main thing the main thing.  He instructs them on how to stay connected and committed to Jesus, the church and one another. This is done through worship. 

Worship is both a pouring out and a filling up and it takes both for it to truly shape our lives into more of what God wants them to be. It is cyclical in that we come and worship in order to show God our reverence and adoration while at the same time in the showing, in the pouring out, we are filled back up with what we need to keep on keeping on.  And somewhere in all that is the holy mystery that connects us to each other and followers around the world. 

And like any fitness program or healthy lifestyle, we can’t expect to practice only once a week or twice a month and call it good. That’s not enough to develop strong spiritual fitness habits.  Practice makes perfect - in the spiritual just as much as the physical. In this case, it is not “you are what you eat.” It is “you are what and who you worship.”  

Paul is reminding the church to pay attention to and never underestimate the power of worship.  Because the power is not contained in the four walls of this gymnasium of the soul, i.e., the church.  The power is not limited to pastors, musicians, praise teams, sunday school teachers, bell ringers, organ players, or the good prayers.  

The power of worship flows in and through you by the power of the Holy Spirit. The power to change someone’s bad day at work or at school.  The power to give hope to someone overwhelmed by life. The power to keep us humble and mindful of others. The power to build up rather than tear down.  The power to be a part of God’s unfolding plan.

Everything has its place and there is a place for everything.  Worship is no different. Worship has its place too. Where? The obvious answer is right here - in the church, in this room called the sanctuary (although I kind of like gymnasium of the soul).  

For a spiritually fit follower of Jesus, the place of worship is not only in the church.  The place of worship is in God’s created world and within you - within each one of us and therefore the place of worship is everywhere - all times all places.  The place of worship is a state of mind and heart. So whether you are inside or outside these walls, you are in a place of worship. Whether you are on your bike or swinging a golf club, you are in a place of worship.  Whether you are by the campfire or in the coffee shop, you are in a place of worship. That being said, hear what I am not saying. I am NOT saying you can worship just as well on the golf course, soccer field, or baseball diamond as you can in the church.  I am NOT saying you can worship just as well at home in your jammies, or on the road as you can in actual church. I am saying, worship must take priority and be worked on in your heart and in your mind. 

I pray for the day, we as followers of Jesus, will say not only is there a place for everything but a place for everyone and everyone has a place...that place is  worship.

May it be so.
Pastor Jenothy Irvine 

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