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Have You Been Hurt by Church?

Spending time working out of the local Dunn Bros. coffee shop gives me a different perspective on the church than I would have if I spent most of my time working out of a church office.  It allows me the opportunity to hear, firsthand, what unchurched people think about the church.  Unfortunately, the picture is often not very flattering.

I have had way too many conversations with people who are disillusioned with the church.  They have previously been hurt in the church or have found church people to be judgmental, hypocritical, and unloving.  Others have expressed their concerns over the fractured picture they get of the church.  It seems to them like we can’t even get along with each other, and so if we can’t get our own act together how are we supposed to help anyone else?  Good question.

Now I know that just because we follow Christ does not mean that we are perfect, but this is an area where we need to do better.  Jesus reminds us in John 14 that the world will know we are His followers by the way that we love one another.  If that is the measuring stick, then the conversations I have been hearing are not a good sign.  We need to work on this.  And at The River this Sunday, this passage from John 14 will be our focus.  It is called “Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial,” but I think it is really more about loving one another.  Check it out at John 14:31-38 or come on out to The River this Sunday to find out more.

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What Other People Think

Do you like it when people say nice things about you?  Like, “your hair looks nice today” or “I like that outfit,” or (my personal favorite) “are you losing weight?”

Or how about at work, when your boss, or a coworker recognizes you for the job you are doing?  Or when a friend let’s you know how much they appreciate you?  Or a neighbor compliments your lawn, your home, or (even better) your children.  It is always nice to get complimented or praised.

On the flip side, it is not so nice to get criticized.  Like, when you make a mistake at work and your boss points it out.  Or when a neighbor complains about how your lawn looks, or that your house is bringing down the property values.  Or when you hear from a teacher at your kid’s school about something your child has done wrong and you feel like a bad parent.  Or when you get a few choice words or hand gestures from another driver on the road.

We don’t like those kind of comments as much, do we?  We want to be praised.  We want to be liked.  We want to be loved.  We want to be valued.  We want people to think, and say, nice things about us.

But does it really matter so much what other people think about us?  To some extent it does.  I mean we want to have a good name and be a good testimony.  But sometimes maybe we are a little bit too concerned with what others think.  This Sunday we are going to look at some people who were a little bit too concerned about what other people thought, and it really got in the way of them following God.  You can read about it in John 12:37-43, or come on out to The River this Sunday to find out more.

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Meeting Jesus

About 4 or 5 years ago we went to a wedding for one of my wife’s cousins.  While we were at the reception we were talking with Julie’s aunt and found out that Justin Masterson, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, (who is now with the Cleveland Indians) was there.  He had gone to the same college as Julie’s cousin and they were friends, so he had come to the wedding and reception.

Well, that got my son, Jacob, very interested, because he is a big sports nut.  So Julie’s aunt took Jacob over to meet Justin.  It was very cool.  Justin spent some time talking with Jacob and gave him an autograph.  He was nice and he made Jacob feel very welcome

I have met a variety of different famous people over the years.  Most have made me feel very welcome and have been very accommodating.  But I had one experience that was not so positive.

I was at a mall in Denver and the Lakers were in town to play the Nuggets.  At the time, the Lakers, were one of my favorite basketball teams.  So I knew the players pretty well.  As I was walking down the hall I saw Byron Scott, their starting shooting guard.  I think he was trying to keep a low profile, but I just had to meet him.  So I walked over and tried to talk to him and he just flat out ignored me.  Eventually I walked away.

I don’t blame Byron Scott for not talking with me.  It wasn’t a big deal, but it reminds me of the different ways it can go when you meet someone famous.  Sometimes you get welcomed and other times you get ignored.

Well, this Sunday, we are going to look at a passage from Scripture that opens up with a few people who just wanted to meet Jesus.  They had probably heard about Him somewhere along the line.  He was pretty famous after all.  They were visiting the area where He was, and they wanted to meet Him.

After looking at this story, I am not exactly sure what to make of the response they got.  It almost seems like Jesus ignored them, but He goes on to share a powerful time of teaching that includes information about His coming death and the life that is available through Him.  Whether they met Jesus or not, if they had the opportunity to listen to that time of teaching, it might have been life changing.

You can read about it in John 12:20-36.  Or come on out to The River this Sunday to find out more.

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Dinner with Judas

At www.biography.com I found an interesting opinion poll.  They were asking the question, if you found yourself at the most awkward dinner party of all time.  A party filled with both famous and infamous people.  And you found yourself stuck in a conversation with the most awkward guest, who would it be?

Currently leading the poll is Adolf Hitler.  Some of the others on the short list are Charles Manson, OJ Simpson, Charlie Sheen, and Kim Jong Il.  While I agree, being stuck at a dinner party with any of those people would probably be pretty awkward, it does seem to be a bit of a random list.  But let me add one more name.  How would you like to be stuck in an awkward dinner party conversation with Judas Iscariot?

Well, even if that could be arranged, it wouldn’t be the first awkward dinner party conversation that Judas was a part of.  We find one captured for us in John 12:1-8.  It takes place at a dinner party celebrating the raising of Lazarus.  And the awkward conversation is between Judas, Lazarus’ sister Mary, and Jesus.

I will be preaching on that story this Sunday at The River.  And believe it or not, to some extent I actually agree with Judas a little bit in this story.  And in the end I encourage us all to look a little foolish.  Does that peak your interest?  Come on out and join us this Sunday at 9:30, at 2510 Chaska Blvd.  to find out more.

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“Hey, It’s Me!”

Have you ever had someone call you on the phone and the person on the other end of the line just starts talking or says something like, “hey it’s me,” and yet you have no idea who it is?  It’s like the person thought they were familiar enough that you would recognize them and know their voice, but you don’t.  That typically leads to a bit of an awkward encounter.  Do you say, “excuse me, but I don’t know who you are,” or do you just let them keep talking and hope that at some point you will get a clue as to who this person is?

The reason a scenario like that is so awkward is because recognizing someone’s voice implies an intimate relationship.  We wouldn’t recognize the voice of someone we had just met or someone we only occasionally talk with.   But in this scenario apparently the person on the other end of the line thinks that we have that kind of intimate relationship with them and yet we have no idea who they are.

The key is that in order to be familiar enough to know who the person is on the other end of the phone we need to have spent enough time listening to that voice already.  We need to know their voice.  And that takes time.

The same is true with Jesus.  We need to spend time getting to know His voice.  This Sunday we are going to take a look at a passage from Scripture that paints for us a picture of Jesus that many will recognize.  But we will also be challenged to consider whether or not we would recognize His voice? We will be looking at John 10 and considering Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  Consider joining us this Sunday, at 2510 Chaska Blvd. at 9:30 a.m.

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Megaphone Guy

Have you ever gone to an event in a major city and passed by that guy who stands on the street corner yelling into a megaphone? Sometimes it is a spiritual message like the end of the world, or the need for repentance.  Sometimes it is someone trying to sell you something or maybe even someone who is just a little bit delusional.  But typically our response is to move to the other side of the street to avoid, “megaphone guy.”

But what motivates “megaphone guy” to do what he does?  Have you ever thought about that?  Why is he out there in the cold or heat, enduring the disdain of many onlookers, proclaiming a message that most people seem to be ignoring?  Good question isn’t it?  We don’t know what motivates them to do what they do.  But it must be pretty important to them, or they wouldn’t go through all that trouble.

There was a man from Scripture that I think we sometimes compare with “megaphone guy.”  His name was John the Baptist.  He was definitely out there on the fringe of society.  He hung out in the wilderness, wore clothes made out of camel’s hair, ate locusts and wild honey and preached a message of repentance and that the kingdom of Heaven was near.

But one big difference between John the Baptist and “megaphone guy” was that people didn’t go across to the other side of the street to pass by, they gathered round.  John’s ministry was very popular.  Many people flocked to hear his message and to be baptized.  Some even thought that he was the Messiah.  There were some who didn’t like his message, and eventually he was imprisoned and beheaded because of what he said, but he was very popular with the people.

However, when Jesus showed up, many people stopped following John and began following Jesus.  This made some of John’s followers a little upset.  They didn’t want Jesus taking over their turf.  But John had a very amazing response.  He said, “He must become greater, I must become less.”  John wasn’t jealous of Jesus, and he didn’t look at their ministries as if it was a competition.  He wanted Jesus to succeed.  He even saw his ministry as being all about pointing people to Jesus.

What a great attitude.  And it is that attitude that we are going to look at this Sunday as we take a look at John the Baptist as part of our “Lessons from the Life of Christ” series.  See you Sunday.

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Rainbow Man

Have you ever heard of Rollen Stewart?  It is not a very familiar name, although I think many of you have probably seen him before.  He is also known as Rainbow man.  Back in the 80’s Rollen donned a rainbow wig and started showing up at major sporting events.  He first showed up in 1977 at the NBA Finals, where he stood out because of his crazy wig and his even crazier dancing.  Then in 1980 after becoming a professing Christian he made up a sign that said John 3:16 and he began bringing that with him to sporting events.

Throughout the 80’s he traveled all over the place with that wig and that sign, including the Olympics, the World Cup, the NFL playoffs, The Indy 500, The Masters, and even the royal wedding between Prince Charles and Lady Dianna.  He also brought along a little battery operated television to figure out where the best place was to get picked up by the video cameras.  So he was frequently seen on TV.  Sports producers became tired of his antics and tried to keep him off the air, even going so far as to threaten to fire cameramen who allowed Rollen to show up in their frame.

He became famous enough to be parodied on Saturday Night Live.  Unfortunately, his personal life began to fall apart and he wound up in prison serving three life sentences.  But many still remember his John 3:16 sign and his crazy rainbow wig.  And maybe they were intrigued enough to pick up a Bible and find out what that reference was all about.

John 3:16 is the most famous verse in the Bible.  People who have never stepped foot in a church are even familiar with this verse, or at least the reference.  And this verse will be the focus of our sermon this Sunday.  I will be looking not only at John 3:16, but also at the passage surrounding it, helping us to delve a little deeper into what is being talked about.  Join us at 9:30 this Sunday at 2510 Chaska Blvd., to find out more.

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‘Cause We Need a Little Christmas…

I was thinking about taking down my Christmas lights today.  Here in Minnesota we have been hit with a very unseasonably warm winter. We are actually supposed to have a high of 48 on Saturday.  Imagine that!  Typically by now we have snow on the ground and the air is so cold that the last thing I want to do is to get outside on a ladder and take down the Christmas lights.

But here is my dilemma: typically once the snow falls it is here til Spring finally arrives.  That means that it is March or April before I can take down the lights.  So practically speaking, it makes sense for me to take the lights down now, while I still can, before the snow arrives.  However, it just doesn’t seem right to take down the Christmas lights on December 29th.  We usually stop turning the lights on once we get to New Year’s, but this just seems a little bit too early.

Yesterday, my son Jacob said that he wished that Christmas lasted for a whole week.  I agree with him.  It seems like Christmas doesn’t last quite long enough.  The anticipation and build up to Christmas takes so long, and then in one day, it’s over.  We were at the mall yesterday and the stores were already moving on to Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter.  I don’t know about you, but I want Christmas to last.

So this Sunday we are going to spend one more day on Christmas.  Actually, we are going to look at a piece that is typically included in the traditional nativity story, but is often misunderstood.  We will be looking at the visit of the Magi.  Were there really 3 of them?  Were they kings, wise men, or magicians?  Where did they come from and when did they arrive?  Those are just a few of the questions we will be asking as we take a look at their amazing story.  And then we will be asking the question, “so what can I learn and apply to my life from what I find in their story?”  Come on out to The River this Sunday to find out more.

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Is It Christmas Yet?

Can you believe that Christmas is almost here?  It seems like the days leading up to Christmas just fly by.  That is not true for my little, three-year-old daughter.  Makenna is having trouble waiting for Christmas.  She has been asking, “is it Christmas yet?” for the the last month.  And when we tell her how many days are left until Christmas comes, her response is always, “Christmas is taking a long time.”

Of course, she has had nothing to do to get ready for Christmas.  She didn’t have the shopping, baking, planning and preparing responsibilities that her mom and I have had to deal with.  And she hasn’t been at school each day, like her brothers and sisters, counting down the days til Christmas arrives. She doesn’t even really understand the passing of time.  For her, Christmas is just someday in the future and she can’t quite grasp how far away it really is.

And she is so ready for it to come, right now!  She is excited for Christmas.  And that is something I can definitely understand.  Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of the year.  I have always enjoyed the different aspects of Christmas.  I enjoy giving and receiving gifts.  I enjoy the extra time to spend with family and friends.  I enjoy the decorations, and Christmas music, and the Christmas specials on TV.  And I enjoy the time of focusing on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

When I was growing up, I loved Christmas too, but back then it was mostly about the gifts.  I couldn’t wait for Christmas morning to come so that I could get up and see what I got.  But over the years, my perspective on Christmas has changed and some of the other things have become more important.  Now don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy getting a gift as much as the next guy, but my enjoyment of the Christmas season is much more complete than when I was young.  And that is definitely a good thing.

I was talking with my children during devotions last night about, “what if we didn’t get any presents on Christmas.  Would we still celebrate?”  And we talked about how, even though we enjoy the games, toys, clothes, and other presents that we get on Christmas, ultimately none of those gifts even come close to the greatest gift that we have been given.  And that is the gift of Jesus Christ who came to earth to save us from our sins and bring us the hope of eternal life.  So, even if we received no other gifts at Christmas time, we would still have so much to celebrate.

This year Christmas is on Sunday.  That doesn’t happen too often.  And when it does, we can look at it like it puts a crimp in our plans to celebrate with our families.  Or we can embrace the opportunity to focus on what Christmas is all about and take advantage of the opportunity to celebrate the greatest gift that we have ever received.  This Sunday at The River, we will be focusing on that great gift.  Consider joining us this Sunday, at 9:30 a.m., at 2510 Chaska Blvd., to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

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Nativity Wow Factor

It’s fun to see Christmas through the eyes of our children.  During this time of year as we drive around at night, my children constantly are yelling out, “Christmas lights!  Christmas lights!”  They point out the different beautiful displays that they see along the trip.  But while I still enjoy seeing the lights and other decorations that people have put up, the “wow factor” has kind of worn out for me.  So it’s nice to have the kids around, to help remind me of what it all looks like through their eyes.

You see, it’s easy for us to forget the “wow factor” of the Christmas season, because we have experienced it all so many times before.  And I think we have the same problem with the story of the Nativity from Scripture.  We have already read, or listened to it hundreds of times over the years.  We know it so well that we don’t really even pay attention anymore.  It has lost a little bit of it’s “wow factor” for us, because we already know the story so well.  But in reality it is no less incredible, just because we have heard it before.  And knowing how it all works out from the perspective of the rest of Scripture should cause us to be all the more impressed with what is happening.

Do you ever find yourself underwhelmed at the idea of Christmas?  Do you find yourself unamazed by the story of the Nativity?  If so, then I want to encourage you to come to The River this Sunday.  I will be looking at the Nativity once again, and trying to help us consider just how amazing it really was.  But then we are going to move beyond the “wow factor” and talk about what we can apply to our lives from what we hear.