Revitalize Your Church

During the Great Pestilence of 1637, Martin Rinkart, age 31, found himself in a distressing situation as the only clergyperson in Eilenburg, Germany. The plague had broken out in this war torn community, and all of the other clergymen had either died or departed.   Left alone to meet the vast spiritual needs of the entire community, Rinkart officiated 4480 funerals (40-50 per day) including that of his first wife.   A severe famine followed the epidemic, and the good pastor rose to this challenge, working with town leaders to provide relief and organize assistance. He also led negotiations to secure peace with their enemies. In the darkest hours of the epidemic, young Pastor Rinkart served as a beacon of light and hope for others. It was during this time that he wrote the beloved hymn "Nun dankket alle Gott" ( Now Thank We All our God ), which is now often sung in Thanksgiving worship services around the world. Now thank we all our God, with heart and h...

How small that is, with which we wrestle, What wrestles with us, how immense; Were we to let ourselves, the way things do, Be conquered thus by the great storm-- We would become far-reaching and nameless. What we triumph over is the small, And the success itself makes us small. The eternal and unexampled Will not be bent by us. This is the Angel, who appeared To the wrestlers of the Old Testament: When his opponent's sinews In that contest stretch like metal, He feels them under his fingers Like strings making deep melodies. Whomever this Angel overcame (who so often declined the fight) He walks erect and justified And great from that hard hand Which, as if sculpting, nestled round him. Winning does not tempt him. His growth is this: to be Deeply defeated by the ever-greater One (Marie Rainer Rilke, "The Man Watching")

Each step I take my Savior goes before me,  And with His loving hand He leads the way.  And with each breath I whisper, I adore Thee; O what joy to walk with Him each day. At times I feel my faith begin to waver,  When up ahead I see a chasm wide.  It's then I turn and look up to my Savior,  I am strong when He is by my side. Each step I take, I know that He will guide me;  To higher ground He ever leads me on. Until someday the last step will be taken.  Each step I take just leads me closer Home. I trust in God, no matter come what may,  For life eternal is in His hand, He holds the key that opens up the way. That will lead me to the promised land. -- Elmo Mercer

Gathering Call to Worship Waymaker Prayer for Troubled Times L: The Lord listens to us in times of trouble and joy. P: We call to the Lord in our anxiety and fear. L: God will not turn away from us. P: God will heal us and restore us. L: Let the Lord of life enter into your spirits. P: Lord, come to us and heal our brokenness and sorrow. AMEN (Retrieved from https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/5116/classic-worship-connection-june-25-2017 ) Old Testament Reading Psalm 27 Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus WORD Psalm 23 KJV Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us New Testament Reading Philippians 4:8-13 Gospel Reading Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” —John 14:27 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the worl...

During the influenza pandemic of 1918 when public gatherings were prohibited, Rev. Homer Cox penned and distributed the sermon: Contrary Winds , based on Matthew 14:22-24 (KJV):  And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. Cox said: The hungering multitudes have been bountifully fed and sent to their homes in the surrounding villages the disciples have embarked for their voyage across the sea; and, as was His custom after a trying day of toil, or before a day of great responsibility, the Saviour has composed His soul in the solitudes of the mountain alone in prayer. Rapt in holy converse with His heavenly Father, the first three watches of the night h...

On Sunday morning, the preacher stands behind the pulpit and looks out upon a group of people who think they are Methodists.  In reality, a lot of them are Shintos, who are worshipping their dead ancestors buried in the adjacent cemetery. Some are radical Muslims, who believe every interpretation of their favorite preacher is dictated by God Almighty. Others are Buddhist who have to come to church to escape reality. Then, there are those who are just plain pagans that believe the purpose of religion is to get the gods to do something nice for them. (Paraphrasing from Will Willimon;s sermon, "Resident Aliens", in A Peculiar Prophet ) . Photo credit: Juicy Ecumenism,  https://juicyecumenism.com/2014/09/24/another-year-of-decline-for-u-s-united-methodists/ .

"Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrod, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."  (from Daily Prayer  by E. Milner White & G. W. Briggs).

"Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today?  How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience!  Rest assured: do what God tells you to do now, and, depend on it; you will be shown what to do next." -- Elisabeth Elliot in Quest for Love

In honor of Ash Wednesday, I'm re-posting the following story from my first book, Filled Up, Poured Out:  How God's Spirit Can Revive Your Passion and Purpose. Northern Wisconsin is Lutheran and Catholic territory, and this means two things: Lutefisk before Christmas, and Lent before Easter. I didn’t know much about either growing up. Until moving to Hayward, I had never heard of Lutefisk, and figured Lent was stuff you trap in the dryer. Living in the Northwoods, I’ve discovered that Lutefisk is a piece of cod that passes all understanding. (Actually, it’s a rather unappetizing, gelatinous Nordic dish made from dried, salted whitefish and lye.) We’ll let the Lutherans keep it. Lent, however, is something we’ve happily pilfered from our more liturgical brethren. We start with Ash Wednesday, forty days before Easter. I smudge ashes on the foreheads of willing (and some not-so-willing) parishioners, repeating, “From dust you’ve come, to dust you shall return.” For a f...

In her devotional,  Edges of His Ways (1932) ,  the great missionary, Amy Carmichael (1932).wrote the following based on: Psalm 68:13: Though ye have lien among the pots. . . . I think we sometimes feel as though we had. Perhaps we have been especially eager to press through and up into the clear air, and meet our Lord in the radiant, intimate way granted to others, and we do not seem to have been able to do so. The more we looked towards Him Whom our soul loveth, the more we saw His dazzling purity, the more we felt “among the pots”, sooty; like him who “would not lift up so much as his eyes unto Heaven”; like him who said, “Woe is Me! For I am undone . . . for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.” “Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.” It is the sun striking down upon the bird that gives that look of silver and gold. I have never seen it, on our doves and paddy-birds ...

Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways; reclothe us in our rightful mind, in purer lives thy service find, in deeper reverence, praise.  In simple trust like theirs who heard beside the Syrian sea the gracious calling of the Lord, let us, like them, without a word rise up and follow thee. O Sabbath rest by Galilee, O calm of hills above, where Jesus knelt to share with thee the silence of eternity, interpreted by love! Drop thy still dews of quietness, till all our strivings cease; take from our souls the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of thy peace. Breathe through the heats of our desire thy coolness and thy balm; let sense be dumb, let flesh retire; speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire, O still, small voice of calm! --  John Greenleaf Whittier

 One day, after making a hospital visit in Duluth, Minnesota, I was drawn by the spire of the old First Presbyterian Church. A kind secretary opened up the sanctuary for me to sit and pray for a while.  Gazing around, my eyes fell upon a beautiful stained glass window. It was the picture of a gravestone with dark purple and black hues overshadowing it. But at the top of the window, squarely in the center of a black night, shone a bright golden star -- which seemed to exude hope and light. The star was the focal point of the window.  At the bottom, the following words were inscribed: In memory of Sarah Agnes Graff  1853-1889  Build a little fence of trust around today.  Fill the space with loving work and therein stay.  Look not through the sheltering bars upon tomorrow.  God will help thee bear whatever comes, of joy or sorrow. I wondered what the story was behind Sarah Agnes Graff -- who passed into eternity at the ten...

Having problems? Then be happy, because it means you are alive. The only folks in town with no problems are those in the graveyard who have gone to heaven. Any time you attempt something worthwhile, you're going to run into troubles. They come with the territory of progress. Forward movement always brings friction and resistance. These problems in our lives are there to test our resolve and resilience. Here are a few helpful principles for facing life's difficulties: 1. Big problems are reserved for big people.    The person who desires to go forward with life and aim high will have bigger problems than the one who just sits around doing nothing and watching the world go by.  The rewards are bigger, too -- and definitely worth the struggle. 2. Big plans bring big problems. God gives us the vision of what He can accomplish through us. Sometimes, His vision is accompanies by big plans and big problems. One guarantee: If God supplies the vision, He will put a PR...

While digging through my father's old files, I found some interesting clippings from The Wesleyan Methodist Magazine .  These articles, written over five decades ago by Dr. Oliver G. Wilson, struck a deep chord with me.  Although culture has changed considerably since that time, the essence and need of humanity remains the same.  We all need to belong, to be loved, and to be encouraged.  This is true for all people at all times, in every culture. One delightful article told of Dr. Wilson’s friend who, driving down the street, saw a mallard sitting on the sidewalk. The gentleman was intrigued by the unusual sight.  He stopped his vehicle, got out and approached the sitting duck.   Alarmed, the duck sprang to his feet and started running as fast as his little ducky legs could carry him.  The man decided to follow the worried bird. Anxiously looking back over his shoulder, the terrified mallard ran faster, and the man sped up behind him. ...

Faith, the seed of heaven planted by surprise in earthen soil. The barren ground reluctantly invites, mostly disdains this small possibility of hope. Stirs slightly, irritated, yawns and then settles back in lazy slumber mostly convinced that the interruption is merely a burial of another empty dream. Entombed in heavy darkness the seed of heaven sings as it reaches for a land beyond its grasp and hopes for the hand of God it cannot see. But no dark place can silence the song of faith and hope. And calloused soil cannot withstand for long refreshing rains. Slowly, steadily, the seed of heaven toils upward, onward, through the dark towards heaven's gate. Sometimes singing. Sometimes sighing. Always longing for destiny awaits. Heaven beckons, Earth responds. That is the order of all created things. The earthen tomb becomes a womb of life anew -- and resurrection! A seed, a sprout, a stalk, and then a splendid crimson flower Blooming where it first began it's morning hour. Look...

    As children bring their broken toys   With tears for us to mend,   I brought my broken dreams to God   Because He was my friend.   But then instead of leaving Him   In peace to work alone,   I hung around and tried to help   With ways that were my own.    At last I snatched them back and cried,   "How could you be so slow"   "My child," He said, "What could I do?   You never did let go."   - Author Unknown

It was dinner time, and the crowd of 5000 who came  to  hear Jesus was getting hungry and cranky.    Jesus turned  to  Philip, one of his disciples, and asked, "Where will we find food for all these people?"  There was certainly no McDonald's within sight and no pizza delivery.   Philip froze, like a deer in the headlights.  "Uh, I don't have a clue.  Feeding this crowd would cost more than I make in a whole year!"  Andrew, another disciple, found a little boy who had a small lunch:  five loaves and two fish.  He brought the meager morsels  to  Jesus, and said, "This is all we've got."  When he gave the lunch Jesus, a great miracle occurred!    Jesus took the lunch, blessed it, broke it, multiplied it and gave it  to  the people.  It was absolutely unbelievable!  Everybody ate and there were 12 baskets of leftovers!  I can relate  to  t...

 Are you groping for a blessing,  Never getting there?  Listen to a word in season,  Get somewhere!  Are you struggling for salvation  By your anxious prayer?  Stop your struggling, simply trust and --  Get somewhere!  Does the answer seem to linger  To your earnest prayer?  Turn your praying into praise and --  Get somewhere!  You will never know His fullness  Till you boldly dare  To commit your all to Him and --  Get somewhere! --  From Streams in the Desert

Here we stand at the threshold of the New Year. 2015 will soon be passed and packed away, living only in the attic of memories.   Looking ahead to 2016, I can guarantee one thing: a lot of living will go into it. How will it turn out? Only God knows. This chapter may be drama. Perhaps it will be romance. Action adventure. Comedy. Tragedy. Mystery. Next December, upon reflection, you will be able to describe the events of 2016 – but not now. The best you can do is throw your shoulders back, trust God, and march right in. You see, although you don’t know anything about the upcoming months, God does – and He will be with you as you travel from mountain top to valley.   Nobody knows what tomorrow holds, but we do know WHO holds tomorrow. Sometimes, in lonely moments, it feels as if we are alone, but God has promised never to leave you or forsake you – even in the darkest hours. An anonymous writer captured this idea with these inspiring words: I said to the man wh...