Tag Archives: Christianity

Online Worship

July 16, 2023 – Newton UMC – Sunday Worship Livestream

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JOY Fellowship Worship Service in Holland Hall: 9:00 a.m.

Worship Service in Main Sancutary: 10:30 a.m.

Worship service streams live at 10:30 a.m. EST (-500 GMT)

Welcome to our live-streamed Sunday Worship Services for July 16, 2023. Today we sing a song of praise, for God is at work and calling us into partnership!

Please support us by giving online: https://tithe.ly/give?c=1377216 or https://paypal.me/newtonumc Or you can make and mail a check out to First UMC of Newton, 111 Ryerson Ave., Newton, NJ O7860

God bless you all for your generosity which is vital to our mission and ministry.

Devotional, Previous Post

REVISITED: Human Again

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Read Daniel 4:8-33

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:49 NRSV)

Belle

One of my favorite Walt Disney films of all times is an animated film called, “Beauty and the Beast.” It is one of those rare stories that transcends its medium (e.g. animation) and reflects a truth and/or reality within its viewers. On the surface, the story is about a beautiful french peasant girl named Belle (whose name means beauty in French) who wants nothing more than to escape her present reality and live more than “this provincial life.”

Of course, based on the classic fairytale, we all know that Belle gets more than she bargained for. She finds herself locked up in a castle by a ferocious, hideous beast. Overtime, though, the Beast finds himself falling in love with Belle and, in turn, Belle finds herself falling in love with the Beast. It is, of course, that mutual love between them that will lift the curse on the beast and his castle, and will transform him from a beast into who he was created to be, a charming prince.

What I love about this tale is not so much the “happily ever after” end of it, but in the dark reality that leads up to the need for a “happily ever after.” In the Walt Disney version, each of the characters are shown to have inherent flaws. The prince, at the outset of the film, was cold-hearted and self-centered. When a beggar woman came to him to seek shelter from the cold, he rejected her because of her haggard appearance. Of course, that woman was really an enchantress and she cursed the prince, making his external appearnce match his internal self: a cold-hearted, fercious beast.

His court ended up cursed with him. While they had nothing directly to do with prince’s wicked actions, they were cursed as well. Perhaps some were undeserving of the curse but, as is often the case, they suffered the consquences of the sins and evil of someone else. Some of them were cursed to be transormed into the objects that represented their daily duties. For instnace, the maid became a feather duster, the head master the staff and spokesman for the prince, became a clock. The womanizing servant Lumiere became a candelabra. In essence, the very castle that objectified its subjects, and saw people as a means to an end, became doomed to be objects as well.

Moving beyond the prince, the other characters are imprisoned by their flaws too. Gaston is imrisoned by his own vanity and pride. LeFou, Gaston’s sidekick, is imprisoned by his desire to have status by virtue of his association with Gaston. The townspeople are imprisoned by their fears and ignorance. Maurice, Belle’s father, is imprisoned by is preoccupation with his inventions, allowing them to take precedence over his time with his daughter. Finally, Belle is imprisoned by her desire to have more than what she currently has. She doesn’t want to be stuck living the simple life, with simple people, settled down in a family that keeps her from exploring the world.

In the Broadway play, as the Beast and Belle start to fall in love, there is a musical number that the enchanted objects (e.g. Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Cogsworth, etc.) begin to sing entitled, “Human Again.” Seeing that the Beast and Belle have begun to understand what actually means to selflessly love, there is hope that the kingdom can be restored back to being “human again.” The heart of this song has an important message for us all. If we are to be truly human again, if we are to be as we were created to be, we will be consumed by selfless, unconditional love. In the meantime, we are only shadows (some of us even beastly shadows) of our true selves.

While not everyone will learn what it means to be love, those who do will be restored to their true humanity. Jesus Christ showed us what it means to be truly human, and what we need to do in order to be truly human again. Our challenge is for us to study Jesus teachings and examples one what it means to be love, and to begin to allow Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to perfect us in being truly human again. Let’s not  just admire Christ, but begin to live and love like him.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Like a real human does, I’ll be all that I was on that glorious morn when we’re fin’lly reborn, and we’re all of us human again!” – Alan Menken and Tim Rice, “Human Again”, Beauty and the Beast

PRAYER
Lord, free me from everything that is keeping me from being truly human. Amen.

Devotional

Christian Living Translated

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Read Philippians 2:12-18

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world” (1 Peter 2:12 NLT).

Christian living can be such a wonderful experience, one that helps one to learn, to grow, and to become transformative in the world around them; however, it can also seem near impossible to live as a Christian in today’s world, given all of the different things vying for our worship, let alone where to begin. Of course, this has always been the case and is not exclusive to our time; however, our time does present a number of unique challenges that other times and periods did not present.

I remember that, as a kid, I used to truly aspire to live a Biblically-based life. By kid, I mean when I was in my formative years leading up to my mid teens. Once I hit, 16 years old or so, I began to seek out my own religious identity apart from that of my parents; still, leading up until that point, I always aspired to please Jesus even though I realize I was far from perfect at that. Truthfully, even as a wayward teen, I never sought to displease Jesus or God, it’s just that I began to seek Ultimate Reality out for myself.

As a kid, I would try to read the Bible from front to back because that is how I was taught books were read. I didn’t realize that method didn’t work in all regards and the Bible was one of those books that a front-to-back reading wasn’t necessarily the most efficacious. I wasn’t taught in Sunday School, or church for that matter (to my recollection), that I could read the Bible in any order I wanted to and that the Bible doesn’t read chronologically from front to back. 

For instance, the first five books of the Bible tell of Creation and the first peoples to inhabit the earth. It shares of the founding of the faith in Yaweh and how Yahweh planned to bring redemption into the world through that faith. Laws and ways of living were established in those early books; however, then the Bible goes off into history, then legen, then poetry, then prose, then prophecy, with other earlier accounts such as Job dispersed in between.

I wasn’t taught that praying DID NOT require bowing one’s head and dropping to one’s knees at specific times, but that prayer can be an ongoing, sometimes outloud, dialogue with Jesus in the shower or driving down the road. I wasn’t taught that failure is a required ingredient to success and that perfection didn’t happen overnight, but was an ongoing process.

My mom, God bless her, taught me some of those things. For instance, one of the ways she used to read the Bible was to pray for guidance and then to open the page to a random place and start reading. What a powerful and trusting way to approach Scripture. One can also read it by following the Chronology of the stories being told. There are a plethora of ways to approach Scripture in meaningful and meditative ways.

The same is true with every aspect of Christian living, not just reading Scripture and prayer. Evangelism, for instance, need not be handing out awkward tracts to people and telling them to “turn or burn”. In fact, that is the LEAST effective way of evangelism and one that has been the least employed in the church’s most successful moments. Evangelism, rather, is the sharing of Jesus Christ in ways that are relevant to whom one is sharing Him. This can be done with words, with actions, with silent presence, and most certainly by example. 

If one knows you are a Christian, trust me when I say that they are most definitely watching how you live and act. This is not necessarily true as to determine whether you sin or not, but whether or not you LIVE UP to the values you preach. If you are graceful, loving, compassionate, present, and a peacemaker among those you know, they will begin to associate those things with your faith; however, if you are the opposite of what you preach, you will be seen as a fake or, worse yet, your faith will become associated with those things.

The fact is that it important to daily engage in Christian living. The disciplines of studying Scripture, praying, partaking in the life of the Church, fellowshipping and being in accountability groups, observing the ordinances of God (Holy Communion, worship, etc.), sharing one’s faith and more are all vital to cultivating the true Christian life. Let us, as Christians, not shy away from doing so but actually double down in doing so. We can do so that both honors Christ and respects the people and culture to whom we are sharing. Let us take our faith seriously so as to not waste the grace God has given us to be transformed and participate in making more disciples of Jesus Christ for the tranformation of the world!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“The Christian faith never exists except as ‘translated’ into a culture.” – David Bosch

PRAYER
Lord help me translate the Christian life into my context so that I may be transformed and, as such, be transformative for your glory in the lives of others. Amen.

Devotional, Previous Post

REVISITED: Born to Follow

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Read John 21:15-22

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)

circlehq5

It is no big secret that my favorite band in the world is Bon Jovi and that I have been listening to them faithfully for almost as long as I can remember. As a boy, I heard their songs on the radio and loved it every time they came on. My parents, who wouldn’t just buy me anything I wanted, allowed me to listen to them (and even bought me some of their albums) because, for the most part, their lyrics were clean and often inspirational…especially to a young boy from Jersey.

This band, which is also from New Jersey, have written and recorded 12 studio albums, have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and have performed more than 2,700 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans. Over the years, their music has spoken to me in many ways. With all of the ups and downs that comes with life, there is literally a Bon Jovi song for each of them. That is powerful stuff, and that is why they have been so successful. People can relate!

With that said, in 2009 Bon Jovi released the single, “We Weren’t Born to Follow” from their album “The Circle.” The song itself delivers everything a Bon Jovi fan has come to expect from the band. The lyrics are calling for people to become leaders, for people to pick themselves up off the ground and live life to it’s fullest no matter what comes their way. The chorus of the song is as follows: “We weren’t born to follow, come on and get up off your knees. When life is a bitter pill to swallow, you gotta hold on to what you believe. Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow and that your saints and sinners bleed. We weren’t born to follow, you gotta stand up for what you believe.”

At first glance, one might be questioning what is wrong with those lyrics. They seem to have a positive message and seem to be pushing people to be independent and to persevere; however, it is in that message that lies the problem. The lyrics are very heavily self-reliant. “We weren’t born to follow” implies that being a “follower” is bad and being a “leader” is good. Yet, I find these lyrics to be inherently backwards.

WE ARE BORN TO FOLLOW. God created us in God’s image and has been calling us to follow God’s way of living…of loving. It is is when we think we are INDEPENDENT…it is when we think that we can DO IT ON OUR OWN, that we run into trouble. It is our thinking that WE are the answer to our problems and self-reliance is the key to surviving life that leads us down a road that not only hurts others, but also brings us to the brink of self-destruction.

God has called us to lead in being followers. With God as OUR leader, we are called to lead others in following God…in following LOVE. That is the key to not just surviving life…but living it abundantly. So long as we are following the ultimate source of LOVE we will never be led astray and that LOVE will pick us up and carry us when we fall. God is not calling us to a life of INDEPENDENCE, but rather to a life DEPENDENT on GOD.

Like any parent, God wants us to live abundant and fruitful lives and wants us to recognize the source of our lives. If we fail to do that we will never see the great hope that lies within us, nor will we see the great hope that lies within others. Today’s challenge is to recognize that God is with you, that you are dependent on God, and that God is calling you to follow in order that you might lead others, by example, to a life of following!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“One cannot lead without first having followed.” – Rev. Todd R. Lattig

PRAYER
Lord, I submit myself to you and follow your lead. Lead me toward following your example and leading others to do the same. Amen.

Devotional, Previous Post

REVISITED: Guilt-Free Zone

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Read Psalm 22:1-11

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

grief

As a pastor and a spiritual counselor, I often deal with people who are going through rough times in their lives. Perhaps they have just lost a loved one and are beginning to go through the grieving process. Perhaps they are struggling in their relationships with others or with God. Perhaps they have been separated (for whatever reason) from their loved one(s). Perhaps they are struggling with alcoholism and/or addiction, or perhaps they know and love someone who is. Perhaps they are going through rough times financially or physically and they do not know how to begin to cope with the problems that are piling on top of them.

Whatever the case may be, each of us struggles in life one way or another. There is not a single person in this world who breezes through life without a host of “somethings” weighing them down. Each of us have our own set of struggles that we go through. I personally have suffered from teenage depression, the loss of loved ones, sudden and unexpected unemployment, financial difficulties, relationship struggles, and a whole host of other issues. And there were times I felt so burdened down by the weight of everything that I wondered if I could even carry on.

It is human to question ourselves, our surroundings, our situations and even God when things seem to be pressing down on us and crushing the life out of us. It is natural and human to be angry at God, to cry out from the depths of our soul in despair, to question where God has been in our lives. It is natural and healthy for us to be able to engage God with those questions; however, often times we feel guilty for doing so.

When we get angry at God, when we question why God is allowing stuff to happen to us, and when we begin to wonder if God is even there at all, we often will feel guilty because we feel that such anger, such questioning, and such “doubt” is a sign that our faith is weakening, or that it is a sign we don’t have faith, and that God will somehow hold that against us. We often pressure ourselves into repressing our emotions and shutting ourselves off from asking the questions that we so desperately need to ask.

What I would like to impart to you today is that you DO NOT need to add guilt to your grief. First, I would like to challenge you to rethink the question, “why is God allowing this to happen to me?” Is God “ALLOWING” something to happen or does life happen, with all of its ups and downs, despite what God does or doesn’t want? Second, God is love. God is grace. God is present. Repeat those words to yourself, make them your mantra and trust that God is with you, that God wants NOTHING MORE than for you to have hope, for you to rise up out of the situation you’re in, for you to heal, and for you to experience wholeness.

With that said, you do not need to add guilt to your grief. God doesn’t do guilt; guilt is not from God! It is not only okay for you to express your anger and doubt to God, but God WANTS YOU TO. It is a part of the grieving process, when we are grieving any type of loss or circumstance, and it is necessary to our health. Anger, doubt, and asking God the tough questions does not show a dying faith or a lack of faith; rather, quite the contrary…it shows a STRONG FAITH and a STRONG RELATIONSHIP with GOD.

So fear not, God is with you! Be liberated in the fact that you are not alone in your struggles. That in spirit, and in the lives of those supporting you, GOD IS WITH YOU. Do not add guilt to your grief, for your grief is enough to bear on its own. God is calling out to you through the words of Jesus, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, for I will give you rest.”

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“I am with you. I will not fail you or forsake you.” – God (Joshua 1:5)

PRAYER
Lord, thank you for your undying presence in my life and thank you for your listening to me in my times of need. Help me to see when I cannot and to have the peace of your presence when the storms rage on and I feel alone. Amen.

Devotional, Previous Post

REVISITED: Dying for Both Sides

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Read Galatians 2

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donation I am taking to Jerusalem.” (Romans 15:31)

saint-paul-the-apostle-07

In the Bible, there is a man named Saul who was born in the city of Tarsus in the Roman province of Cilicia. He was well educated and rose up to be a scholar of the Torah, a Pharisee, and a zealous defender of the Jewish faith. When a new sect of Judaism broke out claiming that a Nazarene rabbi by the name of Yeshua bar Joseph was the messiah and that Gentiles should be included in the Jewish covenant, he lashed out against the group, having many of them arrested. According to Acts, one was even killed.

With that said, this Saul encountered the risen Yeshua, you may know him by his Greek name Jesus, somewhere in or around Damascus, which is a city in Syria. This experience transformed Saul into a follower of Jesus. Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians that, following the encounter with Christ, he went into Arabia for a while and then came back to Damascus. After three years he went to Jerusalem and met with Jesus’ brother James, and his disciples Peter and John.

To make a long story short, Jesus’ brother James and Paul didn’t really get along…at all. Peter and John weren’t too crazy about Paul either. James believed that in order for Gentiles (non-Jews) to become a follower of Christ they had to first become Jewish, since Jesus was a Jew. Paul thought this was ludicrous, seeing Jesus’ death and resurrection as the opening up of the covenant to Gentiles. If they had faith in Jesus who was likened to a Gentile on the cross (being under God’s curse as the Torah claims of anyone hung on a tree), then they would be brought into the Jewish covenant despite not being circumcised or being bound to any one of the Jewish laws.

Though they struck a deal and Paul left thinking he had their blessing to go and preach the Gospel as he felt Jesus had called him to do, James, Peter and John never really accepted Paul’s vision. We find out from Paul in his letter to the Galatians, and in Acts, that James and his followers were counteracting Paul’s Gospel message and causing people to question this “self-proclaimed apostle” who had never been an eye-witness of Jesus. This angered Paul, as anyone would imagine, but it did not stop him from trying.

Paul had been gathering up a collection for the church in Jerusalem and he was going to bring that collection to them, hoping to reconcile their differences if it cost him his very life. Paul was afraid it would. His last written words, written to the church in Rome (a community he had never met), ask for prayers that the non-believing Jews won’t attack him (as he was a heretic in their eyes having abandoned his Pharisaic Judaism for this new messianic Judaism) and that the church in Jerusalem would accept his offering. Unfortunately, his prayers were not answered.

Paul was arrested, and eventually died, trying to get both sides (his and James’) to be unified, even if different, in the cause of Christ. Today, like then, the church is split on many fronts and we seem to get stuck on one side or the other. We fail to see Christ in the midst of our differences. Like Paul, we are called to see Christ in those who believe differently than us. We are called to find the balance of reconciliation, even while remaining true to what we firmly believe. There are many contentious issues dividing the church, yet there is still ONE Lord! Rather than deeming each other heretics, let us have the grace and the humility to see that Christ is indeed working in, through, and in spite of us all! Remember, he Gospel calls us to be a people who are unified in LOVE, even if divided by difference.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“You don’t get unity by ignoring the questions that have to be faced.” – Jay Weatherill

PRAYER
Lord, help me to see you even in those who think and believe differently than me. Humble me, I pray. Amen.

Devotional

Do You Believe in Miracles?

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Read Romans 12:9-18

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17 NLT).

One of my more favorite shows as of late is a show my the name of Ted Lasso. Jason Sudekis plays the titular role, an American Football Coach who is hired by Rebecca Welton to coach her Premier Association Football Club (AFC) Richmond. Of course, this is silly because NFL Football is not at all like AFC Football. The two are totally different sports. In the U.S.A., to the chagrin of the rest of the world, we differentiate between the two by calling the former “Football” and the latter “Soccer”.

The show, which just ended it’s third and final season, is a treasure trove of positivity and theological/philosophical musings that really give this series a different feel from most others. There’s something wholesome (despite some adult content), pure, and inspirational about it. It hits us at our most human and vulnerable levels. It makes one laugh, cry, and reflect. It is a great show.

In one of the episodes, AFC Richmond has a chance to defeat a team and regain premier status after it had become relegated, meaning (for those not accustomed to U.K. Football) the team had lost its status in the premier league and was relegated to  the English Football League (EFL) Championship. Having done well throughout the season, this was their opportunity to really shine; however, none of the team members really believed they could win.

In fact, Ted had come to hear a phrase circling around the locker room as well as the offices and pub: “It’s the hope that kills you.” In other words, people seem to hold on to hope that they can defeat the odds. They hold on to hope that they can be David against their proverbial Goliaths; however, in reality, we all know that most Davids end up dead. That’s the way of the world. If one holds on to hope long enough, or so the cynics say, one will fall victim to defeat and the realization that all is hopeless.

That is a terrible way to think, but in this world it is the way things seem to work a majority of the time. Of course, that perception is really baseless because we really don’t know how things work a majority of the time; yet, we believe that all is hopeless because we cannot see the way that hope provides. In other words, it is due to our own blindness and an inability to see ways forward that we fail, not due to hope. Yes, we can fail in trying to attain things we hopefore; however, the real failure lies in not hoping at all.

That is exactly how Ted Lasso saw it. Sure, they could end up playing against their opponent and losing yet, if they played their hearts out, they could at least live with the fact that they tried. They could LIVE with that fact and try again the next time. If, however, they lost all hope they would not put in a 100% because what’s the point? Why try if you KNOW you are going to lose and all is hopeless?

It was then, in that realization, that Ted called them back to hope. He told them he didn’t like their phrase, “It’s the hope that kills you” very much because he believed it was hope that led you to salvation…to strive to be your very best…to attain things otherwise improbable. Ted told them that back where he’s from (Kansas) they also had a phrase or, more like, a question: “Do you believe in miracles?”

If you have hope in miracle, if you have hope that the improbable and even the impossible can happen because there is a Guiding Force above you, working in and through you to bring about the miracle you were created to be. Whether that is in athletics such as football or it is in mission and ministry within the church, each of us are called to be miracles. From the moment we were conceived we ARE miracles as life is never guaranteed to anyone. What’s more, since we are LVIING MIRACLES in this world, we are called to NOT ONLY believe, but live out our FAITH!

So, like Ted Lasso, I ask you this question: Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe that LIFE is a miracle and that, as such, you are a LIVING MIRACLE? If so, let me clue you into this: miracles exist to bring glory to God! That is our purpose and we can do that through whatever gifts and/or means God has given us! Let us not only believe in miracles, but BE MIRACLES in the world.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“I believe in hope. I believe in belief…Do you believe in miracles?” – Ted Lasso

PRAYER
Lord, help me to never lose my faith. Help my unbelief and give me the hope and faith that I need to move mountains in your name and for your glory. Amen.

Online Worship

June 18, 2023 – Newton UMC – Sunday Worship Livestream

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JOY Fellowship Worship Service in Holland Hall: 9:00 a.m.

Worship Service in Main Sancutary: 10:30 a.m.

Worship service streams live at 10:30 a.m. EST (-500 GMT)

Welcome to our live-streamed Sunday Worship Services for June 18, 2023. Today we learn that like Jesus, we lament the fact that the harvest is plenty but the workers are few; however, Jesus has already solved that “problem” through us!

Please support us by giving online: https://tithe.ly/give?c=1377216 or https://paypal.me/newtonumc Or you can make and mail a check out to First UMC of Newton, 111 Ryerson Ave., Newton, NJ O7860

God bless you all for your generosity which is vital to our mission and ministry.

Online Worship

June 11, 2023 – Newton UMC – Sunday Worship Livestream

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JOY Fellowship Worship Service in Holland Hall: 9:00 a.m.

Worship Service in Main Sancutary: 10:30 a.m.

Worship service streams live at 10:30 a.m. EST (-500 GMT)

Welcome to our live-streamed Sunday Worship Services for June 11, 2023. Today we learn that through our faith in Jesus Christ, and faith in Jesus Christ alone, we find our TRUE WORTH.

Please support us by giving online: https://tithe.ly/give?c=1377216 or https://paypal.me/newtonumc Or you can make and mail a check out to First UMC of Newton, 111 Ryerson Ave., Newton, NJ O7860

God bless you all for your generosity which is vital to our mission and ministry.

Online Worship

June 4, 2023 – Newton UMC – Sunday Worship Livestream

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JOY Fellowship Worship Service in Holland Hall: 9:00 a.m.

Worship Service in Main Sancutary: 10:30 a.m.

Worship service streams live at 10:30 a.m. EST (-500 GMT)

Welcome to our live-streamed Sunday Worship Services for June 4, 2023. Today we learn that God is relational and we are called to be relational too.

Please support us by giving online: https://tithe.ly/give?c=1377216 or https://paypal.me/newtonumc Or you can make and mail a check out to First UMC of Newton, 111 Ryerson Ave., Newton, NJ O7860

God bless you all for your generosity which is vital to our mission and ministry.