New Music: Wesley Prayer (Come Like a Fire)
“I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, Exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O Glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”
Thank God it's Over
Well, this year sucked. I know that's not exactly an unpopular or unbelievable statement, but it's probably not what you expected to read on a church blog. I hope you manage to disagree with me - maybe you had the best year ever! And if so, that's awesome.
If not: whether you point to celebrity deaths, the election, or your own personal tragedies to agree with me, I pray that 2017 is a better year for you, filled with happiness and prosperity.
(Here's 2016 reimagined as a horror movie trailer. You're welcome.)
That being said.
"Let me have Nothing"
The prayer at the beginning of this blog has been weighing on my mind all week. It's part of a traditional Wesleyan covenant renewal service we'll be celebrating together on Sunday morning - based by John Wesley on a prayer long since lost to time.
To be very, very honest - I struggle with that prayer. Despite what pop theology suggests, I don't believe that God is a micromanager of humanity, nor do I think that the members of the human race are glorified lemmings. That's clearly not Wesley's original intent here, but the popular notion of God as a glorified programmer writing the code of our lives could skew the concept for someone unfamiliar with Wesleyan theology. It certainly colors my initial understanding
Rev. Jeremy Smith, the Minister of Discipleship at First United Methodist Church in Portland, puts it this way:
"It is clearly commendable to begin the year with renewed commitment and dedication regardless of what the future may have in store. But the Methodist liturgy goes much further. Taken at face value in traditional form it strongly implies that our misfortunes may arise at the divine behest (‘Put me to what thou wilt, put me to suffering’ etc.) Would we suggest that to a friend in distress or to someone entrusted to us for counselling? I hope not. Rather our conviction is that God is our comforter in time of trouble rather than the author of life’s woes."
He continues, with a revision of the above prayer:
I wonder if the ancient language could be revised and the theology tweaked to better bring Wesleyanism again to a generation and context that needs a robust counter to Purpose-Driven Best Life Now Lifeway theology.
To address these concerns for my congregation and for post-Christian or non-Christian newcomers, this is my revision of the short version of Wesley’s Covenant Prayer. It’s more in the spirit of the Message translation of the Bible: it’s a paraphrase in common language, not a word-for-word replacement. Here it is:
I am not my own self-made, self-reliant human being.
In truth, O God, I am Yours.
Make me into what You will.
Make me a neighbor with those whom You will.
Guide me on the easy path for You.
Guide me on the rocky road for You.
Whether I am to step up for You or step aside for You;
Whether I am to be lifted high for You or brought low for You;
Whether I become full or empty, with all things or with nothing;
I give all that I have and all that I am for You.
So be it.
And may I always remember that you, O God, and I belong to each other. Amen.
The paraphrase cleared some things up for me, and I hope it clears them up for you as well.
I was told there would be music.
Ok, ok. What does any of this have to do with music? I was told there would be music.
Like I said earlier, this Sunday morning we'll celebrate a covenant renewal service using a modernized version of Wesley's prayer (don't worry, you won't have to say "wilt"). We'll also be singing Mark Swayze's fantastic arrangement of that same prayer. Watch the lyric and acoustic videos below, enjoy your New Year's Eve celebrations, don't party too hard (I'll be going to sleep early to get the year over with), and come commit 2017 to serving God this Sunday morning.
Happy New Year!
-Matt
Matt Dailey serves as Worship Director at Navarre UMC, and has been at the church since 2013. When he's not leading worship and designing graphics, he enjoys baseball, comic books and team trivia (his team is nationally ranked. #micdrop). Read more about Matt here.
Good News!
How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who brings good news,
the good news of peace and salvation,
the news that the God of Israel reigns!
The watchmen shout and sing with joy,
for before their very eyes
they see the Lord returning to Jerusalem.
Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song,
for the Lord has comforted his people.
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has demonstrated his holy power
before the eyes of all the nations.
All the ends of the earth will see
the victory of our God.
Isaiah 52:7-10, NLT
“Because Jesus is good news and Jesus is in me, I am Good news.”
It's easy to forget what the purpose of Christmas is. We think about the presents and the parties, and of course, Mary having to give birth in a stable. But how many times have you really sat down and thought about Christ being born? God came down to earth in human form.
Take a moment and watch this video about one woman's thoughts about Jesus's becoming the Incarnate God, or God becoming human.
The reason Christmas is the second most important day in the Christian year is because of God, the most powerful and most holy, made himself like us and came down to earth to be with us. He celebrated birthdays like us, ate like us, and slept like us.
We go through all of the craziness of Christmas and sometimes miss the whole point of it. God gave himself to us as a gift. It started when he was born as the baby Jesus, and it ended when he died and resurrected Easter morning.
This Christmas morning, I hope you'll enjoy your time with your family. If you come and worship with us, we will spend some time look further into this idea of the Good News of Christmas and what that has to do with the God who was born on Christmas morn.
Merry Christmas,
Faith
CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S FAITH NOTES.
Faith Parry serves as our Associate Pastor, and has been at the church since 2015. When she's not preaching and teaching, she enjoys documentaries and TV. Read more about Faith here.
Less than Perfect
Pretty Pretty Please
I’m trying to figure out when society became obsessed with perfection. I’ve been sitting at my desk for almost an hour trying to come up with the perfect blog post. Meanwhile, in the back of my head I’m trying to figure out the perfect present for my family, the perfect song to listen to, and the perfect lunch. Pinterest means every mom is expected to bring stellar desserts for their kids birthday party, decorations have to be spectacular yet cheap and of course made from all recycled materials. And teen girls will take about 7 selfies before finding the perfect one, not to mention they will spend about 16 minutes just setting up the “selfie session”. And while some this can easily go into a weird self diagnosed OCD realm, perfection is an expectation we all have.
When I visit other churches, I don’t enjoy myself. I’m too busy either trying to figure out ideas to bring back or critiquing them on what they should be doing better. I can pick out the one note in a 5 minute song that just fell a bit flat and fixate on it until I think the whole song and band were terrible. I’m starting to lose my passion for movies because they aren’t original enough, or when they are original they had bad acting or an under developed story line. My drive for perfection hasn’t increased the quality of my life, it’s starting to crash it. There are a few areas where I still really appreciate the art of perfection. I’m very happy that the doctor who preformed surgery on my hand didn’t make any mistakes. I really hope that the people who made my car did a perfect job.
Be Ye Perfect
But overall, we are obsessed with perfection. After all, Jesus did say “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” But perfection as society sees it is not exactly what he meant. Jesus was talking about loving your enemies, perfectly loving everyone as God perfectly loves them. This means that we have to stop holding others up to unrealistic expectations. They will not always be perfect, they will make mistakes, they will disappoint us in some way. But we will love them all the more because of that. It’s ok if my two year olds socks don’t match or if he has a bit of chocolate smeared on his shirt. My five year old will still love me and be excited no matter what Christmas morning, even if he doesn’t get the Wii U that he’s been asking for. No one is going to die if I accidentally hit a wrong chord, or if my phone goes off in church, or any of the other little things that I stress about during the day. Perfection in and of itself can come between us and loving each other. So drop the pretense, forget about trying to have everything just right, and simply love one another.
-Nathan
Nathan Persell serves as our Youth Director. When he's not leading devotions and playing basketball with teenagers, he enjoys disc golf and bike riding. Learn more about Nathan here.
Present!
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.
Isaiah 7:10-16, NRSV
Spelling Matters
Any talk of presence this time of year, makes you think of the kinds that come wrapped in paper and bows unless you pay close attention to the spelling or listen carefully for the “t” on the end of the pronunciation. This post will be about the kind you don’t wrap!
We all know what it is like to be with someone who is not present, even though they’re in the same room: the stereotypical husband watching football on TV or someone engrossed in their smartphone.
But what does it mean to be present with someone? It means the focus of your time is the other person and vice versa. It means that distractions are pushed away, and you are there to enjoy each other, laugh, cry, understand, or whatever. In some ways, it is easy to be present with another person because you can see, touch, and interact with them. It’s a little different when we talk about God being present with us.
God’s desire to be present with us is seen supremely in the incarnation – the birth of Jesus. It is not merely a metaphor when Matthew quotes Isaiah saying, “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us,” (Matthew 1:23).
The apostle Paul reminds us of God’s desire when he says of Jesus,
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5–8
Means of Grace
The real challenge, however, is not God being present to us, but us being present to God. Thankfully, God has provided some ways that we can be present to God in a very real way. God is not limited in the ways he is present to us, but he has promised to be with us in very particular ways. John Wesley and others called these the “means of grace” – the ways in which God has particularly ordained to meet us.
Wesley defined the means of grace as prayer, studying Scripture, fasting, worship, Holy Communion, Christian fellowship, (not coffee and cookies) and others acts as visiting the sick, those in prison and caring for the needs of the poor.
However, the practices themselves are of little value without being aware of God, having an expectation of God’s presence and attending to that presence. In a very real way, to sense God’s presence we must open and receptive to God’s interaction with us. When we are deliberate with our attention to God, as we would be with a friend, we will be aware of God’s presence in the joyful times and the troubling times.
God has gone to great lengths to present with us. Can we not show a similar kind of diligence to be present with him?
Blessings,
-Alan
CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S FAITH NOTES.
Alan Cassady serves as Senior Pastor at Navarre UMC, and has been at the church since 2011. When he's not preaching and teaching, he enjoys sci-fi movies and FSU Football. Read more about Alan here.
What is an Awakening?
“[an awakening is] a renewing work of God, a fresh inbreaking of the Spirit’s love and power, and an abundant ingathering of the reborn into the church”
What is an Awakening?
©Dustin Rosenburg Photography
In 1730, there was a spiritual movement called the First Great Awakening that lasted till around 1745. At the heart of this movement was John Wesley in England, then it stretched to Scotland with Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield spread it throughout the American colonies.
Then, in the early 1800s, the Second Great Awakening started in Lexington with the Methodists again, spreading to Tennessee during the Revolutionary War. Churches multiplied four-fold.
But what is an awakening? It's when God's Spirit moves and causes amazing results that can only be attributed to God. Communities are changed through God's acts and transformed. This movement of God's spirit is contagious.
How do Awakenings Happen?
“Travailing prayer is not the only thing we do. But it is the first thing, and the most important thing.”
David Thomas explains in his book To Sow for a Great Awakening, that "How" is the question he spent 6 years trying to answer. In the end, the answer was simply, prayer. Well, not quite that simple.
While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. - Hebrews 5:6, NLT
Pray Earnestly
©Dustin Rosenburg Photography
Thomas explains that we must pray to God for others in earnest and travail. He explains that travail is, "a kind of burdened, focused pressing—seems closer to the throbbing core of prayer in Scripture," (p. 15). He explains that scripture doesn't talk anywhere about causal prayer, but always about prayer that is a person emptying his or her heart to God of whatever emotions are there.
If we pray publicly in prayer meetings for the unchurched earnestly, it can be the most powerful witness for God's love. We need to show people that our hearts agonize over the souls that are lost.
Will you Take up The Call?
Would you be willing to take up the call to pray with earnest and travail for the unchurched? Could you let your prayers hit your heart on an emotional state? Will you express your compassion to God on their behalf?
“Awakening is messy and costly to people who love it and long for it. Reputation is the first thing to go in this kind of praying and leading. Jesus taught that our seeds have to die before anything will grow (John 12:24). And maybe it comes to mind what it is you may need to buy for awakening to spring up: distraction, pride, an attitude of expertise, self-sufficiency, being hip, affluence, avoidance, ease.”
I'm willing to take up the call if you are.
-Faith
Fill out the form below if you'd like to join me on this call to pray for the unchurched.
Faith Parry serves as our Associate Pastor, and has been at the church since 2015. When she's not preaching and teaching, she enjoys documentaries and TV. Read more about Faith here.