Office 2/17/17 Office 2/17/17

Trustworthy

So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

2 Peter 1:19–21 (NRSV)

Fake News

A new term has entered our vocabulary this election cycle – fake news. Earlier some of called things like this urban legends, but now it has evolved. Fake news is news that is extremely partisan politically and misleading or false. An expert in this area has documented more than 50 websites completed devoted to fake news.

This news gets posted to Facebook, and people share it without even checking to see if it is real. This phenomenon can lead a breakdown of trust in all news. When we see a headline in any of our social media feeds, how do we know it is true? It can also erode trust in other areas as well.

Some people see the books of Scripture in a cynical way. Some people think the writers of scripture were putting out the ancient form of fake news or propaganda. How do we push past the cynicism to trust the Scriptures as the early Christians did?

Trustworthy

Seeing the Scriptures as trustworthy starts with our trust of God. We believe God is completely trustworthy primarily because of the testimony of others. It may seem like circular reasoning, but you must start somewhere. Other people can tell us about God’s faithfulness in their lives, and that leads us to investigate things for ourselves. We turn to Scripture and find that other people had found God trustworthy, even when things did not turn out right for them or when God did not do what they expected.

As we begin to investigate further, we discover that the text of the Scriptures was transmitted carefully and accurately. We look at other evidence from history or archaeology which confirms many of the things we read in Scripture. When we trust the things we can verify, we can trust the message it conveys.

Much of the witness of the Scriptures comes to us through eye-witness testimony. People, like you and me, saw, heard, and experienced things they were not expecting. They wrote those things down so we could experience them as well.

Throughout the history of the church, people have read the words of Scripture, trusted the God those Scriptures and testified that their lives were changed for the better. And not just their lives, but the whole world!

Sure, some people misunderstood the message, perverted the message and used for selfish ends, but that doesn’t change the trustworthiness of the message itself – it, in fact, confirms it. How do we know people misunderstood, perverted, and used the Word for self-serving ends? Because of the Scriptures. We can compare the actions of those people with what we read in Scripture and know that they got it wrong, sometimes very wrong.

In worship this week we will look at the trustworthiness of our Scriptures and explore different ways to see that they are worthy of our trust.

Blessings,

Alan

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.

Office 2/9/17 Office 2/9/17

Relevant

Out with the old?

Often I hear the question, “What does a book written 2,000 years ago have to do with me? It's a sentiment many people express about the Bible. They just can’t understand how something that old could be relevant to their lives today.

It's a valid concern. We don't want to blindly follow a text that is old and may not have anything to do with us.

That question, however, reveals a certain chronological snobbery. Many think newer things are better, just because they are new. J-Other disciplines would never dream of holding that attitude. The discoveries of physics, mathematics or history build on one another. Imagine what life would be like if we had to discover math, astronomy, physics of history all over again in every generation. We would never make any progress because we would always be re-inventing the wheel (sometimes literally).

The ancient Romans knew this well. As a general course, in areas such as religion and philosophy the Romans viewed with suspicion anything new. Some even rejected the Christian faith because was a new religion. They trusted the time-tested truths and rejected novel ideas.

As much as we would like to think that we are more evolved, sophisticated and enlightened, we are not significantly different from humans who lived 4,000 years ago. The same moral issues that plagued them, still plague us today. Notice the list of vices in this passage:

Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

- 1 Corinthians 6:9–11

Do we still have problems with these issues? Of course - just turn on the evening news or browse the tabloids in your local supermarket. Would this be a better world if people refrained from those behaviors? Yes!

When it comes to the issues at the core of the human heart, the Bible is as relevant today as it was in the time of Moses or Jesus. What we need to do is find ways to apply its teachings to our lives.

Blessings!

-Alan

Office 2/7/17 Office 2/7/17

I don't like to pray - An Update

Writer's Block

Ok - moment of honesty. I'm a chronically late person, and I'm terrible at deadlines. I'm also in a pretty sustained period of stress-induced writers block. I'm in the middle of writing at least five different blogs, three of which are for this space, but I can't seem to finish one.

Despite all of those things, I have a deadline set for today by my dragon of a managing editor (full disclosure: his name rhymes with Bat Bailey) and I need to deliver. So with that in mind, here's an update on my November blog:

I still don't like to pray

...but I'm trying harder.

For the original blog, click here.

I've never received more feedback on a piece of writing than I did on "I don't like to pray." - which tells me two things: 1. People appreciate truth, and 2. Other people feel like I do. That is unbelievably comforting as both a dedicated seeker of truth and someone who struggles consistently with imposter syndrome. I don't think I ever understood how common of an issue prayer is in the modern church; I grew up around "prayer warriors" and I just thought that was how everyone over 25 treated prayer. (SPOILERS: I'm 26, and I haven't hit prayer warrior status.) So as a reminder - if you feel like prayer just doesn't come naturally for you, you're not alone. The blog linked above has some great resources, but I wanted to share a bit of my progress as well.

I've recently attended a few Centering Prayer groups (More Info), and I've found that centering prayer is really my cup of tea. Centering Prayer is a practice defined by silence, which on the outside sounds terrifying to most people but is unbelievably comforting to me as an introvert who is constantly surrounded by extroverts, music, and loud noises. I've found centering prayer to be a welcome addition to my week, though it's hard to do alone without a large amount of discipline.
I've continued to enjoy Shane Claiborne's Book of Common Prayer, and the February readings and prayers have been unbelievably insightful, especially in light of the current political climate. A prayer that has stuck out for me: "Lord, remind us that it is not always agitated uprisings and nonstop activity which lead to justice, but that change often comes through the quiet commitment of a small group of people. Help us raise our small body of people to set about quietly becoming the change we want to see in the world. Amen."
And finally, here's the prayer I've been praying this week, in the midst of some personal turmoil, courtesy of the 2017 Abington Worship Annual:

Choosing life sounds like such an easy thing to do,

yet it always ends up being difficult.

Choosing life means letting go of our resentments.

It means forgiving the injuries we have received.

It means taking the high road.

It means we are called to be better,

that we may receive the blessings

that true life bestows.

Be blessed.

-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.

Office 2/2/17 Office 2/2/17

The Book

The Bible is the most read and best-selling book in the world. According to a 2012 article on the Business Insider website, 3.9 billion copies of the Bible were sold in the last 50 years. The next closest competitors are The Quotations of Chairman Mao (820 million) and the Harry Potter series (400 million). So, it is not a stretch to say the Bible is one of the most important books of all time.

Often, however, the Bible is sorely neglected by many of the people who claim to believe it. Why? Well, there are many reasons. Some do not think it is important. Others wonder if it is relevant. Still, others question whether it is trustworthy. But many simply do not understand it.

For the next few weeks, we are going to explore those questions and even try to answer some of your questions.

One of the most important passages regarding the importance of Scripture comes from Paul’s second letter to Timothy, one of his protégés.

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17).

In the context of a first-century church. The scripture Paul refers to is what we would call the Old Testament because the New Testament was in the process of being written.

The Bible is important, as Paul says because it makes us competent and prepared for the good things God wants us to do. If we are to be competent and prepared, we should allow the Bible to teach us, reprove us, correct us and train us in our life with God.

Entire essays could be written on how the Scriptures accomplish each of those tasks but suffice it to say, God uses his word in those ways for the primary aim of preparing us for the work we are called to do.

"We are all called to lift up God through our words and actions as his people, or as Jesus put it, we are to let our good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise [our] heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16, NLT). Which fits nicely with our vision, “To Be a light to the Emerald Coast and beyond.”

Blessings,

Alan

Click Here to read this week's Faith Notes.

Office 1/31/17 Office 1/31/17

Drawing in my Bible

About a year or so ago, I stumbled upon this growing community of people who doodle, paint, sticker, and illustrate right in the pages of their Bible. I joined a Facebook group that was filled of people sharing their Biblical art. As I have watched, and attempted to learn myself, I have learned some things and thought I would share them with you.

Bible Journaling is About Expression Not Perfection

So, I'll just say that I am not a very good artist. I can't draw at all. So, I do a lot of tracing and such. As a perfectionist, I love that it isn't about making something perfect, but trying to find ways to express the scripture passage in a way that speaks to me. Sometimes things come out the way they are in my head and sometimes they don't. In the end, it's the interaction with the art and the scripture passage that matter. Art has been used as a form of worship for centuries. This is a new way to take art to a personal level.

I Can't Compare My Art to Someone Else

Worship is between me and God. When I am singing, I can't compare myself to someone else. The same is true when it comes to Biblical art (or any other form of art). The key for something being worship is us doing it for God, not others. As I watched people in the Facebook group I was in, I watched them struggle with not getting caught up with the approval of others. There is a difference in being encouraged by others and seeking people's affirmation. When we worship God, we only seek his affirmation.

It's a Learning Process

Pencil Tracing, Acrylic Paint Scraping, and White Pen — *Pencil Tracing, Acrylic Paint Scraping, and White Pen*

Every page I do is an opportunity to learn. On the last Friday of every month we gather together to learn new ways to interact with art and the scriptures through an instructional video then practice the techniques. When you do something for the first time, you're going to make mistakes. That's ok. It's a learning process. Learning what works for you, what you like, and what you don't like is what make things unique. Everyone has their own style and personality and that come out in art. Click Here to see what we are learning right now.

*Vellum Printed by Computer Inserted in Bible*

We have created a Navarre Facebook community for sharing and encouraging one another in the journaling of worshiping through Biblical art. If you're interested in getting started, or want to connect with others who love it, then join us. We're small, but everyone is enjoying learning this next form or worship and scripture interaction.

Happy Drawing!

Faith

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.