Taking Flight Part 1: Born to Fly

“Taking Flight Part 1:  Born to Fly”

By: Pastor Andy Whaley

This past week Sam and I were out on the playground in our neighborhood, and as is the case almost every time we are there, Sam ran over to the swing set and cried out with great joy and excitement, “Daddy, Swing me.”  As I walked over to the swing set I reached down and picked up this barely 3 foot tall bundle of life and set him alight upon his aircraft of choice – a light blue swing with slightly rusted chains – second from the right.  I gently took up my fatherly duty to swing him, and immediately the cries of, “higher, higher, higher daddy! – to infinity and beyond” rang out across the playground. I began to bubble up with fatherly pride and joy as other parents looked over to see who this suburban daredevil was. 

As he was swinging I engaged the fatherly task of instructing my boy on the proper way to take flight and keep flying – kick your feet up, drop ‘em down, straighten your legs, bend your knees – real simple instructions with practical and meaningful effect – someday!

But this day, as I am pushing him and calling out the instructions, Sam turns his head mid-flight and cries out to me, “Daddy do you see the plane.” “Yes!”, I replied,  “he is really flying high through the clouds, and going very fast isn’t he.”  And with child-like simplicity, alarming honesty, and deep sincerity written across his face he said, “Daddy, I think I forgot how to fly.“  I was taken aback for just a second by this statement so I did the only dad thing I knew to do and asked, “Did you know how to fly before.”  And Sam simply and very matter-of-factly replied, “Of Course, didn’t you?”

Then he said to me, “Daddy if you keep pushing me – I will remember!”

You see we were all born to fly – we just struggle throughout our lives with remembering how at times.  Sometimes it takes a 3 ½ year old boy to remind me of how simple it really is.  That’s exactly what today’s gospel reading is all about – Jesus coming to the river Jordan to be dunked under the rushing waters – bending his knees low as he goes under, and then suddenly flying up out of the water again, legs shot straight! It is in that moment that Jesus taught us all how to fly. He took all the dead weight that world had to offer, the stuff we all have inside us that would prevent us from ever being able to get off the ground and he took it all down with him deep into the waters – drowning it and leaving it there, and then he gave us all the freedom to soar higher than we could ever have imagined, when he shot back up out of the waters and into the air.  He did this to fulfill all righteousness – he said.  Freeing us from our sin and empowering us to fly to the highest of heights with him.  And as he did this for you and for me His Father looked down at Him and said, “This is my son in whom I find great delight – I love watching Him fly.”

In our baptism – we were all born to fly, just like Jesus!  And even though we may forget how, at times, our Father is always right there with us – pushing us once again, calling out simple instructions – bend your knees, kick your legs straight; go down deep into the waters, and shoot high into the air once again!

As Sam kept swinging and another glorious Texas twilight began to set in with the glorious colors she paints on the clouds - the oranges, the pinks, the reds, and the purples against a blue/graying sky, I noticed that Sam had become very quite.  And as he leaned his head back ever so slightly to feel the wind in his hair as he soared back and forth, higher and higher, I noticed that his eyes were closed and an amazing childish grin had spread wide across his face, and I asked him, “Sam, what are you doing – and he answered, “remembering how to fly daddy!”

And All God’s people said – Amen!

- Andy

From the Tip of a Finger

"From the Tip of a Finger."

By: Pastor Jack Schneider

 “By Him all things were created...He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”  [Col. 1:16,17, NIV]

You are incredible!

No, this is not some “Pump ‘em up, Pastor!” speech, designed to cure the blues, increase self-esteem and increase Sunday offerings.  Nothing of the sort.  Now, granted, all those things might well happen when you and I consider just how incredible we are by God’s creating hand, but that’s not the agenda.  Honest. 

How incredible are you?  How’s this for starters…  God made you, by His intelligent -- no, His brilliant design in such a way that medical researchers have now learned we can safely and simply transform pinches of human skin into actual, functional, life-saving human blood.  Sure, the everyday production is still on the horizon, but we know we can do it.

So what’s the big deal about that?  Stay with me now; it’s worth it.

First, it means we’ll be able to personalize patient blood production for the first time ever.  The worry of cross-matching and rejection risks will be minimalized; safety will go up. 

Second, it means cancer patients will be able to have “clean” transplant cells without the same genetic problems as their tumor.  This is huge, because this modern medical miracle is “a seminal contribution” to the rapidly evolving field of stem-cell research, said the director of the Canadian Stem Cell Network [and Regenerative Medicine Program].  “That one can play with the fate of a cell and force it sideways into something that it doesn’t at all resemble, and then being able to use it, is tremendously exciting.”

Brothers and sisters, that paragraph is why I said above “it’s worth it.”  The day is coming when no one, even an unbeliever, can credibly claim in the name of science that the destruction of a child is necessary for the harvest of stem cells -- not when we can get what we need from the tip of a finger.

To use Paul’s words to the Colossians further, “My purpose is that [you] may be encouraged in heart and united in love… I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.”

You are incredible, and so is your God, Who made you in His image.

- Pastor Jack

Kids Are Still Kids

"Kids Are Still Kids." 

By: Pastor Jack Schneider

“All this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus: live with joy; pray constantly; give thanks regardless.  Respect Spirit-driven admonishment; test everything and keep what’s good, avoiding all evils.”  [1 Thess.5:16-22, PJV]

Having raised three marvelous kids who also happened to be typical adolescents and teens, I couldn’t help but chuckle upon reading these verses.  The picture that comes to mind for me is that of mom and dad preparing to head out the door, carefully giving last-minute instructions on what to do and what NOT to do, knowing full well anything not covered in the most specific detail would undoubtedly become a topic later under these words: “Well, you didn’t say we couldn’t….”  Yep, been there; done that.

So now, here’s Paul, who never married nor children, but if ever there was a time when he acted and sounded like a parent giving this type of last minute instructions, this is it!  Only difference is, these aren’t teens -- they’re adults, albeit sinful adults just like you and me who also struggle daily with our flesh and the world around us.  And no, he wasn’t selling this congregation short on their faith; he simply knew what it was like to wait in faith for Jesus to come back and take us to heaven [see vv.23-24].

Nothing has changed.  Kids are still kids.  People are still people, both sinners and forgiven saints.  Temptation is still as powerful as ever.  Pride and anger are just as deadly as they’ve always been, both outside the church and among the Body of Christ.  And what’s absolutely awesome is that someone who’s never been a parent -- someone like Paul -- can give great counsel to the rest of us because he understands what it’s like to live in submission and obedience to the Word by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He knows that’s where we find life -- Eternal Life -- in Jesus Christ alone.

Same letter, same chapter, but zip back over to verses 5 & 6 with me: “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day.  We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.”  There you go.  Hey, kids, just remember who you are.  My instructions will be short and sweet, without a lot of details.  We’re not going to get bogged down in the law like the Pharisees; look what it got them.  Let’s live by love, let’s live by light; let’s live in the day, not the night.  I don’t have to say, “You can’t do this, you can’t do that…,” because Jesus instead spent His time saying “Let Me show you what you CAN do.”

“By this will all people know you are My disciples: whether you love one another.” [Jn.13:35]

Just do it, and I’ll see you later.

- Pastor Jack

Worship: Beyond the Act of Singing.

"Worship:  Beyond the Act of Singing."

By: KC Knippa

 

“Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
       the world, and all who live in it.   Let the rivers clap their hands,  Let the mountains sing together for joy;  let them sing before the LORD!” [Psalm 98:7-9, NIV]

Recently, I had the privilege to attend an amazing worship conference, led by many leading thinkers and shakers within the current Christian culture.  The best part of this conference was the fact that it challenged me to rethink the reasons for and purpose of what worship truly is… asking the simple, yet complex question, “Why do we sing?”

Have you ever thought about that before?

On the surface, this question appears to be simple, but when you really think about it, it begins to blow your mind! (Or at least, it did for me.)  Out of all the things; the sounds, noises, or actions that a human can make… Why is it that we choose to sing in order to praise our Lord?

For me, the conclusion that I have drawn is twofold:

First, we sing because it is truest form of emotional expression a person can make.  I have heard that physiologically speaking, the sound of singing and the effort to do so is related the closest to that of moaning… a deep guttural expression running the gambit of anything from happiness to pain… complete joy or anguish.  Now think about that in light of worship… Singing is the only way that we could possibly lift up in adoration the full complexity of emotions that our awesome Lord desires and deserves!

Which leads in to my second conclusion, that we sing because it is the closest expression we have to the divine.  Think about it, scripture is littered with this idea, explaining about how the Lord sings over his people or about how creation constantly rejoices and sings to the Lord.  Music has always been ethereal in nature… an art form to help us more fully understand the world around us… a precious gift from God, linking His people, to Him. 

So maybe the question shouldn’t be “Why do we sing?” but instead, “Why wouldn’t we sing?”  When it comes down to it, reflecting on all that the Lord has done for us… creation, salvation, and transformation… How can we not sing praises to God?

Besides, when we come together and lift up our voices, we are simply just joining the chorus of praise that creation has already been singing since before time began. 

Are you singing yet?

- KC

They Don't Believe... But They Know.

"They Don't Believe... But They Know."

By: Pastor Jack Schneider

“We pray this so you may live a life worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in every good work, growing in knowledge and being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might.  May you have great endurance and patience and joyfully give thanks to the Father Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light!”  [Col.1:10-12, NIV]

Man, that’s some prayer!  It shows Paul took seriously his role as mentor of God’s people and, hopefully, that they took seriously their role as students of God’s Word.  I know we’re doing that on this campus today because Pastor Andy stated this as one of our goals: Biblical literacy.

Interestingly, the newest Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has found from a survey of 3,400 Americans that, on average, atheists and agnostics are better with answers to factual questions about religion than Protestants and Catholics.  No joke.  When given 32 basic religious questions, average Americans answered only 16 correctly.  Mormons and evangelicals did better on questions about the Bible and Christianity; Jews and atheists/agnostics scored higher in areas about world religions and religion in public life.  To quote the tag-line from the newspaper article reporting this event, they don’t believe, but they know.

Hmmm.  Sounds like we need more prayers, doesn’t it…and more study, too.  You see, skeptics prepare themselves because they want to discuss the topic intelligently and from a position of understanding.  Unfortunately, it does not speak well of Christians when we come across as uninformed and disrespectful toward others.  When Paul spoke to the crowds on Mars’ Hill in Athens, he spoke with knowledge, with respect, and with effect.

Remember why we’re here.  Go back to the Great Commission of Matt.28 and the unique translation so fondly spoken around here.  “While you’re doing whatever it is you’re doing, make sure you’re doing this: making disciples.”  It has been said people don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.  This begins with our immersion in God’s Book of Wonders, His life-giving Word, and it’s lived out in the way we sit and listen, share and pray in the name of Christ.  At last Wednesday’s “Digging Deeper” class ten folks ran through the 32 questions from the survey.  No one missed more than three.  Now, we can either feel smug about that, or we can ask, “How are we doing at loving our neighbor in Jesus’ name?”

Where do you think we all need to start?



- Pastor Jack