Christianity

What? Did I just miss the point? (Sermon November 10, 2013)

Scripture: Luke 20:27-38

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who tried to present themselves, as an expert in an area, but in reality know nothing about the topic? It is even worse when you happen to have an extensive knowledge in an area in which they speak but they seem to be unable to acknowledge their error. I have been in many of these conversations sometimes they can be very funny but in many cases they can quickly devolve into an argument because often people do not like to be corrected of their ignorance. Yes I use the term ignorance because that is what most of these discussions are, they are without proper knowledge and because of that they are presenting things improperly. And I willing admit that at times I am the ignorant person in some conversations.

I remember several conversations that I have had with people as I worked as an overnight sales floor associate, many of these conversations moved into the areas of what the Christian view is on many areas. In most of the cases the ignorance was a willful ignorance, meaning they had no desire to gain proper knowledge but would continue to spread their faulty ideas. This was most prevalent when the discussion was over the Christian response to Islam. I was often worried about the direction these discussions would take because I knew that most people involved were working with limited knowledge over the subject matter, on both sides. For example many of my Islamic friends were debating with the assumption that all Christians believed in three gods, those gods being the Father, Jesus the Son, and Mary. Many of the Christians were debating thinking that all Islamic groups were the same as well not realizing that there are two major groups. It got to the point that I actually asked one of my Islamic friends to read a book from which I gained what knowledge I had over their faith and asked them to let me know where the presentation was inaccurate. They actually jumped at the opportunity, which opened them up to asking questions as well about their ignorance of Christianity.

I would try to stay out of many of these discussions because a fool seems wise until they open their mouths, and I did not want to look the fool. Each side would gear up to debate, and to argue their points but neither would really listen to the other party. I had one friend that took me aside once and demanded that I prove my faith to him, saying, “If you prove that your faith is true I will convert.” What a great door opening up to me, I wanted to speak, but instead I said to him, “I will answer any questions you have about my faith and how my faith has changed my life, but I will not debate. Because there is nothing that I can say that could say in an argument that would convince you fully.” I left the conversation feeling that maybe I missed a great opportunity to encourage this man’s life, but I also felt that it was the correct answer to the situation. He did ask several questions over the course of our time working together, but I did not push. Eventually he told me that he was going to transfer but he enjoyed our discussions, he admitted to me that he did question many teaching of both religions and asked me if I had ever struggled. I was totally honest with him, telling him that yes I question my faith every day, I study and pray daily wanting to continually prove to myself that I am not just grasping wind. That is part of Christianity we can doubt, question, and seek answers. I told him that Jesus even encourages us to do these things. Which allowed me to tell him that in all my searching I always come back to the same thing I always come back to Jesus. This then opened a door for me to provide him some of the resources I used to come to my conclusions, he accepted the books that I offered and we went on our way.

Often times we want to prove that we are right. We will push forward in a debate with the goal to prove our points and actually miss the questions being asked. We in our attempts to win people for Christ can miss the point. That is what religion often does. Religion is a human attempt to explain or reach the divine. It is a human attempt. This means that in the attempt our explanation will by default be tinted by human experience and perspective. That perspective can be incorrect at any given point. I am not saying that it is wrong out right, but it may not tell the entire truth. Theology is a fascinating field of study because there are several different perspectives to explore, each opening a new window of light from which we can view the human interaction with God. The danger in theology and what has gotten all denominations in trouble is when they decide that their perspective of theology is correct and without error. I say that it is dangerous because that view assumes that we then have total knowledge of God and there is no longer any room to question.

This is where division enters communities. Last week many followers of Jesus in many traditions celebrated Reformation Day. It is a very important day because it prompted many people to again question what they say they believe, to seek answers and to find God. But along with that day it also started a battle between religious power structures that both claimed to have total truth, yet their views differed. It is a day that marks the division of Catholic and Protestant. It is a day of celebration and in the same breath a day of sorrow. There is not unity in the Church, there is not room for different ideas or perspectives, and in many ways we celebrate ignorance. In all of our arguments could we actually miss the point?

That is where we find Jesus in today’s passage. There is a group of people coming to him asking a theological question. In the New Testament we see the interaction between two schools of thought among the Jewish people the Pharisee viewpoint and that of the Sadducee. In many ways they believe the same things, the essentials are all there, the difference comes in the areas that are unclear in scripture. In this particular case it deals with marriage.

The question comes as to whom is the woman married to in the resurrection? That is the question presented but is that the real question asked? As I read this passage I sense a couple of extra questions; what is marriage, and what is resurrection are two that come to mind. The Sadducee, it states, does not believe in the resurrection from the dead, yet they ask this question, because there is an aspect of the extension of life that is unclear in scripture. Just by observation and in my own personal ignorance of ancient Jewish traditions I would say that the Sadducee understanding of resurrection would be in the physical linage or becoming parents. There was a reason that Moses wrote the law and if there are no children the question is was the life of these seven brothers in vain?

There is also a question of marriage. The law states that if a woman’s husband dies without a child the brother of the man must take the woman as his wife and bear children in the brother’s name. Is the point of marriage only in the bearing of children?

These are questions that the scholars and theologians of ancient times struggled with. Each group was certain that they had the correct answer to the presented question, but did they miss the entire point of question. Jesus begins to answer the question by saying, “those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.”  Those worthy of that age do not marry, why? “Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

This speaks volumes about marriage, life, death, and resurrection. What is marriage? In the beginning God said that it was not good for man to be alone, so God created woman. The beginning point of marriage is that it is not good for mankind to be alone. That life is to be lived in relationship. Marriage first and foremost is friendship. The story goes on to say that Adam and Eve, our first parents, walked through the garden naked and unashamed. This also says that in relationship there is vulnerability, intimacy, and trust. No hiding, no secrets, just naked and unashamed. That kind of intimacy is difficult to obtain which is where God comes in.

We as humans are bound by fear. We live in the constant fear of being known. The fear is that if people were to know us deeply that we would be found lacking in some way. So we prop ourselves us sewing together ideas that become masks and walls. These masks and walls became the perspectives from which we relate to everyone around us. You fear and out of your fear, you judge me and everyone else around you in certain ways. We are either allies that can prop us our image or enemies to be marginalized. In our fear we live alone, we live contrary to the will of God, and are dead.

God is not the God of the dead but the living. You can only have relationships with the living. This brings to light the questions of life, death, and resurrection. The Lord is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, Moses heard these statements centuries after these men died yet God was speaking about them not in the past tense but the present. When we are in relationship with God true life continues beyond our understanding of time. It is life then, now, and evermore. This cannot be explained adequately from a human perspective. For some it speaks of heritage as we have children or influence the lives of others our life continues with them. Others see it in a mystical spiritual perspective that is supernatural. People argue over the meaning but both could be equally correct or incorrect.

What does Jesus mean in his answer? Marriage is focused not on the legal aspects of matrimony but on the relational aspects of life together, joining together and proceeding through time not alone but as one unit. Life is not defined by the time between birth and burial but extends beyond the realm of time and space. So what do we know for sure? We do not know anything fully. At best we are ignorant because it is impossible to have full knowledge in the areas beyond our human senses. No matter what our best science and observations seem lacking. Even our greatest theologies can seem to have holes that we cannot fully explain. The point is that it is ok not to have all the answers, as long as we are willing to ask questions. It is ok to lack understanding as long as we do not build a wall around our ignorance. The main things is that Life is more important that being right. Life must be lived, honored, and protected. Does it matter whom the woman is married to? No it is that she was not alone. Our Lord is for the living and the living can only be seen and understood in our current human perspective. They are the people walking all around us. To participate in God’s life with others that should be our focus. It is not good for man to be alone. That is why God Himself came to live among mankind, to take on all the fear, shame, and death that separates us from true relationships, and to lift us up to His glory. Never more to be alone, but Emmanuel, God With Us.

In all of our debates and arguments let us not forget that one perspective. Does our stance protect and honor life? Does our theology leave room for the marginalized? Are we leaving people alone and without hope or are we sharing with them life with a living God?

A Wee Little Man Grew (Sermon November 3, 2013)

Zacchaeus Tree (Photo credit: KOREphotos)

Scripture: Luke 19:1-10

My family is and has always been extended. I have cousins that are just as close to me as my own brother and sisters, and an uncle who is eleven years older than me. The thing about my uncle is he is ten years younger than my mom, so in many cases he was like an older brother to me, and the fact that my grandparents live only a couple of miles away just intensified the closeness of my extended family because we were always together. I mention this because I remember when my uncle went to college. It was probably the first time I ever thought about what I would do when I got older. My uncle would come home in shiny purple jackets, he was in a band, he drove a Camaro, and he would always spend time with us. He made a tradition in our family, one that I miss since I now live in Kansas City and cannot make it home nearly enough. Every Thanksgiving evening he would load up the car and take all of the kids to see a movie. For those of you that grew up in an urban setting this may not seem like a big deal but I grew up a mile from the middle of nowhere, and it took an hour to get to the nearest movie theater. Every Thanksgiving evening, after we spent the afternoon gorging ourselves with turkey and pie, we would then drive for an hour hearing stories of the great and wondrous city of Manhattan and the amazing Kansas State University.

I loved K-State, because my uncle went to school there. I loved the football, the basketball, and the idea of one day attending that university someday myself. My passion grew as I grew older when my uncle took over the family farm and I began to work for him. As we worked I continued to hear the stories of college life. Then one day my uncle, who would often times leave for a weekend to revisit K-State, invited me to go with him to a Kansas State football game. I was filled with anticipation, I was actually going to go to this place that might as well have been heaven for my young mind, I dressed in my most prized garment, a t-shirt my uncle imported from one of the many store in Aggie Ville, and I was about to get a glimpse of the college life. The game, the stadium, the marching band, the team, and the campus were everything I imagined it could be, and I was hooked. I would forever be a fan of Kansas State University.

To me that was the greatest goal of my life, to one day be a student of that school. It was my only option, and I would not even listen to other opinions I was a K-Stater and that was it. Sure I had heard of other schools, places like Yale, Harvard, or Kansas University but those were not equal to K-State in my mind. There was only one place for me.

I mention this because the enthusiasm of my uncle for the school he chose to attend inspired me to strive for something. I never entertained the possibility of not attending college; it never crossed my mind to just get a job without furthering my education. Going to go to college was set in my mind in Junior High, and from that moment on everything that I did was focused on that singular goal.

If you know me at all you know that the dream of attending Kansas State University did not become a reality in my life. I had to make compromises at first because financially I could not afford a university, and then tragedy struck my family sixteen years ago. When my little sister and brother were in a car accident, which took my sister away. That one event changed everything in my life, for a while I was lost. I questioned everything and I began making choices that were not the best, and life began to change. My dream of going to K-State was just a dream; it urged me to do the best I could. It directed my path to a point. But that dream also distracted me from something. I have often wondered when I first began hearing the call to become a pastor? Through various spiritual exercises that I have participated in I have found that I first began to hear the calls of Christ around the same time the dream of K-State was taking form. But I did not listen. I had such a desire to attend Kansas State University that in all of my striving to make the dream come true I missed the calling of God. I say that the death of my sister caused me to lose direction but in all honesty I would now have to admit that I was running from God.

The good news is that in those mistakes God worked them out for the good. I can hardly see them as mistakes now, because the responsibility of a son at the age of 20 caused me to attend a school closer to home so I could be as good of a dad as possible. Because I attended Fort Hays State University instead of Kansas State, I become involved with a campus ministry, which took me across the ocean and Europe to Ukraine. Because of that trip I began to listen again to the call that had been silenced in the purple haze, which led me to Kansas City with the hopes of attending a seminary here.

Enough about me, but I tell you this because it is the story of my life that has brought me to this place. And in many ways that is what Luke is speaking of when he wrote this passage about Zacchaeus.

For those of us that attended vacation bible school every summer for most of our childhood we cannot read this story without singing the song that goes along with it. And because of that song I have had trouble focusing this week. Every week I read the passage of scripture several times, I spend time praying with the scripture and meditating on it, I read commentaries and various web pages. I get distracted thinking about how great it is to live in a time where we have more access to knowledge than ever before, and then I repeat the cycle again. I go to bed thinking about the passage and dreaming about the passage, but this week I had a little child’s song running through my head and I was not really able to get around it.

I waited, prayed, waited some more, read, and hummed. I realized all of my focus was on the amazing work that Jesus did in the life of Zacchaeus. Do not get me wrong that is a wonderful place to get stuck in study, but that was not what was to be spoken of today. I began to think of Zacchaeus instead. Imagining what was going through his mind that day, imagining what was driving this man. All at once I realized that this is not just a story of Jesus but it is the testimony of this wee little man whose greatest claim to fame was that he got caught climbing a tree as an adult.

It is his testimony written from Jesus’ perspective. I say this because Luke wrote his Gospel not as a witness to the events personally but as a man who listened to the stories of those that were there. He penned these words to give an account to a man named Theophilus who we can only assume wanted to know the truth about who Jesus was. Luke interviewed, investigated, and wrote his account carefully. This story of Zacchaeus was one of those accounts carefully investigated by Luke. Luke very well could have spoken with Zacchaeus and asked him about his tree hugging day. And that interview started by Zacchaeus telling about his past.

Zacchaeus was a tax collector. He was very good at his job and the government made him the chief tax collector, allowing him to amass great wealth. Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector on one of the greatest trade routes of the ancient world. Everything from the east going to Rome came through Jericho. Zacchaeus and those he supervised collected the trade tariffs on all of those goods. You see Palestine in the ancient days was the frontier of the Roman Empire, it was on the eastern edge of western civilization, and to the east was the remnant of the fallen Persian Empire, which was buffered by smaller puppet nations much like Eastern Europe was to the Soviet Union. So Jericho was where the customs office was located. Zacchaeus managed all the trade from east to west.

He also was ridiculed for his size, which is probably what drove him to seek powerful offices outside of the Hebrew culture. He was overlooked, he might have had dreams of being a Pharisee but he did not look the part. So he pursued other options. These two facts about this man were highlighted early in the conversation. But I want to highlight that Zacchaeus was a Jewish man. His name is a Hebrew name meaning pure. Which in their culture was a slap because he chose a profession as a representative of a foreign overlord. He was marginalized, and made the best life for himself that he could, and he was successful at it.

Through all of his success there was something missing. Something drove Zacchaeus to that tree. All the wealth of the world pass before his eyes every day, yet there was something that he still lacked. No one really knew him. He was a great success; he supervised an entire government office, yet not one person really knew him as a Jewish human being. He heard that the rabbi Jesus was passing through the town, and Zacchaeus wanted to see this guy. Why we do not really know, but maybe Zacchaeus like me had some deep call in his life that he had silenced by pursuing his personal dreams and perverted ideas of success. He just wanted to see, He had to see. So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed into a fig tree.

Let us stop right there. This man was marginalized and ridiculed in his culture. No one liked him and no one even cared to get to know him. His name means pure but everyone considered him as filthy as a man could be. Yet he had a desire to see Jesus. We live in a culture not all that different from the one in the first century. We have religious institutions that are wonderful, but often people fall through the cracks. We live in a time of great spiritual seeking, so much so that there is an entire professional organization devoted to the practice of Spiritual Direction. Books are written constantly about religions, and spirituality. These books are sold in pretty much every retail outlet in our nation. People want to see a reason to believe. They spend vast amounts of money on advisors and literature to help them make sense of the longing they feel but do not understand. Like Zacchaeus our culture is climbing trees to get a glimpse at something that just might help.

Jesus walks right up to the tree and stops. He sees Zacchaeus who has cleverly hidden himself in the foliage. Jesus sees him. And Jesus calls out come down so we can go eat. The rabbi wants to eat with him; Jesus wants to share a meal with this marginalized sinful man. Jesus wants to know Zacchaeus; He wants to take the time to really know what drives him, and what his dreams truly are.

Look at response of Zacchaeus. He jumps from the tree and immediately starts giving away his wealth. By Jesus taking the time to just say, “let’s talk,” the life of this man changes. There was no judgment, no theology, and no list of doctrine, just a simple invitation from one faithful man to a hurting man to grab a bite to eat together.

I began today speaking of my story. My story is not all that different from the story of Zacchaeus’. I am a man that had dreams, had broken dream, and had compromised dreams. I was a man that had a calling but ran from that call with the hopes of gaining something I thought might fulfill my life in a greater way. All my running ended in a place far from where I thought I was going to be. I stand here today because faithful people in my life took time to actually get to know me. It began with my mom who accepted me even when I failed, it continued with a Sunday school teacher that continued to encourage me down a different path knowing full well that my past was not where it should have been. It took me across the world where, and to a little church in Kansas City where a community said, “Just listen to your call.” There are several people that have taken the time to know a formerly broken man; those people pointed me to Jesus who has transformed the brokenness into something better. I never went to Kansas State, but I obtained a dream far better, filled with more color than purple. I still have a special place in my heart for that school but it is no longer they mythical dreamland, but only a stone in the road of my life toward God.

Today I want us to really consider Zacchaeus, let us not laugh at his story but let us instead listen. This small man that climbed a tree some say became a great man of God, one that followed in the footsteps of the Apostles, some have even said that he became an Apostle himself. One ancient tradition dating back to the 3^rd century says that Zacchaeus’ last name is one that Luke wrote about in his second book as Matthias the one that replaced Judas among the twelve. This man who was once unknown by all, just might have become one of those men that went out to change the world and shared the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

As we enter our time of holy expectancy and open worship, I ask how will we treat the Zacchaeuses in our lives? Will we walk up to them in their spiritual seeking and ask them to eat and talk? Will we share with them our story? Or will we push them off to the side and hide them behind the leaves? These are important questions that have great ramifications, because what if that Zacchaeus we meet today will become the Matthias tomorrow? Or what if that Zacchaeus today may not be able to listen tomorrow?

Persistent Prayer (Sermon October 20, 2013)

Scripture: Luke 18: 1-8

Prayer is a very serious and somewhat mysterious thing for most people. We are taught to pray in many ways. Even though there are countless scriptures and books to help us in this area, many of us would when asked would still say that we are not sure how to pray, others of us may be uncomfortable in saying certain things in prayer, while still others feel very uncomfortable praying with others around. How could this important discipline, I would argue the most important discipline in the walking with Christ, be such a difficult subject for Christians?

Jesus I have mentioned several times, over the past few months, provided an example to his followers of a holy lifestyle. He made it his custom to worship, he withdrew to the isolated places to pray, and he would minister to the people around him. This holy rhythm of life is something I hope we all will grab hold of and incorporate in our lives, because with this rhythm we will begin to see how God can work through us.

Jesus made it his custom to worship. This is an area of the holy lifestyle that we can really understand. It is a visible area that is the most visible aspect of the holy lifestyle. The custom of worship is the gathering of the followers of Christ into meetinghouses, or churches where we read scripture, sing hymns and song of praise, and are encouraged to continue in our daily walk. Because this is the most visible aspect of the Christian community it is often seen as the most important. We invite people to join us for worship. The faithful obtain degrees and take classes to improve the worship experience. We invest great sums of money to the building and upkeep of worship spaces and instrumentation. Often we focus so much in this area of the holy lifestyle that we judge the effectiveness of a community of believers by the attendance of these meetings for worship, we judge the quality of the community by the messages presented by the pastors and priests, and the spirit of the worship by the excitement of the music performed. Jesus did not really pay attention to these things. If he was in a community and it was a day for worship his custom was to go, he did not care if it was the biggest worship community or if it had the best of anything, He worshiped.

Worship is important, making the place of worship inviting and accommodating is important. Insuring that the message and encouragement of the leader is as honest and as theologically and biblically sound is important. Putting forth the best efforts possible as we join together in praise is important, but this is not the most important aspect of life with Christ. This is just one small part of the whole. We should not judge a community of believers solely on these things because as Christ shows us throughout his life the most important aspect of worship is that you make it your custom.

The second most visible aspect of the holy lifestyle exemplified by Jesus is ministry. We see the energy of worship within meetinghouses; we also see what is done outside the meetinghouse. Friends historically have not called their Sunday, or first day, morning sessions of worship, worship services. This is because worship and service are two very different things. Worship happens within the community but service happens when one leaves the meeting for worship and enters into the world again. Service, ministry, or living the love of Christ with others, is where God uses us to help redeem the world. Often it is said in the prophetic writings of the Old Testament that justice is what God requires not sacrifice. Most of the Mosaic laws deal in these areas, how do we live life-honoring God with others. Of the ten commandments the majority are focused on the interpersonal relationships with others, just consider it thou shall not steal, kill, commit adultery, bear false witness, covet, and honor your parents each deal with human relationships. According to the teachings of Jesus in his sermon on the mount, to truly live these commands there is more required of us than just not doing them. Jesus goes as far as to say love your enemies and do good to those that do all manner of evil against you. To honor God in service we must practice ministry. We must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the incarcerated, provide hospitality to the travelers, and more. It is not enough to not kill someone, but to protect. Social Justice is not only a good thing for us to pursue but it is our jobs as follower of Christ. We should be doing all that we can to ease suffering in our communities.

Often worship communities can focus on service and neglect worship, or focus so much on worship that they fail to serve. This battle between worship and service has been fought by the faithful since the beginning of faith. This is why the prophets wrote that God desires justice instead of sacrifice, because the faith community was focusing on one end of the spectrum to heavily.

This brings us to the essence of the scripture and topic today; the third aspect of Jesus’ holy lifestyle is prayer. Which again raises the questions of what is prayer and how do we do it. I say prayer is the most important discipline of the Christian life for a reason, because prayer is what connects worship and service. When we pray we take the songs, scripture, and encouragement of the worship service and we withdraw and allow the Spirit of God to help us make those things real in our lives. When we pray we converse with the divine, asking for our needs and listening for the encouragement to move personally. This is why prayer is such a mystery; this is why we struggle with prayer, and why everyone throughout history has struggled with prayer. This is why there are teachings on prayer, and books written on prayer, because communication and relationships are difficult.

Jesus tells a story of a widow that persistently pursues justice from a judge that does not fear God and has no respect for mankind. Just think for a bit about that one statement, this was a parable told to people that lived nearly 2000 years ago, and it is a statement that many of us today identify with. This tells us something very important about prayer. The widow continues to pursue justice even in a world that has no respect for faith or humanity. She pursues justice, even though atheism and selfishness surrounds her. Persistence is important in a life of prayer. Jesus tells us that not only should we pray but we also need to develop a discipline and incorporate a lifestyle where prayer is part of our rhythm. Even if we do not get what we think is required immediately we should continue to pray. Often we stop praying because we do not see results, some lose their faith altogether because they prayed and God did not grant their request. They may quote verses like, “Knock and it will be opened, seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you,” and “everything you ask in my name you will be given.” Yet at times we do not get what we desire. Is this because we do not have enough faith? Did we not pray correctly?

Jesus also teaches us something else about prayer. We must listen. Yes I may be reading into the passage a bit on this point, but come with me because I think it is there. We raise our concerns and we then must wait to listen. Jesus says that the woman went to the judge and for a while he refused, that means that at some point in time the woman stopped talking and began to listen to the other party in the conversation. So many times when we knock on heaven’s door we fail to wait for the door to open. We make a request, expect results without waiting for a reply. What happens if we fail to listen? We often miss something vital. It just might be that there is something deeper that must be dealt with before the initial request can be worked out. The woman allowed the judge to refuse. The request was rejected because the proper form was not brought; it was rejected because a license was not applied for. There could be any number of real world reasons that a particular request would be rejected but if we do not listen we would never know.

The next aspect of prayer that is taught is that prayer moves us. This woman is actively pursuing justice in her case. She raises her concern, the request is rejected, she leaves, and returns again to make a request. Often the answers to our prayers begin with us taking steps. This is where listening is very important. This is the process of discernment. We pray and we wait. Maybe we need more information so we are moved to seek out advice. Again we pray and wait. After doing this we soon realizes that we are several steps closer to that request, that deep-rooted desire in our heart, becoming a reality. We remain persistent. We are moved step by step until we look back to examine our lives and realize we are where we need to be.

Worship, Service, and prayer the holy rhythm exemplified by Christ. Each building the other and each will not stand-alone.  Without worship and the teaching we would not know the mind of God or know how to ask in his name. Without service our worship is just an empty ritual without power.  Both without prayer are lacking spirit and relationship. Worship is the beginning, Prayer allows things to grow, and service maturity. Without prayer service is like a teenager wanting to be seen as an adult, but still acting like a child. Without worship pray is barren. It is that central point of prayer that connects life.

As we prepare for our time of open worship, how we as Friends express the intimate relationship and communion with God. I would like to show a video that was produced by a team of middle school students a few years ago. This video shows how a group of Friends in a healthy rhythm of Christ’s holy lifestyle shows each aspect of Worship, prayer, and service. A video that depicts the life of a few good Quakers one an author and scholar, one a businessman, and one a school administrator as they approach a concern in the world around them. Each in their own lives and in their communities saw an injustice, prayed, and was moved to serve. After the video we will move into open worship and let us reflect on our own rhythm of life. Could we do what these men do? Are we focused too much in one area or another? Or are we seemingly lost? Take this time to knock, ask, seek and find.