prayer

Let’s Fish (Sermon January 26, 2014)

Scripture: Matthew 4:12-23

I have found that one of the most relaxing and amazing things to do to pass time is to watch birds fly. As a child when riding in the car to town I would stare out the window and see the huge flocks of black birds jump up at once to take flight and do aerial acrobatic moves that were awe inspiring. Hundreds of birds moving in unison weaving and twisting, flipping and rolling only to settle back down onto the ground. I would stare in wonder watching the magic of nature noticing that not a single bird would fly into another while they performed their dance, each fitting in and doing their part to amaze the poor creatures that were not created with wings on the ground.

People have studied these birds and have tried to explain how and why they do these acrobatics but I could not tell you myself, to be honest I could not tell you what kind of bird they are, I just enjoy watching the show. But I do know that from observing the behaviors of birds like these people can determine things about the environment around them. From my days working outdoors I can tell you that if you have several birds in your lawn chances are very high that you would have a grub problem, and the birds are around to eat them. So if you happen to need some fishing bait you might observe the birds.

People have always observed their surroundings; they have studied how the animals and plants react. They study so they are able to survive and thrive in environments that are not always pleasant. As they studied and learned they were then able to use this knowledge to domesticate animals, to determine where the best land would be to plant crops, or when it was time to move. It is remarkable how well we have been able to do this. Just think for a bit, how did mankind eventually tame a dog, how did they learn to control a horse, the reindeer, cattle, or the largest mammal on land the elephant?

The world around us is filled with wonder if we were to take the time to slow down and enjoy it. We have yet to really observe and harness various amazing mysteries surrounding us. For example we have known and studied the forces of magnets for centuries but magnetism for the most part is still a mystery, after hundreds of years of study the forces of nature continue to cause many to wonder just as a child watching the birds perform outside a window.

Today, as we reflect on this passage of scripture, I would like us to focus on that sense of wonder and natural curiosity found in humanity. Jesus has moved from the banks of the Jordan, where John was preaching, to the Sea of Galilee. The cause of this move could be because of John’s arrest or just a change in the approach of ministry, either way the delivery method of the Gospel changes because of this move. In the ministry of John, the people would leave their homes and come to the Jordan to hear the message. In many ways that was the way the religious world worked. People would make holy pilgrimages to various sites to pay homage to God; the greatest example biblically would be the feasts that required travel to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. John’s ministry was transitioning the people out of this temple form of worship, basically telling them that God does not dwell only in a temple of stone but He can be worshiped anywhere. But the method was still similar it required a pilgrimage, people came out to listen to John. They left their community to worship God. Jesus changes the method, instead of having people come only to him, but he would go to the people. He moved to Capernaum and traveled the countryside teaching in their synagogues and ministering to the sick and hurting.

Jesus changed the method of ministry. The ministry is now active in the community, walking around and engaging people where they are, instead of requiring people to come away. This is interesting in many ways, because the methods do change at times. It like many things is cyclical. There is a time where the method is best in the heart of the community and at other times the gospel is best heard when one leaves their own community and get outside their normal routine. At times we build and people come while at other times we must go meet in the houses and parks within a community.

Jesus goes and he is walking on the shores of the sea. We do not know how long Jesus was in Capernaum before this story took place, but I would venture to say that he was there for a while. What we do know is that he was there long enough to walk around and attract the attention of the fishermen. It is the fishermen he first engages. Two brothers are casting a net into the see and Jesus calls out to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” or as other translations state, “I will make you fishers of men.”

Think about that statement. I will make you fish for people. It immediately makes one think of the art and science of fishing. One does not just simply fish. A true fisherman knows fish, like a rancher knows their cattle. They know how fish react to the climate and to the current weather patterns. They know how they react to light and what areas they inhabit at certain times of the year. They know what season the fish are mating, when they are hibernating, and how to effectively catch them in any situation. It is a skill that takes time to learn through observation and careful study; it takes years of practice and discipline. The men that Jesus is speaking to know their trade, they know when to take the boat out and when to stay home. They know where to go and what tools to use. Although it is not always an exact science, these men know their business because if they did not they would not survive.

They are also religious men. Last week we read a similar passage in the Gospel of John where two of these men were mentioned, they were disciple and students of John the Baptist. But today they are not on the banks of the Jordan but at home fishing in the sea. There is something about the Gospel that compels them, it drew them from their homes to seek out John, and it opens their lives to Jesus as well.

Jesus says to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” He is offering them a new trade, a new way of life. The discipline required to learn how to fish is now being applied to humanity.

Let us go back to the human’s natural curiosity. For us to survive in our environments we must observe and adapt, we must learn skills and develop tools to survive. Andrew, Peter, James and John were master fishermen. They knew the tools of their trade, they knew the best places to fish and they knew how to read the environment to get an idea of where to go next. These same skills apply to ministry. To fish for people we first must develop an understanding of people. We need to know where they are coming from and what they hope for. To be effective we must observe the cultures we are in and adapt our methods to present the Gospel more clearly. We must devise tools to use that will effectively reach the people. This takes time, discipline, and a willingness to adapt.

These fishermen know the task at hand. They know that to be good fishermen they must use nets; these nets must be constructed properly. They are designed to catch large fish but to also let the smaller fish escape so they will grow and repopulate. These nets are thrown out into the waters and then pulled in, and as they are pulled the nets close and capture the targeted fish. This is one method of fishing, but there are other methods as well. If you were to go fishing in around Kansas City you would not use nets but hooks and lines. We place various types of bait on the hooks to attract the attention of a specific type of fish. Again one must know the fish and the tools to do this effectively. And just so you know I am a terrible fisherman so do not ask me what to use.

But in dealing with humanity we are not catching them or baiting them, this illustration was made to specific people of a specific profession. The point is discipline. Jesus is presenting to these men the ability to observe and read people, and to adapt their ministry to reach people more effectively. How do we do this? What are the forms and methods of communication utilized by our culture? What are the interests of those around us? What are their needs and what are their fears? If we cannot adjust and adapt to the culture we live in our greatest ministry efforts will be like throwing out fishing nets without the netting, as it is pulled it catches nothing. To be effective we need to first be students. We must know the Gospel as well as the culture so we can adapt to minister to those around us.

This applies to all types of ministry in every culture. Those that minister in Rwanda must know the message of Christ but they must also be able to present that message in the language of the Rwandan. For the Rwandan to listen to the message the minister must have some understanding of the people. They need to know the political, economic, and other cultural aspects affecting the people in their daily lives. What about our community? What are factors here that would affect our ability to minister?

Jesus is calling us to follow him into his ministry and to do that we need to develop a discipline to read the culture around us. To begin we first need to follow Him. We need to develop in our own lives the rhythm that Jesus himself had in ministry: a lifestyle of prayer, worship, and service to others. Without this rhythm our best efforts in ministry are empty, without power or substance. In prayer we connect to Christ, in worship we are empowered and in service to others we pass the grace on. In prayer we interact with the Spirit of God as we engage scripture and observe our community. In worship we join together to encourage one another to embrace the Spirit’s leadings and to go out and serve. In prayer we get direction, in worship we get confirmation. Both lead to service. Our prayer and worship is empty if we do not serve others. And our service is misplaced and ineffective if it is not connected to God.

We are faced with a great challenge. Jesus is calling us as he did those first disciples to follow him and he will make us fish for people. The challenge is learning and observing taking a step back to gain understanding before we move forward. The challenge is putting our own preferences off to the side so that collectively we can serve our community more effectively. It is adapting our ministry to engage with culture we are called to serve. We have a great challenge before us, but one that is filled with promise. God is calling us to become His laborers and to participate in His Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven. The challenge is before us, but we are not alone in this task. The power that raised Jesus from the grave is available to each of us when we ask for it in His will and in His name. That is amazing power, power that we have only begun to understand after 2000 years of observance and study. But are we willing to rise up to the challenge, are we willing to drop the control of our own lives to follow Jesus into this great unknown? Are we willing to lose ourselves to gain the Kingdom of Heaven?

As we enter this time of open worship and holy expectancy, let us remember that curiosity of a child that would wonder about the dancing birds and other mysteries of our world. Let us remember the curiosity and the desire to know and let us apply that same curiosity to the challenge and joy God has set before us.

Immersed (Sermon January 12, 2014)

Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17

We are a nation of rules and laws; everyone knows this and many would point to the Ten Commandments to verify this stand. The fact of the mater is that our nation’s legal system has more in common to the Greeks or Roman cultures than that of the Hebrews. We often think of the Jewish people as being people of the Law. They follow the Torah, or the books of the law, so it is easy to think that, but after the exile to Babylon and the subsequent rule of Persia the Hebrew people were in a state of transition. Their faith was in a sort of evolution. They became people of teaching instead of people of the law. They became a people of various rabbinical teaching or interpretations of what the meaning behind the law was. These teachings or yokes as they were commonly called in the first century were more than just a religious expression but an entire way of life. It was incorporated not only on the day of worship but saturated every facet of the disciple’s existence.

The first century expression of faith among the Jewish people was in a state of transition. It had to change in many ways because the people of Israel were scattered across the known world, to the east they reached into across the Persian Empire and into what we now call Russia, they moved throughout Western Europe into Spain and north into Scandinavian areas. Their settlements are old and their influence in those areas are great. This vast distance posed an interesting dilemma for the faithful, how do we worship without going to the temple? As distance increased it became impossible for the faithful to travel to Jerusalem for the feasts so they developed a proxy type system that eventually morphed into what is seen today.

This is the culture in which Jesus began his ministry. But to really understand the ministry of Jesus we must begin with John the Baptist. Every Gospel speaks of the ministry of John. There are very few things that every Gospel mentions, but each one mentions the ministry of one man John. John is not the only teacher in Israel at that time, but there is something about the ministry of John that uniquely corresponds with the ministry of Jesus. That place they meet is the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

Both Jesus and John teach this Gospel. And that is the Gospel message. As our own Christian faith has evolved over the years we have focused on different aspects, many would say that the Gospel message is the Cross, but the cross is only a portion of the good news it is not the whole Gospel. The cross is a sign that points to the fulfillment of the gospel and proves that the kingdom is truly at hand. But the Gospel is that the Kingdom of God is near, the rule of God is all around us, and God wants us to participate in it. The kingdom of God is beyond the walls of a building, beyond even the sacred wall of the most holy of holy area of the Temple. The kingdom of God is at Hand, that is good news.

This is a teaching that is emerging in the culture around Jesus. It is something new yet linked to the traditions of ancient days. This message has people curious and is why people are leaving the cities and seeking out a radical teacher out in the wilderness. The Kingdom of God is at hand. If that is true, the people then asked, “What must we do to enter into that kingdom?”

John stood on the banks of the Jordan crying out to the people all around, “Repent and be baptized.” This literally means turn around and wash. This message says a great deal about the evolution of faith in the first century. John’s baptism was more than just the ceremonial cleansing promoted by other rabbinical teachers; those washings needed to be continuously repeated because people were constantly getting themselves dirty again. Meaning sin was all around, the interpretation of the law showed this in great detail, and so to worship one would need to wash to be acceptable. To eat with unclean hands would deem you unfit to worship, so you would wash in a particular way to be clean.  John’s teaching was slightly different. Yes there is a glimmer of similarity but there is something deeper. John’s baptism was literally teaching that to enter into the kingdom you must turn from the other interpretations and wash yourselves of their influence. Turn from a life of sin and walk a different path, cleansed from all unrighteousness.

This is where the foundations of the Christian church are laid. They begin with the teaching of John, the Gospel of the kingdom. The news that God’s rule is all around us and to gain access we must first wash ourselves of the old ways and turn to Him. John did not teach that the law was bad, but that it was not enough. The teaching of John was a lifestyle of sacrifice, putting others before yourself and living in a community of blessing. John’s teachings were just the begin, because John himself said “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

John in his own words is saying that the Gospel message that he is teaching is yet incomplete, that the water of repentance he is promoting, is just a symbol, a shadow of the true power yet to come. It is here that Jesus comes in. Jesus meets John in the Jordan and John says to his cousin, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

What is John saying? First off he is saying that Jesus is greater, that Jesus is the more powerful one John was speaking about that would bring the Holy Spirit and fire. But secondly he was saying that the next stage of the evolution of faith was upon them. John the Baptizer was about to step back and allow the new day dawn. Jesus answers, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”

Let it be so now. I want us to contemplate this phrase, really the word now. When we consider the word now, we have certain thoughts that immediately come to mind. This one word could be translated as: at once, for now on, still, again, at last, immediately, in the future, just, just now, this moment, and this very day. Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness. At once, for now on, still, again, at last, immediately, in the future, just now, this moment, and this very day all righteousness is fulfilled. With that one act Jesus took on the mantel of all humanity turning them around and began to show us the Kingdom of God. That one act connected the traditions and teaching of the past with the emerging teachings and life that Jesus was to show his disciples. With that one phrase and action every theological expression of the Church is covered: Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian, and Quaker. Because in this one exchange the focus shifts from what man can do to what Christ does for us. As Jesus stepped out of the water, He became the way.

Matthew’s Gospel more than any other Gospel builds connections with the teachings of the Old Testament with Jesus, he shows how Jesus fulfills all righteousness, and he shows the path or the way to the Kingdom. Matthew teaches us the way of the disciple.

The word baptize, is to immerse as to clean. It has roots in the hygienic laws of the Old Testament but is deeper. I have recently began to read a book describing one woman’s quest to live a life of biblical womanhood, why a guy is reading it who knows, but it is very interesting. In this book there is a discussion of the Mikvah, or the ritual bath, and describes how it is to be used. It is to remove all foreign substances from the body and then immerse completely. One is to breath out all the air from your lungs and let the water soak into the pores, allowing the water to carry away all filth, so you emerge from the water clean. This is a great picture; I fully understand why many believe that full immersion baptism is an important sacrament. But I want us to remember that John said the one to come would baptize or wash us with the Holy Spirit and fire.

It is when we immerse ourselves in the Holy Spirit that we entered into the Kingdom. It is when we allow the Spirit of God to soak deep within our being and to carry away the things unclean in our lives that we enter into the kingdom and begin that walk with Jesus. This comes through worship, prayer, and service. Loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and Living the Love of Christ with others. We immerse and are baptized by the Spirit when we turn from the old ways and put ourselves into a place where we can converse with the Spirit.

I speak a lot about a life of prayer, and I have a feeling that I will be speaking about this more deeply throughout the year, because prayer is where the immersion begins. When I speak of prayer, I am speaking of something that incorporates the entirety of our mind and body. It involves the reading and deep study of scripture, the meditation and contemplation on scripture, the interaction and conversation between oneself and God with scripture. I speak of the use of our imagination and our wisdom as we with the Spirit examine our lives and envision the future. To me prayer is more than just lifting words of intercession on behalf of others, or telling God our needs, it is an intense intimate conversation with God. Prayer and a lifestyle of pray builds into worship and service to others. Without that immersion with the Spirit in prayer, worship is just noise, and ministry empty. But with an immersed life of prayer everything changes all things are made new.

When I read this passage. I see the conversation, and I hear the words. I see the bubbles emerging from the nose and mouth of Jesus as John pushes Jesus beneath the water and insures every hair is soaked. As I read I see the passing of a mantel, not ritual. I see John laying down the old guard, and Jesus rising up out of the water to carry on something new. Emerging from the water as the droplets fall to the ground, splashing in the dust I see all righteousness fulfilled in Christ. And he walks out into the wilderness. I see the closing of ritual and the emergence of a new lifestyle a lifestyle focused on God ruling every aspect of our being, immersed.

Repent and be baptized. Let it be so now. Fulfill all righteousness. God is calling us to the Kingdom; the Kingdom is already around us. It has always been, because God has always been working in the lives of mankind. Jesus is calling us to turn from the old and see with new eyes, to listen with new ears, to gain a different perspective, to be immersed in Him. Let each one of us this year strive to be immersed in Him. Let each of us strive to examine every aspect of our lives with Him, to envision a brighter future. Let each of us strive and walk with Christ out in the wilderness of our community, not with answers to the problems of the world but instead going out with teaching and encouragement to everyone we meet. Showing encouragement that they too will want to immerse their lives in the grace, hope, and love of Christ.

Crazy man in the Wilderness (Sermon December 8, 2013)

James Tissot’s John and the Pharisees (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Scripture: Matthew 3:1-12

Advent is probably one of my favorite times of the year. It is filled with anticipation in many areas. The reality of winter has set in so as a child I always anticipated snow…ok I will be honest I was really anticipating a snow day where I wouldn’t have to attend school. As December rolled around Sears would send out their catalog the “wish book” and my brother and sisters would go through the pages marking the items we wanted for Christmas. Then there was the anticipation for Christmas in general. We could not wait. I mentioned before that my family really celebrated Thanksgiving and because of that we would not decorate the house for Christmas until December because my parents wanted us to remember to be thankful for what we had before we went into the anticipation of the season. I think this instilled in us a greater sense of anticipation and longing.

Today it is a bit different. I have a new outlook now that I have somewhat matured. I anticipate different aspects in this season than I did before. I anticipate the telling of the birth of Christ by my son James. And I remember the first time he told the story on his own. I anticipate the future of the season with Albert and to see the story come alive in his life. I anticipate the Story of Emmanuel illuminating the lives of those that I have the opportunity to walk with in their journeys of faith.

This season also has a form of darkness in it as well. We do not fully know the exact date of the birth of Jesus; many believe that the actual day was in the spring while tradition has placed the celebration of Christ’s birth in the winter. Some might find that discrepancy disheartening but to me I think it is encouraging. Winter is a dark time of year, the air gets colder, and the plants seem to just die. Winter is a time of scarcity, poverty, and fear. In ancient times it was difficult to survive a winter. Winter usually brings out great amounts of illness, depression, and despair. This time of year we long for the warmth of the sun, the greens of grasses, and the singing of the birds. It is no wonder that in ancient times the celebration of the birth of Christ was set in winter, because it is a time of unknowing and hope in something unseen. It is a time where humanity had to live on faith. We need a time where light can come into the darkness.

The changing seasons have always been a source of spiritual thought. They show us that everything has a time, a place, and that nothing stays the same. In the darkness of winter our lifestyles usually slow down and take a different focus, we spend more time in our homes together, and less time running around. It is in the darker days the things that mean the most to us become more important. This darkness is not only found in winter but can be found when ever we have a trial in life. This is they type of feeling we find an entire nation in as we read of the ministry of John the Baptist.

Israel is in a dark period of their history. It is not the darkest moment but it is not the best either. They look back in their history and they know that at one point in time they were great but on this day they are a nation ruled over by another. They are a province lorded over by an empire, and others are eating the fruits of their labor and they struggle just to survive. They pull together in groups of like-minded people and form basically a tribal system of governance headed up by religious factions that come together on only a few common themes. The only light that they see is that they are at home in the land of their fore fathers and have a temple to worship in, beyond that the economic and political landscape is a wilderness. So they anticipate a new era, a new day, a new kingdom where they can once again live free as the people of God. The problem is that the various factions are at a constant battle between themselves as to what that new day will look like, and how it will emerge. In the struggle to dominate the only area of their life that they can still discuss, they oft forget that they are on the same team, that the end goal of all is the same. The Kingdom, or the restoration of Israel as it was.

Then enters a man, John. He is out in the wilderness, preaching passionately, and living oddly. I want us to sit here for a bit. Matthew gives us a clear image of John, he actually gives us a clearer description of John then he even give to the central figure of the Gospel Jesus. We know what John wears, where he lives, and what he eats this is actually very important.

John wears garments of camel’s hair and a leather belt. His clothing is functional, durable, and simple. It catches attention because it gives little regard to fashion trends and focuses only on utility. John lives a life of simplicity, and as a wonderer. This gives a depiction of his message.

He eats locus and honey. I have heard a couple of versions of what this might mean. The most obvious is that he ate bugs sweetened by honey. The second version of what this might mean is that he ate bread made of the seeds of locus trees, which is very bitter and poor bread. Either way he ate the food of poverty, eating only what could be found in the wilderness. Honey was widely available to all classes of people, and was the only sweetening agent available to the poor. Bugs or locus bread are the food of the desperate. This gives us an image of his message.

John lives and preaches out in the wilderness. He lives on the fringes of society out in the uninhabited and uncultivated areas. We often think that he is out in the desert, but that is not exactly the fullest truth. It is the area that is unfit for the growing of crops and is left for grazing, it is unclaimed because it has little value. It is also a depiction of his message as well.

John lived the life of poverty and simplicity wondering out in the wilderness of unclaimed land, it is almost as if his very life is an image of the Exodus. But we must remember that John was not a poor man. His father was a priest, and John was his only child. John had an inheritance; he had a home and land to live on. He had a ready-made career in the temple by his very linage, yet he chose to live on the fringes of society. Spoke his message there in the Wilderness.

He is the voice crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” He cried out to everyone to, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven has come near.” This term repent is one we often hear, but the language that John uses is much deeper. In the old testament the word translated as repent means: to turn back, turn to, return, to return, to restore, to be returned, recovered, be brought back. The understanding of repent was about restoration and turning back to the one that we once knew. But this is not what John was preaching. When John cried out in the wilderness he was using a word that was much different it meant: to change any or all of the elements composing one’s life: attitude, thoughts, and behaviors concerning the demands of God for right living. The usage of this word is in essence saying that there is nothing to restore because there is not anything there. John was saying to the people of Israel that they are as far from God as the very Gentile overlords and that there needs to be a total change.

People came from all over Judea to listen to his message, it caused them to change and they confessed and were baptized in the river Jordan. They crossed the waters and entered into a new life the very action was one not used for Jewish people but for Gentile converts to the Jewish religion. And people came, not only Gentiles but also the Jewish people. Even the very ones that lead the various religious factions, the Pharisees and Sadducees, came to be baptized by John. Yet to them he had even harsher words, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee the wrath to come?”

Brood of vipers? I have to admit I did not enjoy researching this passage, because even pictures of snakes can send shivers down my spine. But I spent time reading about this phrase. Vipers of Asia are unique reptiles that can either lay eggs or give birth to living offspring. In ancient times it was believe that vipers would eat their way out of the mother snake while in the process killing their mother. I tried to research this out further to see if this was a fact or just a tradition of history, unfortunately there were too many snake pictures so I cannot confirm or deny this statement. Regardless the phrase stands in history as meaning, “Mother killers.” Who is the mother being killed? John cries out to the religious leaders saying you are killing our faith you have eaten your way out into the world and in the process taken the very life away from everything you stand for. John says you brood of vipers have killed Israel, killed the very thing you claim to protect. Israel is no longer the light of the world but a dead carcass spewing out little venomous snakes.

Darkness surrounds them all. The only hope is found in the words of a crazy man living on the fringe of society, a man that turned from a life of prosperity to hopefully bring people to the God they never knew. The kingdom of Heaven has come near. There is hope in those words. Even though the religious leaders have killed the religion, the kingdom has come near. The kingdom is just ahead the new day is just around the corner. Do not lose hope in this darkness because the light is on the horizon. Repent; change every aspect of you life.

John is calling them and each of us into something greater. He is calling us to repent, to change everything about our lives to align them with God, to become a people that is loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with other. John is crying out to everyone that will listen, to throw away that old life and the things that bring status and honor in that life and to clothe ourselves in something else. It is very similar to the many cycles within the church. Those in the early church gave all they had to the apostles and everyone’s needs were met even through harsh persecution. This period of time was followed by abundance where the church was in a place of honor and people like St. Anthony left society to live in the wilderness giving up all the wealth the world had to offer to live a life of simplicity in the wilderness, giving rise to a new day in the church. This too was followed by abundance and complacency and St. Francis, a wealthy man, gave up all his wealth and lived a life of simplicity and charity to spark a revival in the church. Again followed by abundance and leaders began to eat through the mother and poison the faith. Then emerged the Lutherans and other various reformations occurred bringing repentance to the church, and these became established and again religion ate the way through the relational aspects of faith. The cycle continued bringing about the Society of Friends and other various denominations and religious orders in Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic expressions of faith each one rising in their own ways and each dying in others. God is continuously at work in His world continuing to call us out of the comfort of society to the margins to build and restore relationships with Himself and humanity. He is calling us each to repentance. The question then is, are we willing to answer that call and step out in faith, step out into the wilderness to cry out to the lost? Or are we going to be a brood of vipers eating our way out into the world in the process killing what was once there?

There is a new day coming near, a new era in the cycle of the church. Some hope that it is the second coming and it is fine to think that, but in the anticipation of that great day let us not become lax and comfortable. Let us instead actively participate in bringing hope and light into the darkness of our world by totally turning to God in mind, body, and spirit. Let us now join together in a time of Holy Expectancy, a time of anticipation as we listen and wait for God to speak to us and through us, and let us become the people God has called us to be.