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The Parable of the Vineyard Tenants. Mark 12:1-12

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2011| 12 Comments »

Today we look at more teaching from the gospel of Mark and we come to the important Parable of the Vineyard Tenants. I say important because it really gives us Jesus’ own perspective on his ministry and what is about to happen as his time of ministry comes to an end. I want us to look at what this parable means, and draw out some lessons for us to remember as we share in the Lord’s supper together.

Overview of the parable

vs. 1-2 – “And he began to speak to them in parables. ‘A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.’” [Jesus is using portions of Isaiah 5:1-7 which tells a similar story.]

This setup was not uncommon in that day. You have an absentee land owner who leases out the farm to tenant workers. The agreement would go like this:

  • The owner has the land and sets things up, as he does here: planting the vines and building a fence, a pit and a tower: all that you need to produce wine.
  • And the tenants are to work the farm and give the owner a reasonable return when the harvest comes, several years later (Leviticus 19:23-25).

And so v. 2 ends with the owner sending a servant, “when the season came” to collect what’s due.

The first servant: vs. 2-3 – “ . . . he sent a servant . . .. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.” There were often disagreements between owners and tenants, just as today.

A second servant: v. 4 – “Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.”

A third servant: v. 5 – “And he sent another, and him they killed.” [This more than meets the requirement of two to three witnesses of their wrong.]

More servants: And if this wasn’t enough already v. 5 continues, “And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.” He had a lot of servants, but they had all been unsuccessful in collecting what was due.

His son: v. 6 – “He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’” “Beloved” means his only son, and so very dear to the father (Genesis 22:2). And this is the only representative the owner had left to send.

Perhaps the owner figured that since his son has full legal authority, and has higher rank than a mere servant – they will have to respect him!

The tenants reasoned differently, however. vs. 7-8 – “But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.”

Maybe they thought the owner was dead since the son came? Or maybe they thought the owner was too old or too far away, or too weak to enforce his claims on the property. By the rules of that day tenants could inherit the land they worked, if the owner and heirs were dead or unwilling to make a claim. So they kill the son and throw him out, without even burying him, a real insult.

Jesus then asks, v. 9 – “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.” The owner is not dead or weak. And there are grave consequences for the actions of the tenants.

The story the parable tells

– is really the story of God and his people and it is the story of Jesus.

  • The vineyard is the people of God – this was a common image in Scripture (Isaiah 5:2, Psalm 80:8-9, Jeremiah 2:21).
  • The owner is God whenever God’s people are seen as a vineyard. The word translated in v. 9 as “owner” is actually “lord,” which has a double meaning, pointing to “the Lord.”
  • The fruit of the vineyard is faithfulness. This is what God’s people owe to God.
  • The servants are prophets, sent by God to call his people to obedience. As Jeremiah 7:25-26 says “From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck.”
  • The tenants are the leaders of Jerusalem. This parable comes in the context of a long argument with the leaders of Jerusalem. And even these leaders, v. 12 tells us, “perceived that he had told the parable against them.”
  • Finally, the beloved son is Jesus. In the Gospel of Mark God calls Jesus this at his baptism (Mark 1:11) and at his transfiguration (Mark 9:7).

First we have, the story that has already happened:

– God did form a people for himself. He blessed them and sought their faithfulness.

– And when they didn’t give it God did send messenger after messenger to call them to obedience. But they refused to listen.

– And now as the culmination God has sent Jesus, his beloved, only Son. The one who has all authority. The one who is dear to his heart.

Then we have the story that is yet to come:

– Like in the parable, the leaders have no regard for Jesus, even though he is God’s Son. In fact, they will soon kill Jesus. And in a shameful way, like in the story.

– But God, his Father, will act. God will “destroy” these leaders, which happened in 70 AD, when Jerusalem was destroyed.

– And God will give leadership of his people to “others,” referring to the followers of Jesus, his Son.

And then we have –

A short Scripture lesson

– attached to our story. Here we switch from the vineyard as an image of God’s people to that of a building or more likely the temple as an image of God’s people.

vs. 10-11 – “Have you not read this Scripture: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” This comes from Psalm 118:22-23. Psalm 118 was often sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the festivals. It was well known.

Now, the reason these verses are attached to this parable has to do with the wordplay between – the Hebrew/Aramaic word for son, “ben,” which is the focus of the parable, and the word for stone, “eben,” which is the focus of these verses (Matthew Black).

When it says “cornerstone” it is literally “the head of the corner.” It is referring to the most important stone in the whole building. Perhaps the stone at the peak of the arch, or a capstone on a column or a stone at the top of a building that completes it.

In Jesus’ day this was often seen as referring to king David. He was the one overlooked by Samuel at first, and then by the leaders of Israel. But he became the king of Israel.

This was also read by some as pointing to the Messiah, the coming son of David. When Jesus entered Jerusalem just before this, the crowds quote Psalm 118:26 – “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” and then interpret it in a messianic way when they say, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” (Mark 11:10)

The message is clear: Jesus is the stone that was rejected and cast aside by the builders (the religious leaders), but God will vindicate him and raise him up as the chief stone of the whole building. Just as God brought about a marvelous reversal of fortune for David, so God will do this for Jesus, David’s son.

This raising image is an apt one for the idea of being vindicated, as well as for the resurrection of Jesus (Joel Markus).

[These verses also connect to the parable in that they expand a bit on the vineyard being given to others. If David is the original reference in Psalm 118, then Jesus is saying it will be similar now in his case. Just as the kingdom was taken from Saul and given to David and his line, so the leadership of the people of God is now given to Jesus and his followers]

An ironic ending

The passage ends with v. 12 – “And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.” The leaders are seeking to do just what Jesus said they would do, in his parable that they didn’t like!

As we share in the Lords’ supper

– let’s remember some lessons from this passage of Scripture: 1. Let’s remember God’s amazing patience and love. The parable highlights these qualities of God.

God sent three servants. Then God sent even more. God put up with a lot. This shows that he really loves us and wants us to come back to him and for us to be faithful.

Then he sent his son to call us back. Now why would he risk this given what happened to his servants? The only answer is God’s profoundly amazing love for us!

2. Let’s remember the terrible consequences of disobedience. God really does require our obedience. And if we don’t give this, or in this case, if the leaders stand in the way of this – there is judgment. This is what happened in the history of Israel, it is what is predicted in the parable and it is what happened in the fulfillment in 70 A.D.

God is patient and loving, yes. But God will not tolerate sin forever. There is a limit, and a time when we must reap what we have sown.

3. Let’s remember who Jesus is. He is God’s beloved and only Son. He is the one who died, coming to call us to repentance. He is the one who was rejected and cast aside. And he is the chief stone, raised up by God – vindicated and resurrected.

William Higgins

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A change within that leads to obedience: Matthew 21:28-32

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 4, 2011| 8 Comments »

Our text today is often called the parable of the two sons. I think parents with teens will relate to it. It’s about a father trying to get his kids to do chores. One kid is rude about it and the other doesn’t do anything.

But in all seriousness, it’s an important Scripture because it gives us a very clear understanding of what God wants from us.

It comes right in the middle of a fairly long confrontation between Jesus and the leaders of Jerusalem – the chief priests and the elders of the people (21:23). And this is the first of three parables intended to give them a message.

First, let’s work at –

Understanding the parable

Jesus initiates this stage of the conversation with a question. v. 28 – “What do you think?” They had just refused to answer a question he posed, but as we will see in what follows, this parable forces them to answer him.

Now before we move on, let me say here that in some ancient manuscripts of the New Testament the order of the two sons is actually reversed. So if your Bible has this you will know what is going on. For instance the older New American Standard Bible. I am using the ESV as always.

The first son. v. 28 – “A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’” The word translated as “first” can also mean “older,” as in the oldest son. Some translations take it this way.

“Sons” is actually the word for “children.” And when the father says, “son, go and work,” it is actually “child, go and work,” a more affectionate way of putting it. He is asking him to do some work on the family farm.

v. 29 – “And he answered, ‘I will not.’” The son’s response is rude and disrespectful. In its culture this would be seen as rebellious and unacceptable. And it’s a real contrast to the father’s affectionate address to him.

The story goes on, v. 29 – “but afterward he changed his mind and went.” Although he said no, he does work.

The word behind the phrase, “changed his mind” can also be translated as ‘he regretted it’ or ‘he thought differently about it,’ or even ‘he repented.’

This part of the parable has some connection to Luke 15 and the parable of the prodigal son, the only other parable of Jesus that involves a father and two sons. The first son here is quite similar to the prodigal son. And both show us what repentance looks like. They changed their minds and acted differently.

The second son. v. 30 – “And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir.’” This is a very respectful answer, in contrast to the first son’s words to his father. The word “sir” is actually the word for ‘lord’ or ‘master.’

v. 30 – “but did not go.” He said yes, but he was full of hot air.

Now let’s look at –

Jesus’ interpretation

v. 31 – “’Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.’”

  • From this we see that the father represents God.
  • The first son represents the tax collectors & prostitutes. They said no to God initially, but when they heard the message of the kingdom, they changed their minds and began to do God’s will.
  • The second son represents the chief priests & elders. They said yes to God, but when they heard the message, they did not act.
  • And most likely the vineyard represents Israel – the people of God.

The point of the parable is clear. Those who refuse God but later repent and obey, like the first son, will go into the kingdom. And they will go in before those who say yes, but don’t obey God, like the second son. (Indeed the leaders won’t get in at all unless they repent.)

Jesus gives his strong affirmation to this lesson when he says, “Truly I say to you.” He is saying, ‘take note!’ ‘This is absolutely the truth.’

Finally, notice how Jesus forces them to answer. The only possible answer to his question is that the first son did the father’s will. Yet the first son undeniably represents well repentant sinners – those moral outcasts that these leaders looked down on.

And the leaders look very much like the second son, in that they did not take heed to the message of the kingdom. So they, in effect, condemn themselves.

Now this parable can be applied quite broadly, but in this context Jesus applies it specifically to –

John the Baptist’s ministry

– the subject of the argument at this point between Jesus and the leaders of Jerusalem.

v. 32 – “For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him.” Even though they had said yes to obey God, they did not believe John was from God. So they didn’t do what he said.

Although John came in the way of righteousness, that is, he was righteous and preached a righteous message from God, they rejected him.

v. 32 – “but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him.” Even though they had said no to God, they believed John and repented.

Finally, Jesus says, v. 32 – “And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.” Even after they saw others respond, they rejected him, and would not change their minds about him, and heed his message of repentance. They blew it twice with John, just like they were blowing it with Jesus as they spoke with him.

Lessons for us

1. We learn what God wants from us. God wants us to believe and respond to the message of the kingdom. And how do we respond? We are to respond by obeying God. To say it another way, God is looking for a change within that leads to obedience; so that we come to do our heavenly father’s will, instead of ours or anyone else’s.

This is the bottom line of what God wants from us.

2. Don’t be the second son. As Christians we have said “yes” to God, and so we are reminded in this parable that we need to come through on our commitment. We need to make sure we are working in the vineyard, doing God’s will; using our gifts and doing all that God tells us to do.

Now, the second son echoes Matthew 7:21. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Both use the address of “Lord,” and both don’t obey the will of the father. And both are, as Jesus interprets the parable, excluded from the kingdom of God. (Davies & Allison)

This is a word to us not just the ancient leaders of Israel. We must come through on our commitments to God.

3. Don’t be self-righteous. We need humility so we don’t become like the leaders of Jerusalem.

Think about it. Who are the ones who will never repent? Rank sinners? No. There’s a chance for them. The ones who will never repent are those who think they don’t need to repent; who don’t see the need; who think they are in the right.

Paul says, “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” – 1 Corinthians 10:12. This is a warning for us. You never get to a place where you can’t receive God’s message to you; where you don’t need to be open to repentance.

4. The gospel is great news for sinners! So if you are here today and you have sin in your life – I mean even really bad sin; you have made terrible and shameful choices – it isn’t too late.

You haven’t done God’s will so far? Jesus teaches that you can change your mind! You can have a change within so that you believe the message and start to obey your heavenly father. It isn’t too late.

And if there is anyone here today who wants to do this very thing I invite you to come forward . . ..

[Note: This is not an example of the first and the last from 20:16. In this last verse the first and the last has to do with equalization, not reversal – both the first and the last were made equal.]
 
[Note: Literary structure of the parable.
A. Question/two sons: What do you think? A man had two sons.
B. First son: And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.
`B. Second son: And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.
`A. Question/two sons: Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.”

William Higgins

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Let us live in peace with one another

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on August 28, 2011| 3 Comments »

The church is an amazing thing. It’s made up of all kinds of different people – male and female, rich and poor, people from every tribe and tongue, and people with all different personalities. And these realities are true among us to some degree as well. We have different backgrounds and points of view that we bring with us into this congregation.

But according to Scripture –

We are all made one in Jesus

“Jesus is our peace,” having broken down the barriers that divide us (Ephesians 2:14) Paul says, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:27-28).

So now, although we are many different people, we are one body in Christ and members of one another. “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Romans 12:4-5).

And now, although we are from many different families, we are one family of brothers and sisters in the Lord.

  • Jesus teaches us that it is his disciples who are his true family (Matthew 12:48-50). These are his “brother and sister and mother.”
  • Paul says that we are “of the household of faith” – Galatians 6:10.

But we almost have to say these things by faith. For in truth –

We still have conflicts

This is why the New Testament talks so much about conflict and the need for peace. Those apostolic congregations needed it. Listen to these admonitions:

  • “Be at peace with one another” – Mark 9:50
  • “Be at peace among yourselves” – 1 Thessalonians 5:13
  • “Live in harmony with one another” – Romans 12:16
  • “Pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up-building” – Romans 14:19

And there are others references that could be added. All of these calls for peace give the distinct impression that this is not something that just happens. Peace is something we have to work toward. It is something we have to work hard toward.

But also notice that in these verses the call is to peace, not just trying to cover over our conflicts so that no one thinks we have conflict, which is hypocrisy. Peace means being honest about it and working through our conflicts in love, so that we all have good relationships with each other and live in harmony.

We are to work hard at this so that we can work together as one body, and so that we can get along as one family.

Now, if I may say so, the problem today is that if there is conflict, instead of being at peace with one another, we just leave and go to another church down the street. We avoid conflict. We don’t do the hard work of loving each other enough to hang in there and sort things out.

Let me say more. I wonder what it would be like if there wasn’t a church on every corner. What if being committed to a church was like being committed to a marriage – where you have to work things out?

This is what God calls us to do. So let’s look at some ways to do this.

1. Grow in your love for others

This is a commitment each of us needs to make.

To remind us what love is, here are some phrases from 1 Corinthians 13, “Love is kind. Love is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way. Love is not irritable or resentful.”

And then in Colossians 3:14-15, Paul tell us to – “. . . put on (this) love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.”

Love is the source of our peace. Let your love for each other grow cold, and you will see our peace disappear.

Here’s a different way to look at all this. God has put us together for a reason, so that we can grow in our love for each other. So maybe that person you can’t get along with is specifically here to help you grow. Maybe that person that rubs you the wrong way is here for your benefit; a gift of God to you, to help you learn to love more deeply.

And so if you go off to another church in order to avoid them (thinking perhaps that other churches don’t have such problems), maybe you are really running from God. And who knows? Maybe God will put someone just like them in the new church you go to – for your benefit.

Does the person annoy you? Ask God for more love. And ask God to give you his eyes for that person so that you can see what is good about that person and why God loves them. And pray for that person. This not only is a blessing for them, it is a tremendous way to change your heart and your attitudes toward the person.

We’ve got to grow in our love for one another.

2. Let love break down relationship barriers

We have to be careful not to let our differences divide us. For instance, those who are older and those who are younger – generational differences. Or those who live in the city and those who don’t. Or even something as simple as the youth letting what school they go to divide them.

We can’t just go off and be in our comfortable clicks, around those we like and who are like us. Such partiality is not consistent with the call to love each other. As James 2:8-9 says, “If you really fulfill . . . ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”

Love should push us to be with others. And our love should pull others into our circles. We are all a family here, brothers and sisters in the Lord. This is what defines us, not our differences.

3. Bear with one another

This is a particular part of love that I want to highlight here. 1 Corinthians 13 also says, “Love bears all things” and “Love is patient.” Paul says in Colossians 3:12-13, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another . . ..” We need all these things, but I am especially focused on patience and bearing with one another.

People can rub us the wrong way. And so we need patience. Patience means longsuffering, or the ability to suffer for a long time – in this case with other’s weaknesses. We need to learn to bear with each other’s quirks and idiosyncrasies (and of course, hope and pray they bear with ours).

A part of this is learning to overlook minor issues. Proverbs 19;11 says, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” So don’t get angry over every little thing that happens. Be able to discern what is a minor issue and what has to be dealt with because it is truly important.

When there is real conflict –

4. Deal with the person involved

This principle is taught in Matthew 18:15. Go to the person in private to talk. Often the conflict is based on misunderstanding and can be settled easily.

This also makes sure we avoid two really big mistakes. 1) Judging by appearances. We assume we know what is going on based on what we can see from a distance. And we usually assume the worst of motives in others. But we don’t know the whole story. In John 7:24 Jesus says, “do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” You can’t do this until you talk to the person to find out what is going on.

2) Gossip. Don’t involve others inappropriately in the conflict. The issue is between the ones in conflict and so don’t go around telling everyone your point of view so that people start taking sides.

Both of these are real temptations, but we must learn to deal with the person face to face.

Also, when there is conflict –

5. Hear the other person’s point of view

It’s easy only to focus on making sure others know where we are coming from. But love compels us to seek to understand where the other person is coming from.

James 1:19 says in part, “Know this, my beloved brothers and sisters: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak . . ..” Quick to listen to others, slow to say what we think. This isn’t something that comes naturally.

Finally, when there is conflict –

6. Find a way to work through the issue

If you need to, find a compromise. Philippians 2:4 says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” It’s not just about us and getting what we want, there is also a concern for the other and their needs and desires.

If this fails, let some mature believers help. 1 Corinthians 6:1-7 tells us first of all, don’t take each other to a secular court! Then he asks in v. 5, “Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers . . .?” Surely God has given congregations those who can help settle disputes. And we need to be open to a mediator or even an arranged settlement that puts an end to a conflict.

 

So these are some ways that we work at living in harmony with one another. I encourage you to act on them as there is need.

And remember, what makes us different from the world is not that we never have conflict. It is that we love each other enough to work through our issues and that we do this in a loving way. This is our witness to the world – that Jesus makes a difference in how we live.

William Higgins

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How to overcome doubt

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 31, 2011| 10 Comments »

Follow the link for the updated version

 

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Take Up Your Cross: Mark 8:34-35

Posted in Mark, Mark 8, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 17, 2011|

[An earlier version of this message was preached in May 2004 in a Church of God congregation in Zurich, Switzerland.]

I want to talk to you about what it means for us to take up our cross and encourage you in your practice of this. Turn in your Bibles to Mark 8:34-35 – Jesus said,

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

First of all, there are a couple of misconceptions about what it means for us to take up our cross that falsely limit its application in our lives. The truth is that –

To take up your cross will affect every part of your life

Let’s look at these misconceptions. Some people say that taking up the cross is a only an inner, spiritual experience, something that takes place in our hearts – an inner cross where we die to our selfish desires.

Well, there is some truth in this, for there is something called an inner cross. For instance Jesus had to struggle within at Gethsemane in prayer, when he prayed, “not my will, but yours be done.” He had to deny himself and put God’s will first.

But it wasn’t just about his inner attitudes. Because after Gethsemane came Golgotha. No, Jesus had to take up his cross with real life actions – his suffering and death on the cross.

Yes, the cross has to do with what goes on within you, but it is also about your outward behavior. For if you die to your desires within this will show up in cruciform behavior and actions without. As Jesus said, a “tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). What is within your heart, is what will come out in your deeds.

Some people say that taking up the cross is only about suffering persecution, so that it only applies to a particular part of our lives, when we suffer for our faith.

Well the cross certainly does refer to persecution and followers of Jesus must literally suffer and do at times literally give up their lives.

But Jesus himself connects his call to take up the cross in Mark 8 with self-denial, something we are to practice in everyday life. Also in Luke 14 he connects the cross to something as practical as surrendering our earthly wealth to God. No, the cross has to do with all that we do in this world as followers of Jesus. Suffering for sure, but also helping a neighbor, doing ministry, serving someone a meal, etc..

Now I want you to get a sense of what it looks like to take up your cross. I want us to look at the –

The cruciform pattern of Jesus

 Paul talks about this in Philippians 2:5-11 and I want us to read this.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

There is in these verses a “cruciform pattern” to Jesus’ life – in two stages:

First of all, there is a downward movement. Jesus lowered himself. And he did this in two steps:

First, Jesus became a servant. Though he was at the highest place in all of creation, he lowered himself to serve the needs of others. He denied himself, he lost his life by setting aside his place, his privileges and his prestige in order to lower himself to serve. He did this as he healed others, taught, set people free, loved them, and in general gave of himself to others.

But not only did Jesus serve, when his humble service was rejected he lowered himself even further. Jesus endured suffering and death. In this case his self- denial led to the literal loss of his life as he sacrificed himself on the cross for others.

Then, there is an upward movement. When he was as low as one can go, Jesus waited upon God and God raised him up. God raised him from the dead and seated him at the highest place in all of creation – at his own right hand. He was blessed and honored.

So this cruciform pattern has two stages – a lowering stage and a raising stage.

Now let’s look at –

How this works out in our lives

We are to live out this cruciform pattern. As Paul says, “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” – 2:5. It is not just about Jesus, it is about us following Jesus. “Take up your cross and follow me,” Jesus said.

  • We are lower ourselves to serve others’ needs, and we are to accept suffering from those who reject this. As we do this, we sacrifice and die to our life here on earth; we deny ourselves and lose our lives.
  • And then we are to wait upon God to raise us up to new life.

– This is to be the pattern in our life considered as a whole – that we lowered ourselves and then God will raise us up at the resurrection.

– And this is to be the pattern of our daily walk, as we take up our cross “daily” (Luke 9:23) and “die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:21) to ourselves, and God makes us new in our heart and actions.

This then is what it means “to take up your cross.”

But as this phrase indicates, our focus in to be on the downward movement. Jesus focused on the lowering stage. Paul said, “he made himself nothing.” The raising stage was left for God to accomplish. Jesus trusted that God would raise him up.

We too are to focus on the lowering stage – serving other’s needs and choosing to endure suffering and rejection for this. And then we trust God to raise us up from our lowliness at the right time in this life and then at the resurrection.

The downward movement is necessary. Everyone wants the second stage, right? Who doesn’t want to be raised up, to be honored, to be recognized, to be blessed?

But the first stage, the path to this – lowliness, who wants this? We want to skip right to the second stage. But you can’t have the one without the other. Without the lowliness, there is no exaltation.

In Jesus’ words in Mark 8:35, if we seek to save our lives, that is, to hold on to what we have in our earthly lives; to have earthly honor now, we will lose our lives. We have to lose our earthly life – the lowering stage – before we gain our lives, being raised up by God.

Since this is so, you can see that –

The way of the cross is not easy

It takes real humility to put others first, to lay aside your privileges, rights, status and comforts for others. And to suffer rejection and ridicule for this.

It takes real love for God and others to deny yourself and to sacrifice in this way for the needs of others day in and day out, not heroically (being noticed by others) but obscurely.

It takes also endurance. Enduring lowliness, times of despair and times of weakness. It involves waiting upon God when it doesn’t seem that he will act. Remember Jesus on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

So let me end with –

Some words of encouragement

When you feel like giving up, remember we have Jesus’ clear words of promise from Jesus that we will one day be raised up. As he said:

  • Those who are last, will be first
  • Those who humble themselves, God will raise up
  • Those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, will find life in the Kingdom of God
  • Those who lose their lives, will find their lives

And not only do we have Jesus’ words, in the midst of our lowliness we must remember the clear example of Jesus’ life. He proved his words and promises to be true through his own life and actions, because God came through for him.

He endured the greatest lowliness, despair and weakness, but God raised him up. And just as God came through for him, God will come through for you as well.

And so in the words of Galatians 6:9 – “let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

William Higgins

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Stories of Faith

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on July 10, 2011|

Series on Faith in God

We are still looking at the topic of faith in God. With the youth sharing today I want to just remind us briefly of some of the themes we have been looking at by telling two stories of faith. I hope that these will be an encouragement to you to believe in and act on God’s promises to you.

Story #1 – A miracle in a village

[I am intentionally not saying where this happened or where I got this story].

In the region where this story takes place people began to become Christians and form churches. But most people were Buddhists. Now when the lives of these Christians began to improve with schooling and the donation of a boat to the local church to get across the river – there was jealousy and opposition in some of the Buddhists. And they tried to close church buildings and expel pastors from their homes.

Eventually such an order was given – to demolish the church building in a small village where our story takes place. It was given by  the chief Buddhist monk, a village leader and a township administrator.

The Christians gathered in prayer – and must have heard from God. Because when the officials came on the appointed day the Christians refused to tear down their building. The church leaders spoke out boldly and said they could not tear down a building that was dedicated to the true God. The officials insisted that they do it – but the church leaders told them they would have to do it themselves and be accountable for what might happen.

Two carpenters were sent to demolish the building. But as soon as they got on the roof a terrible storm came with thunder, lightening and strong wind. This scared the carpenters and they ran to their homes.

The officials came back another day and again ordered the carpenters to tear down the church. As they began, again, a fierce storm broke out with lightening. The lightening struck a nearby Buddhist image which was famous and revered. The result was 15 cracks.

Seeing what happened the chief Buddhist monk fled the village. The village leader who ordered the church be torn down was killed by someone. And  the administrator was found to be corrupt and thrown out of the village. And so the order to destroy the building was not carried out.

I share this story to highlight the faith of the church leaders. They has the three essential parts of true faith working in them. 1) They had something from God that allowed them to be bold. They must have heard something as they prayed knowing that persecution was coming. 2) They had an unfailing trust in God and his word to them. And 3) this was evidenced in that they spoke boldly to the officials who sought to tear down the building and warning them.

And we see that God honored their faith and did a miracle that glorified his name in their village.

Story #2 – A miracle in North Carolina

Now a story that has a miracle of a different kind. This comes from Clarence Jordan – a radical Christian in the South who set up an interracial farming community in Georgia in the early 1940’s – Koinonia Farms.

In one place he talks about a church where he was asked to preach in North Carolina. “The church would seat about 300 and I think they had about 600 in it. The thing that amazed me was that these people were white and [black] just sitting anywhere they wanted to sit. . ..”

“When I got through (preaching) the pastor got up and said, ‘Now, we’re going to have dinner on the grounds.’ I really trembled then, because it’s one thing for black and white folks to worship together; it’s another thing for them to eat together. Here the man was advocating social equality right there in the South.”

“I went over to the pastor and I said, ‘You know, this is a rather amazing thing to me. Were you integrated before the Supreme Court decision?’ [1954] He said, ‘What decision?’”

“He explained: ‘Well back during the depression, I was a worker here in this little mill. I didn’t have any education. I couldn’t even read and write. I got somebody to read the Bible to me, and I was moved and I gave my heart to the Lord, and later, I felt the call of the Lord to preach.’”

“’This little church here was too poor to have a preacher and I just volunteered. They accepted me and I started preaching.’”

“’Someone read to me in there where God is no respecter of persons and I preached that.’ I said, ‘Yeah how did you get along?’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘the deacons came around to me after that sermon and said, ‘Now brother pastor, we not only don’t let a [black person] spend the night in this town, we don’t even let him pass through. Now we don’t want that kind of preaching you’re giving us.’”

“I said ‘What did you do?’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I fired them deacons.’ ‘How come they didn’t fire you?’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘they never had hired me, I just volunteered.’ ‘Did you have anymore trouble with them?’ ‘Yeah, they came back at me again.’ ‘What did you do with them that time?’ ’I turned them out. I told them anybody that didn’t know anymore about the Gospel of Jesus than that not only shouldn’t be an officer in the church, he shouldn’t be a member of it. I had to put them out.’”

“I said, ‘Did you have to put anybody else out?’ ‘Well, I preached awfully hard, and I finally preached them down to two. But,’ he said, ‘those two were committed. I made sure that any time after that, anybody who came into my church understood that they were giving their life to Jesus Christ and they were going to have to be serious about it. What you see here is a result of that.’”

“I thank God there was still one un-ruined preacher in the South who had no better sense than to preach the gospel. Maybe it was fortunate that some of our educators didn’t get hold of him. Now, I don’t mean to be putting emphasis upon the man’s ignorance. I don’t think that made any difference. I think it was the man’s faith that brought the power to his church. He was willing to couple a conviction with a way of action and take the consequences.” [Cotton Patch Sermons, The Substance of Faith, pp. 43-45].

This pastor also has the three essentials of true faith. 1) He has a word from God from Scripture – God is no respecter of persons. 2) He trusted God to take care of him as he made this word known. 3) He acted and acted boldly even when things were difficult.

And God blessed him with a new community that reflects the kingdom of God – people that cannot get along in the world – do get along in the kingdom, for we are all one in Christ.

 

I hope that you will be encouraged by these stories so that in your life circumstances you can be bold and have faith as well when God speaks to you.

William Higgins

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The difference between faith & presumption

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on June 12, 2011|

For an updated version of this teaching: The difference between faith and presumption

 

 

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The Symbolism of Water Baptism

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 5, 2011|

As we begin this service of baptism, let’s remember the words of our Lord, who said,

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28:19-20

Jesus teaches us to baptize those who choose to follow him. And this is what we’re doing here today.

As we get started, let’s review again the symbolic meaning of water baptism. We begin with –

Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea

On the diagram below notice Egypt as the place of slavery and then Mt. Sinai – the mountain of God. And in between these two are the waters of the Red Sea.

Remember, as the Israelites tried to escape their misery and slavery in Egypt, Pharaoh’s army came to kill them. And the waters of the Red Sea blocked Israel and they were about to be destroyed. In Hebrew thought the deep waters are evil. They represent judgment and death.

God, however, acted to deliver Israel from judgment and death. He divided the sea, making a path for Israel to make it to the other side; to fully escape their old life.

There are five parts to this event.

1. Israel left Egypt behind.

2. Israel was set free from judgment and death. They went through the waters of destruction safely to the other side.

3. They had a Spirit experience. As the came up on the other shore they sang prophetic songs by the Spirit.

4. They became a new people. As they came up on the other side, they were no longer a ragtag group of slaves. They were the people of God.

5. They committed to obey God. After they came out of the waters, they traveled to Mt Sinai and committed to obey God’s Law.

Christian Water Baptism

Well there is a parallel between this Red Sea crossing and Christian water baptism.

Like we just saw, the waters here also represent judgment and death. But God has intervened for us. Through Jesus, God delivers us from judgment and death. He makes a way for us to cross over to the other side.

And there are five parts to this.

1. When we come to the waters of baptism, we portray that we have left behind our old life through repentance. Just like Israel left Egypt behind, so we leave our old, sinful life in the world behind.

2. When we go through the waters of baptism, we acknowledge that we are set free and forgiven. Just as with Israel, judgment and death can’t touch us anymore. We testify that our sins are forgiven (or washed away). That’s why we can go through the waters and not be harmed.

3. As we come up out of the water “on the other shore,” as it were, we acknowledge that we have received the Spirit. Just like when Israel came up on the other shore and they had a Spirit experience, so we testify that we have received the Spirit who gives new life.

4. When we come up out of the waters, we acknowledge that we are now a part of God’s people. Just as Israel became God’s people, we show that we have left the world behind and we are now a part of God’s people; that this is our true community.

5. When we come up out of the waters, we acknowledge that we are committed to follow Jesus. Just as Israel went on to Sinai and committed to obey God, we show our commitment to a new way of life; to doing God’s will from now on, just as Jesus has taught us.

Baptism is a symbolic testimony that this is all true in our lives. And this is the testimony of each of these who will come forward today.

William Higgins

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We (still) don’t know when Jesus will return!

Posted in Mark 13, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 15, 2011|

Well, perhaps you’ve heard of the groups that have been proclaiming that Jesus will return on May 21st – which is this Saturday. They seem to be everywhere. They’ve been talked about a lot in the media, and they have a robust presence through their signs, websites, RV caravans in the U.S. and even missionaries going to other countries to spread their message.

This is all based on one man who feels he has been given special insight into Scripture; insight that has been withheld for centuries. [familyradio.com/PDFS/nmk_en.pdf] He uses cryptic numbers and dates to find hidden messages in the Bible. For instance, he gives a speculative date for Noah’s flood and then using symbolic numbers he forecasts the end of all things.

Many have bought into this, and some of these have even left jobs and spent their savings because everything will end this Saturday, so, ‘Why bother with worldly concerns?’

This man also preaches that people in churches – like us, who don’t listen to and respond to his teaching about the end will be judged and condemned by God on the 21st.

This is nothing new. In fact this very man predicted the end would come on September 6, 1994. As one news article says, “On September 6, 1994, dozens of . . . believers gathered inside Alameda’s Veterans Memorial Building to await the return of Christ, an event [he] had promised for two years. Followers dressed children in their Sunday best and held Bibles open-faced toward heaven. But the world did not end. [He] allowed that he may have made a mathematical error. He spent the next decade running new calculations . . ..”  [sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/01/BA8V1AV589.DTL&feed=rss.news]

And there have been other groups that have set dates like this. The most famous example in American history is called ‘The Great Disappointment.’ The date was set for October 22, 1844. Some left jobs and responsibilities behind. But, of course, it didn’t happen. And people were certainly disappointed.

I want us to think about this today, and especially this group that says that Saturday is the big day – because this is an object lesson for us about listening to Scripture, and about how seriously we can get ourselves in trouble when we don’t.

First, let’s listen to the Scriptures, which teach that –

No one knows when Jesus will return

Turn to Mark 13, if you will. Jesus address this topic here head on. Speaking of his second coming he says, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” – Mark 13:32. The phrase “that day or that hour” speaks to the issue of timing, when Jesus will return. And then he says clearly “no one knows.”

And then the next part I teach in the catechism class (it’s so basic and clear that beginning Bible students know it):

  • If the angels don’t know the time, you can be sure that neither you nor anyone else knows.
  • And if the Son, that is, our Lord Jesus, doesn’t know the time of his return, you can certainly be sure that no human knows.

Are we really supposed to believe that anyone knows more than Jesus – about his own return!!! Only the Father knows the time.

Moving down to v. 33, Jesus says, plainly, “You do not know when the time will come.” And then look at v. 35. Speaking of his coming, Jesus said,  “. . . you do not know when the master of the house will come.” This man says he knows. Jesus says to him and everyone,  “you do not know.” In the space of 3 verses Jesus says this three times – “no one knows” “you do not know,” “you do not know!”

And think about it. This last verse comes from the parable of the servants. The master goes away and puts his servants in charge. The point of this parable is to teach us to be ready and alert for Jesus’ return. Why? Precisely because we don’t know when Jesus the master will return. These people think that if we know a particular date it promotes being ready. But this is the opposite of Jesus’ message.

If you know the exact date, why be ready until the day before? Live your life like you want. The servants can sleep all they want, as long as they wake up on the day they know their mater will return. Their teaching undoes the very logic of the clear message of Jesus to be ready and awake at all times because it can happen at any time.

As if this were not enough, Jesus also teaches us that we should not even try to find a date. He warned us ahead of time that some would try. In Acts 1:7, regarding the coming of the kingdom, Jesus says, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” So why do people try – when Jesus says, don’t? There is no possible reason to nullify our Lord’s word. As he said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” – Mark 13:31.

So after all the calculations and corrections and charts from this man, as my title says today, we still don’t know when Jesus will return.

So let me say to you today with utmost confidence that there is nothing to what this group is saying about Saturday. Not because I know – no one does. I can’t rule out May 21, or any day for that matter. But Jesus did say “the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect” – Luke 12:40. So therefore May 21st is an unlikely day for Jesus to return.

The serious consequences of not listening to Scripture

When we don’t listen to Scripture and make it our standard we are susceptible to false teaching. This is a reminder to us that false teaching is alive and well. And we are called to avoid it. But we are vulnerable when we don’t listen to Scripture or when we give that responsibility over to some teacher and we just listen to what they say.

Jesus himself said concerning the coming of the end, “And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray” – Matthew 24:11. He knew people would take advantage of others with regard to his second coming. And so we are to be careful.

Jesus gives this warning in Luke 21:8 – “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.” We have already seen the Scripture is clear that no one knows when Jesus will return. And any time someone sets aside the clear teaching of Scripture – the very words of Jesus – they take up the role of a false teacher.

  • These people say, “the time is at hand” – this Saturday.
  • But Jesus warns us and says, “Do not go after them.”

And as your shepherd I am reminding you of your Lord’s teaching and warning you, “do not go after them.”

Also, when we don’t listen to the clear teaching of Scripture we become a stumbling block to others. Most of those swept up in this don’t know much if anything about the Scriptures. They are just following someone that they think does know. And they will be greatly disillusioned when nothing happens on Saturday. It will cause them to question their faith; to doubt Jesus; to doubt the Scriptures.

What I am saying is that the leaders of this movement are causing these believers to stumble; to fall off the path; to lose their way.

Jesus talked about this, and the seriousness of this in Mark 9:42. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” Let me just say that drowning is not the way I want to die – and certainly not with a large stone around my neck. But Jesus says that it will be a worse judgment than this.

This reminds us of what James says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my sisters and brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” – James 3:1.

All who don’t listen to Scripture and then, as in our case, set themselves up as the teacher that everyone should just listen to, and mislead others with false teaching will be judged. This is very serious.

Finally, when we don’t listen to Scripture, and then act on this, as in this case setting a date for the end against Jesus’ clear warning we defame God’s holy name.

Here I am talking about unbelievers. As Christians we are not to “misuse God’s name.” This is the third of the ten commandments (Exodus 20:7). Rather, Jesus teaches us to pray every day for God’s name to be “hallowed” or honored (Matthew 6:9).

And we bear God’s name. We are called by his name. And when we act in ways that bring ridicule to our faith, we bring ridicule to the Name that we bear.

Israel did this (Ezekiel 36:22). As Paul said, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” -Romans 2:24. And Christians have done this. And now these people are doing this. For when nothing happens on Saturday in the eyes of many, Christian faith will have been shown to be foolish and false. “Here we go, once again. Those Christians are sitting on hills waiting for Jesus. Don’t they know by now that it won’t happen.”

It gives God a bad name, even though God is not behind this and Jesus forbids it. Indeed, there are already Atheist parties planned so that they can celebrate when nothing happens and mock the faith of these people, and Christian faith in general.

This is a serious thing. For the third commandment ends with these words – “The Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name” – Exodus 20:3 (NRSV).

The message

So as I said this is a kind of object lesson for us, of what not to do. And what will happen because of it. In this particular case it has to do with the return of Jesus and the resurrection. But it could play out in other areas of our faith as well.

The lesson is, listen to the Scriptures! Listen to Jesus. Because when you don’t, it gets you into all kinds of trouble. And you will see this play out this very week. As it does, remember what we have looked at today from the Scriptures.

William Higgins

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Moving Forward

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on May 8, 2011|

We are talking about our congregation’s future today. And I want to begin with a bit of recent history. Leadership has been working at ways for our congregation to move forward for quite a while now. Long before the two services plan was offered. And after it wasn’t accepted, we certainly have worked hard. Many hours of meetings. For myself, and I am sure others, many more hours of thinking and praying and working at this.

This is important because it is about vision for the future; our future. And it’s important that any group, our own church included, has a sense of direction and purpose; that we know we are going somewhere and somewhere good. Of course, you can never control the future and what will happen. But at least with a plan you can be intentional about setting a direction and moving toward some specific goals.

As Elders and church council members I believe we have come to a point of clarity on moving forward, although we will ask for your blessing at our annual meeting in July. (And you will be able to see the details then).

But before we get to moving forward,  first –

Some words of encouragement

I guess it’s just a part of human nature that it’s much easier to see the negative in things rather than the good. Right? We often focus on all that we should be doing better as a congregation; all the areas we are weak in compared to other churches. We don’t often think about what we do well, and where we are gifted; where God has blessed us.

Let me give you some examples of this, and then I will let you give some as well:

  • Our children and young people – what a good group we have, and we want to invest in their lives.
  • Our musical gifts and worship times
  • We have many who are willing to work with their hands to serve others – service trips, MDS, helping members with needs.
  • We have many people who are highly committed and work hard at serving the Lord. And I thank God for each one.
  • We like to have fun with each other – eating, hanging out, joking, laughing.

Also mentioned by the congregation –  our Pastor (and, of course, I joked that I would pay Dale for saying that after the service). We have many good teachers in our congregation. And we are a multi-generational church.

These are all precious gifts from God. And we should be thankful to be in a congregation so blessed!

Brothers and sisters, let’s have a good image of ourselves. Not because we are anything, but because God is good to us. And let’s build on these good things as we move forward.

Now let’s talk about the future. First of all, we want to –

1. Make involvement in ministry the center of our church

Romans 12:4-6 says, “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them . . ..”

Everyone of us has gifts and abilities, given by God. And as Paul says, we want you to use them!

So we want to shake up how we are organized. We don’t want to focus on administration so much and simply coming to meetings (too much of which can suck the life out of the best of us). We want to focus on a number of ministry teams, building on what we already have, and having a flexible structure so that as God leads, others can be formed.

For instance we are now working on creating a “Hospitality Team” which will focus on welcoming visitors, and also will bring together other roles we already have that are related to this. We want to make this a focal point of ministry. And we want to do it well.

Each such ministry team will be led by someone who has gifts and a passion in that area of ministry. And they will be encouraged to give leadership and be creative. And then we will recruit others to help out, who also have gifts and a desire to serve in that area.

So this change is about unleashing people to serve out of their strengths. Because when people are acting out of their gifts and their passions, the work, although it can be hard and time consuming – is life giving. There is joy in it!

So there is a change in organization involved, but we also want to shake up our thinking about ministry.

  • Under the supervision of the Elders, we want to give leaders freedom to lead and be creative.
  • We want to get everyone involved in some way or another with ministry – according to the grace that God has given them. This should be seen as normal, not exceptional – from our seniors all the way to our youth.
  • And we want to learn to be flexible. If people come forward with a vision and gifts, new ministry teams can be put together. And if there is no longer a vision or a person wanting to serve, the team can cease. We need to learn to ask. ‘Where is God working among us?’ ’Where is God stirring up vision and giving us people with gifts?’ And we need to pursue this.

Second and just briefly, we want to –

2. Be prepared in practical ways for growth

This comes as an expression of our faith – that God will work among us.

So we will be working at putting in place a five year plan for our building and grounds. We have at various times bumped up against the limitations of our facilities, since I have been here and even before.

As we grow, as God works among us, we want to have a pathway in place; a roadmap for how to move forward and what steps are involved. We want to be ready.

We make this plan in faith, and we will enact it a step at time, as there is need. Whether it’s in five years or not.

Alright, having put in place a way for people to use their gifts in ministry, and having in place a plan for what might come of it, third, and most importantly, we want to –

3. Invite God to work through us

Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” I know I certainly don’t want to labor in vain. So we need to seek God.

God is the key. Because it is God alone who brings real growth, and fruit that remains. As Paul says, it is “God who gives the growth” – 1 Corinthians 3:7.

How this works is a mystery to us. As Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” – Mark 4:26-29.

We just tend the garden, but God has to act to bring life and growth. So this is a matter of prayer and seeking after God.

This is what I believe

I believe if you aren’t moving forward, you are moving backward. There is no neutral in the Christian life.

I believe that if we just focus on being comfortable and doing things like we always have – we’re gonna find ourselves a few years from now asking, ‘Why don’t we have any new people?’

I believe God wants to move among us; that God wants to do something special among us.

I believe that God has given each of us gifts for his kingdom which he can use to move among us. And that none of us will find true joy until we do serve the Lord. Because this is what we were created for.

I believe that God wants to touch people’s lives through us. And that there are people out there waiting for us to kick it into high gear, so that they will be touched and transformed and turned into those who minister to others as well.

What I am asking of you

I am asking you to believe that God can and will work in us and through us in powerful new ways. In other words, I am asking you to have faith; to be excited; to have expectation; to be looking forward to what God will do among us.

I am asking you to be committed; to give more priority to this church body than to other activities, worthwhile as they may be. I am asking you to invest yourself in this congregation; your time and your resources.

Finally, I am asking you to use your gifts. Find out what they are, and then don’t be shy. Be teachable, but be bold to step out and serve.

William Higgins

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