Ending Dysfunction: The Pain of Deceit

Gen. 27: 1-27, 30-36; II Thess. 2: 2-4, 9-12 

In the movie Wicked Little Letters set in 1920, Edith Swan is a devout Christian lady caring for her elderly parents in their English home. One day she begins receiving nasty and hateful letters causing incredible distress to the whole family. The main suspect is her Irish immigrant neighbor, Rose, an unmarried mother. Pretty soon the whole town begins receiving the same nasty and hateful letters and Rose is arrested.  

Now, spoiler alert. Through some incredible sleuthing, a true deceit is revealed. Edith, the good Christian lady, upstanding and righteous in all things, has been the one sending the letters all along. She has let Rose take the blame for it because of anti-Irish immigrant feelings. Edith’s controlling and emotionally abusive father doesn’t believe it until Edith curses him to his face as she is led away for her crimes. Being deceived is hard for us because it ruins our trust in the deceiver and in everyone else sometimes. Three lessons we can learn from the scripture today on deceit are these: deceit hurts everyone around you, being deceived is not your fault, but, willingly staying in deceit is a form of idolatry which ultimately harms our relationship with God. 

First, deceit will hurt everyone around you. Jacob and Esau had a tense relationship as brothers. Jacob had effectively swindled Esau’s birthright by trading it for food. Now, their mother has plans to deceive an elderly Isaac into giving the blessing of the first born to Jacob as well, leaving Esau with nothing. This was achieved by tricking the blind Isaac into thinking that Esau was in front of him by dressing Isaac up to seem like he was Esau. In the end the trickery works. Isaac blesses Jacob leaving nothing for Esau.  

Look at how much havoc this deceit brought to Isaac and his family. Jacob has to flee into exile because Esau wishes to kill him. Esau becomes hateful and murderous. Rebekah has chosen favorites and forever damaged her relationship to Isaac and Esau, whom she must continue to live with. Isaac is now broken and heartsick in his old age and will never see Jacob again. One decision to choose deceit instead of honesty broke this entire family for years and years.  

How many families, friendships, and relationships are ruined because someone chose deceit over honesty? A husband sneaks around on his wife and ruins life for himself, his wife, his kids, and sometimes event he extended family is broken. An elderly parent is deceived by a con artist and loses all of the life savings they have worked so hard for over the years. How many families are torn apart or live in a state of discomfort over politics in our country—their disagreement too much for the relationship to bear? How many people subscribe to bad theology that teaches anger, hate, and cruelty instead of the love and redeeming grace of Jesus? Lest we forget God is not willing that any should perish. And neither is God pleased when we are torn apart instead of finding a common mission in Christ Jesus.  

Whether we are a deceiver or the deceived, that untruth in our lives will lead to anger and destruction. We often hear the truth shall set you free. But if we are truthful, honesty and truthfulness can often be a very hard road. Sometimes small lies make life a lot easier in the moment, but they end up destructive in the long run. Deceit doesn’t just hurt us, it hurts everyone around us.  

Secondly, if you are a victim of deceit, know that it is not your fault. Second Thessalonians tells us about the powers of a skilled con artist. He will exalt himself. He will act with counterfeit power, show the people signs and miracles. He will be full of deceit, trickery, and use every device at his power to deceive. It is easy to be conned by someone that skilled. I think of many of my fraud victims. In hindsight they see the warning signs, the problems, and the schemes. But the reason fraud works is because it’s so hard to see in the middle of it. They also carry a lot of guilt and self-blame. Fraud is always the fault of the fraudster, not the innocent victim. Schemes work when someone takes advantage of our vulnerabilities, just like Jacob took advantage of Isaac age and visual impairment.  

The way to combat spiritual frauds is to come back every time to the words of Jesus. When ministers, teachers, or even personal mentors say something, we should hold them accountable to the words of Jesus. Perhaps the first and best sign is whether someone exalts themselves or Jesus.  The Gospels tell of the importance of being humble and not desiring to be first in the kingdom of God. We must be diligent in our desire to follow Jesus and live our lives by the Gospel word and Jesus’s example. Believing in Jesus may be the ticket to salvation, but if we squander every effort to live for Jesus, can we honestly say we believe it, or do we deceive ourselves? Do we sacrifice self and comfort for Jesus, or do we sacrifice Jesus for our own self and comfort? Being deceived by a committed fraudster is never our fault, but there does come a time when such behavior crosses a line.  

The third lesson is that willfully staying in deceit, when we know the truth, is idolatry and damages our relationship with God. In the midst of his deceit, Jacob has to answer how he was able to find the wild game so quickly. His reply is “the Lord your God put it in my path.” Jacob knew about God, but living in his world of deceit, trickery, and self-interest, he didn’t really know God. But the biggest tell of this issue is in the epistle. If people want to continue in their deceived ways, God will allow it, but they will earn condemnation for enjoying lies rather than seeking truth.  

One of the most prominent scams in my work with elder victims is the romance scam. A con artist pretends to be a love interest and asks for large amounts of money. The problem is many folks who are deceived by this choose the deception even when the con artist is exposed. In Wicked Little Letters, even after Edith fully admits to writing the letters, her father keeps saying, “I know you didn’t do it, shut up.” He would rather live in the deception rather than the truth because the truth hurts.  

Though God understands and offers compassion when we are deceived, God will hold us accountable when we would rather live in deceit than come into the light of God’s truth. Deceit creates dysfunction, and it damages our relationship with the God who loves us. At the training this week we learned about how we can be deceived into thinking all is okay in life. We become so consumed by work, routines, and aspects of life that we forget and neglect our relationships, our faith, and ourselves. When someone lies to our face, we tend to be upset by it. But we often have a comfort and tolerance for being able to deceive ourselves.  

When we lie to the world and ourselves saying, “I’m fine,” we do more damage to our relationships and faith than we realize. Instead, we must be honest in life with our loved ones and ourselves But, that isn’t the complete goal. We must also put in the work to be well, to have good relationships, to accept shortcomings, and to live in this world in the way God calls us. Saying that you are not okay is a first step but never doing the work to be better and to come back to God’s will is still living in a place of deceiving ourselves.  

In Wicked Little Letters, the whole town was rocked by the deceit of Edith Swan, and it nearly cost an innocent woman her freedom and her child because of the deceit and the prejudice. Deceit damages everyone within its influence, but being a victim is never our fault. Where we must work, however, is to address those places we are deceived or engage in deceit and work through the trouble to grow in our relationship with God, to follow Jesus, and to help others who are hurting. In doing so, we find strength in our faith, and healing in our Savior.  

  Worship Service Video  https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1660552368310323

Ending Dysfunction: Cruelty of Others

Ending Dysfunction: Cruelty of Others : Gen. 16: 1-6; 21: 8-19; Eph. 4: 29-32 

One of the more shocking moments in my journey as an organist was when I was asked to play the hymn “The Day Is Surely Drawing Near.” Having grown up in the fundamentalist brand of the Baptist church, I thought I had heard some pretty severe hymns. This one, however, took the cake. Here’s a little verse or so: “The day is surely drawing near, when Jesus, God’s anointed, shall with great majesty appear as judge of all appointed. All mirth and laughter then shall cease, when flames on flames will still increase.” And further, “Then woe to those who scorned the Lord and sought but carnal pleasures…at the judge’s stern command to Satan be delivered.”  

Now, does that technically track with the book of Revelation? Yes. Does it really need to be said that way? Probably not. Does the melody to which this hymn is sung feel like one has been delivered to Satan’s chief musician? Yes. I struggled to play it, and the congregation was woefully un-thrilled to sing it. It is a reminder, though, that often we hear and experience cruel things in this world. Sometimes that comes from the very words and actions of a person who professes the Christ who said to love one another even as he has loved us. How do we deal, as followers of Jesus, with the cruelty we see and that we often endure in this world?  

We read about unkindness and cruelty in our Genesis lesson. Hagar was the slave of Sarah or Sarai. And Hagar is treated harshly by Abaraham and Sarah. Because God has promised many descendants, but Sarah has not yet had children, she offers Hagar up to Abraham to produce a child and heir. This was common practice in ancient days—slaves would be used to produce children that would then be taken by a female master who could not bear children of her own. This would have happened with or without Hagar’s consent.  

Hagar begins to treat Sarah with disrespectfully after she becomes pregnant, so the angry Sarah treats Hagar so harshly it runs her off into the desert. She does come back and have the child, but after Sarah has a child of her own, Hagar and Ishmael are sent away with only a small amount of food and water, presumably to die in the wilderness. Abraham would have been a very wealthy man in terms of that time, and he sent both of them away with nothing, knowing that they would likely not survive for long.  

We often think of Abraham and Sarah as heroes of the Hebrew scripture. But they were not without fault. Several times we read of God having to admonish Abraham and Sarah or smooth over the mistakes they make. Hagar did not ask for any of the suffering she endured at the hands of Abraham and Sarah. The cruelty stems from Hagar having an attitude and Ishmael essentially teasing his half-brother. But women were seen as property, and as a slave woman, Hagar was seen as expendable property. Even her name, Hagar, translates to “the immigrant,” given her Egyptian heritage. She is stripped of any real identity. 

What makes this hard is that the cruelty, the unkindness comes from a heroic figure. It is hard both when we are on the receiving end of cruelty and unkindness, but it is equally as hard when a person we feel is a mentor or hero becomes the bad actor. The good news in all of this suffering is that God was still present and still had a plan.  

Though Hagar thought this was the end for her and Ishmael, God saw her, and God heard her pleas and her distress. In the wilderness, when she thought she would soon die, God created a well of water to keep her and Ishmael from death. Things did not work out the way Hagar wanted and expected. Things did not go the way she hoped or planned, but God still provided for her, cared for her, and loved her and her son enough to bless them abundantly.  

Sometimes, we don’t get to avoid the suffering. Sometimes we have to wait in agonizing patience for God to move and work. Sometimes the suffering, the cruelty, and pain can be real, but God is still speaking. God is still working. Just as God saw Hagar in her distress, God sees us in our distress and trials. Life can be very hard when people are cruel to us in words and actions. It is especially hard when that comes from friendly fire.  

A pastor friend of mine once said, “Some of the meanest people I’ve ever met have been in church. But they never pushed me to give up on God or on church.” Seeing Abraham and Sarah through a more villainous lens may tarnish those old Sunday School stories that taught us faith and hope and blessings through the stories of Abraham and Sarah. But we must remember our faith and hope are in Jesus who was perfect, not in other Biblical characters who were human, who had faults and failures, but who can still teach us lessons, good or bad. A friend summed up the struggle of human relationships like this, “Don’t lose your hope, just learn a lesson if things get bad.”  

Ephesians gives us the lesson, as God’s faithful, in how to live in love with others. Don’t use abusive language. Be good, helpful, and encouraging in what you say to others. If there is anything that is cruel, abusive, unkind, prejudiced, or just plain mean, we need to get rid of it. Unkindness cannot lead to redemption. Abusive words cannot draw others unto grace. Hatefulness in one’s heart cannot save a soul that feels like it’s drowning in this world. The late Maya Angelou is quoted as saying, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." And they should feel like they have encountered Christ in and through us.  

When I went to college, I began attending First Christian Danville, Kentucky, and my piano teacher talked me into joining the choir. I sat in the tenor section next to Tim, and I will never forget him. The first year of college was quite a wild transition for me from small town to college campus in a town similar to Georgia College in Milledgeville. Every Wednesday when I went to choir in a church full of strangers, Tim made a point of speaking to me. He asked how life in Danville was going. He asked about my classes, and occasionally he shared some good church gossip. We didn’t become life-long best friends or anything like that, and we barely keep in touch these days beyond Facebook. However, his kindness, graciousness, and understanding was exactly what I needed as an 18-year-old trying to find a community and a place of faith where I could grow.  

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ has forgiven us. This is our call as God’s faithful and as followers of Christ. Sometimes that is not what we find in this world. And sadly, sometimes that is not what we find in our churches. I am sure that every single one of us could tell some story of a pain we carry from a church experience that went sour. But even when we see humankind fail, falter, and slide into unkindness, God still sees us, an God is still guiding our lives.  

Hagar endured great suffering in her life. She experienced cruelty, unkind words, harsh treatment, and untold stress. Yet, God did not let the struggles destroy her. We may be tempted to ask, “Why did God allow this?” But I challenge you instead to ask, “Why did Abraham and Sarah, called by God, do this.” And in our own lives we must ask, “Why do we allow or tolerate it?” Unkindness and cruelty have no power when they are swallowed up in the light and grace of Christ.  

And so when we face the unkindness, the cruelty of this world, may we remember Hagar, whom God did not abandon, whom God did not let die in the wilderness, but used the evil done to her to make a blessing happen. As a much more gentle and loving hymn reminds us, “All I have needed Thy hand has provided, great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.” Amen.  

Worship Service Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1907818616535638

Family Dynamics: Listening Skills

Dysfunction: Listening—Genesis 47: 1-11; James 1: 19-27 

We continue our series on ending dysfunction this week. Today we are focusing on listening skills and how we can be better followers of Jesus through our ability to listen rather than being quick to speak. A prominent Southern Baptist leader, Russell Moore, wrote an article a few years ago about the struggles pastors face when speaking some of the harder words of Jesus. 

Several pastors had complained to him that after preaching the Sermon on the Mount, including all of the blessed statements, turn the other cheek, and so on, the congregation would come up and ask, “Where did you get that mess?” The pastors would say, “It’s the literal words of Jesus. In red. In the gospel.” And the reply would be, “Yeah, but that doesn’t work anymore. That sounds weak. Stop preaching it.”  

As a society, we’ve come to a point where we don’t want to hear or listen to things that are too challenging or push us to question too much. Listening closely inevitably requires us to evaluate and consider things that may contradict what we believe. Hearing Jesus speak certainly did that in his day. But critical evaluation is meant to push us closer to Jesus, not makes us frustrated. Today we look at three ways of listening that can help us grow in our faith: listening to understand, listening to respond, and listening to act. Each of these can be needed in different situations. The lessons for today give us guidance on when to use them and in many cases, why.  

First, we consider listening to understand. When Joseph tells of his dream of the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing down to him, he is pointedly rebuked by his father. I am sure for a few minutes, his father realizes that Joseph may be a bit spoiled by all the favoritism. His father, however, does have a strong dose of wisdom and experience in dreams and signs from God, so after the initial irritation, his father wonders what it could mean. The wiser part of Jacob knows that God speaks in dreams, and he realizes that he should listen to understand what is being said. 

This is an art form we have lost in our modern society. We tend to only listen to debate or rebuke. I see it in my cases where the pleas and outcries of victims, especially children or persons with disabilities are ignored or discounted. We all see it when we attempt any kind of political discourse in our society. We’ve become so focused on being right that we don’t often hear the pain or confusion or worry that might be behind another person’s challenging words. And, may I add, if we cannot pause to listen to each other, how can we ever listen to God? How many of us even doubt that God is still speaking?  

Jacob had a gut reaction to Joseph’s dream. It hit Jacob hard, but he also knew that there may be something important for him to know. Listening to understand means we hear not just the words a person says, but the who behind the words and the why. When someone speaks words of challenge from a place of vulnerability, they are coming to us as followers of Jesus to help them. It costs us nothing to say, “I hear you. It’s hard to listen to. But let’s talk about why you feel this way and how it’s affecting you.” God calls us to listen to understand, not just what God says to us, but to listen to one another as well.  

Other times we need to listen to respond. We read several times of the brothers’ hatred of Joseph and how they couldn’t say a kind word to him. We read of their ever-deepening hatred after Joseph’s dream. Now, I am certain that none of this was a secret. If they speak in unkind words, engage in hatred, and are bad to Joseph, everyone had to know. Joseph is also a bit of a tattletale. I’m sure he would have said something. Yet it never gets addressed. Sometimes when we hear words and actions that are unkind and unjust it begs of us to speak up and say something.  

When I took training on mediation, we were told that sometimes people need to simply vent, and you have to just sit and listen. Siblings often need to do this, I’m sure. But there comes a point where we have to stand up and say, “You’ve said enough. It’s time to stop.” If we think back to being teenagers or parenting teenagers, I’m sure we remember that moment when talking (or sassing) had to cease. Had Jacob or his wives addressed the brothers’ words and behaviors, perhaps their hearts might not have gotten to such a dark and dangerous place.  

Every election season, I feel like saying, “That’s enough, please stop talking.” As followers of Jesus, we have a calling to speak truth and speak the word of God. If we are timid about speaking the words of Jesus, then who will do so? Sometimes we have to speak the hard truths when folks may not want to hear it, even if it is chapter and verse right out of God’s word. It’s a bit step towards boldness if we tend to be the quiet one in life. And yet we know that God gave the strength to speak, to preach, and to teach to every disciple through the power of the Spirit.  

Lastly, we must also listen to act. The book of James tells us, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” For James, faith is active and engaged. It’s not just an endeavor to talk about. That stands to reason. What is the point of believing and knowing about faith if we don’t live it? Pope Francis once rather famously said, “You pray for the hungry, then you feed them. This is how prayer works.”  

One of the hallmarks of Jesus’s ministry is that he always called out the powerful and the prideful, but he spoke words of love and care to the broken, the hurting, the poor, the sick and the “least of these” as we’ve come to call them from the Gospel of Matthew. We must also remember in the Easter story we just heard that Jesus was poor, broken, hurt, and ultimately killed unjustly. He borrowed a donkey to ride into Jerusalem. He suffered under the Roman punishment. He was spoken to viciously by the mob and religious leaders. And ultimately, he died brutally and horribly. Perhaps that is why we are told that however we treat the least in our society is how we are treating Jesus.  

God’s word calls on us to act in ways that testify to the grace and goodness of God. The Bible is more than just a study book. It is a call to action for us to live faithful, Christ-centered lives in this world where wickedness often prevails and where bad actors win when we feel the need to “tone it down.” May worry and intimidation never win out over the voice of God stirring us to live out our faith in this world. For again, if not us, then whom?  

There are three ways to listen as God’s people which overcome our limited and sometimes dysfunctional behaviors. First, we listen to understand. For those who need us to see and hear beyond the words and into what hurts the soul, our understanding and willingness to hear and heal is crucial. Second, we listen to respond. There comes a time where must encourage those who dwell in words which fall short of God’s grace to reorient themselves back to words of truth and love—for themselves and others. Finally, we must listen to act. Dysfunction, chaos, and evil run amok when we aren’t willing to stand up and do something.  

The words of the Gospel may at times be challenging. To hear all of Jesus’s teachings can be very hard in modern society. We want to fit in, blend in, cling to what makes us comfortable. But the Gospel should be anything but complacent and comfortable. A writer I follow on Instagram summed up how the Gospel words should affect us as we hear them, listen to them, and do them. She writes, “[W]hen I meet my maker, I hope my hands are dirty from building something better. I want to hand back a life used fully. Scratched. Scarred. Lived.” And so, may we listen even as God continues to speak.  

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/959029773543364/

Ending Dysfunction: Anger Issue

Dysfunction—Anger Issues: Genesis 4: 2-12; Ephesians 4: 25-27 

We begin a series this week on finding ways to end dysfunctional behaviors in our lives. Yes, that sounds harsh, but these few weeks we will cover things that do tend to impair or halt our ability to function, both as people and as God’s faithful. We will cover several things including anger, listening, cruelty of others, deceit, anxiety, and a little bit of fun on Mothers’ Day. So, buckle up, friends, because it’s going to be a wild ride to Pentecost.  

This week we look at anger issues. Growing up, one of my family’s favorite shows was Golden Girls. Is it the truth? Yes. Do I have an explanation for this? No. In one episode, Sophia, who is the elderly mother, endures the loss of her son, Phil. Now, for decades, Sophia and Phil’s wife Angela have been at odds—angry, unkind, hateful to one another. Sophia alleges that it is over $47 that Angela borrowed without returning.  

In the final scene of confrontation, we learn that Sophia harbors grief and anger over the fact that her son dressed in ways she thought inappropriate in the 1980s. In the conversation, Angla establishes that Phil was a good husband, father, and provider. She affirms, “What he was, was a good man.” Sophia’s anger at herself, her grief, and all of this lets go, and she hugs Angela while sobbing, “My baby’s gone.”  

Many of us struggle personally or know loved ones who struggle with a lot of anger and irritation in their lives. The two primary sources for anger come from control and feeling wronged. Inherently, there’s nothing totally wrong with either. Sometimes, control is because we want what we think is best. It has a very toxic and horrible form, but we’ll leave that be today. And there’s nothing wrong with feeling wronged if someone has behaved badly to you.  

We see both of those at work in our Genesis story today. Cain and Abel were brothers. Both came to make sacrifices to the Lord. Abel came with the first and best of what he had produced as a sacrifice to the Lord. Cain brought…something. In truth, Cain made no effort. He brought a few crops, thinking it would be good enough. I’m sure he thought, “These are the best, why should I sacrifice them. God still gets something, and I get to enjoy what I’ve worked hard for!” He came to God with something inferior and a heart that did not care. When you treat God as an irritating obligation instead of a true sacrifice, God is not going to be thrilled.  

Cain, rejected by God, desires to control the situation and make God like him by being the only one God sees. And he feels wronged because he was upstaged by his brother. Cain begins down a terrible and surprisingly short road from anger to hate to murder. There’s nothing wrong with being angry, but we can’t stay there indefinitely.  

When we think of control, we think of shouting at God, feeling angry, hurt, when we feel like God should do something how we want it done. We may see control in grumbling to ourselves, “Why does my loved one, family member, or friend have this stupid belief or idea?” Sometimes that’s political, but not always. When our hopes and plans don’t exactly work out, we tend to default to anger. My mother is a very wise woman. In high school, I dated a girl she found exceedingly objectionable. Years later, after it was a messy end, I asked why she didn’t say something. She told me she knew I was just as hard-headed as her, and anger or arguing would have made it worse. She figured I’d find out soon enough.  

A wise pastor once said to me, “You cannot change people. You have to pray that God changes people, for God is the only one who knows how to lead a soul out of foolishness and into the light.” We show the light of Christ, and God leads others to it. Seeking control over things holds us back from redemption and keeps us in a place of anger and status quo.  

But the more difficult side of anger is when we feel wronged. I have a family member who took his Bible and marked Job out of the book of Job and wrote his own name in. Despite having everything in life he could want, he feels as though everything at every step of the way has wronged him. There are times, however, when we are legitimately wronged. I work with victims of crime every day, and it is often faith which gets them through. Some are quick to forgive, and some harbor anger for a very, very long time.  

The problem with feeling anger at being wronged or a perceived wrong is that we cannot stay there because it takes us down the road to resentment. For Cain, that was a fast trip. He felt wronged in his sacrifice, grew angry at Abel, and quickly got to enough resentment to kill his own brother. There is nothing wrong with being angry at the evils around us, but we must not let it lead us into resentment, because, if left unhealed, hurt people will hurt people.  

So how do we deal with the times we become angry? Ephesians is particularly not helpful. There is no three step process or spiritual insight offered here. We are told, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” Literally, this scripture says: be angry, but let it go. There are many times anger is appropriate, but it’s not a place we can stay, for it pulls us away from God and consumes us.  

Maybe we should take a lesson from Jesus’s anger. The story of Jesus getting angry and flipping tables in the temple is in all four gospels. Immediately after in Matthew, he sits down to speak parables. He does the same in Mark. He talks about resurrection in Luke, and in John, he meets with Nicodemus to tell him that God so loved the world. Did Jesus get angry at the bad things happening in the temple? Yes, absolutely he did. But Jesus didn’t stay there in that mindset.  

Friends, we have to let faith, prayer, and God’s guidance lead us out of anger before it gets to the point of unresolved hurt or resentment because both will pull us away from God. If we stay in our anger, we will never make room for God’s healing. And if we cannot find healing, we cannot help others find it because hurt people hurt people.  

If any of us are harboring anger or resentment at people in our lives, situations we’ve experienced, or even ourselves, turn the anger into positive action like Jesus did in restoring the holiness of the temple, then let it go as Ephesians tells us to do. Anger can lead us to working for God’s justice and God’s righteousness. Anger can help us live so that people see the love of God and hope of redemption in their own lives, or anger can leave us resentful and bitter…a heart and soul too stony to let God in.  

In 2019, police officer Amber Guyger was convicted of murdering Botham Jean in his own apartment when she walked in thinking it was her apartment and shot him. Many family members testified at sentencing and told of their anger and hurt at what she had done. But the victim’s brother, did something different, entirely. He forgave her and asked if he could give her a hug. He said to her, “If you are truly sorry…I forgive you. And I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you.” He then embraced her as she sobbed on his shoulder.  

There are many stories all over the world that show us holding on to anger, whether from a sense of control or from being wronged, will lead us to resentment, bitterness, and misery. Letting it go may be the hardest thing we will ever do. Like Sophia in the Golden Girls, we may have to face the pain and hurt that have held up that anger for years. But God is in the business of forgiveness, grace, and redemption, and so should we be. When we feel anger, may it push us to seek more of God and more of God’s wisdom and solutions in life. In every broken place may we be filled with grace and healing.   

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/796701039809645/

An Unshakeable Foundation

An Unshakeable Foundation—Psa.118: 1-2, 14-24; John 20: 1-18 

A wise philosopher from amongst the pews imparted some valuable wisdom to me once during a visit. He said, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Now, I have pondered on that for quite a bit of time. I even diagrammed the sentence to help me out understanding it: the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Here is how my brain has comprehended that: what is most important is to keep the thing most central to our faith at the forefront of all of our lives and all of our life. Now, he told me that main thing was the grace of Jesus, and here is where we part ways a bit.  

Grace is very important. We must all have grace in this life, just as Jesus has shown us grace in our oopsies and ought-ohs. But grace sometimes leaves us just shy of what is truly needed. As hard as it can be to understand, I want to encourage you to believe that the main thing, which we must the main thing, is the hope found in resurrection. Without the risen Christ, none of the rest of this Gospel story makes any sense at all. There is a very mysterious, unknowable, and truly comprehension-defying character to believing in the resurrection of Jesus. But here is where faith must bridge the gap and remind us that sometimes the mystery is just as important as the practical.  

One of the first hopes that we talk about in resurrection is the hope to see loved ones again. Now, there are some folks in all of our families, I’m sure, who seeing them in heaven would be more like a haunt than a hope. Or a “haint” as we call them in Appalachia. But for many of us, the pain of loss is soothed by the thought that we will see the ones we miss here when we get to the hereafter. Over 3 billion people in the world believe in resurrection, and that excludes those believing in reincarnation. Even those without faith believe in some form of resurrection otherwise, no one would believe in starting over from life going wrong.  

Growing up in a very fundamentalist church, we talked, sang about, and heard sermons often on heaven and being ready for heaven. We would sometimes sing a rowdy version of “Hallelujah, We Shall Rise!” As folks gain age and wisdom, it is this faith in receiving a reward and seeing old friends and loved ones that makes a life of faith make sense. We hold on to passages where Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today, you will be with me in paradise,” or tells the hearers that they will see the Son of Man in glory. It reminds us that the struggles we face on Earth are not the final word in the story of humankind. That is truly powerful.  

In a world where bombs are more important than food, power is more important than washing feet, and most of humanity is seen as expendable for greed and exploitation, we must hold on to the hope that God has prepared a place of rest and peace for us. We talk a lot about how to follow Jesus, but we must remember that following Jesus is not just something to do. We follow because of hope. We follow a risen Savior, whose love and grace is more powerful than anything we face.  

But beyond the hope of seeing departed loved ones, resurrection brings hope that life can change. A friend sent me a devotion about Peter the other day. When all of the crucifixion took place, Peter was timid, hiding, in denial. But soon he was preaching good news to those who needed it with all his might. No longer was he the unhinged one that always jumped too fast into everything. He was faithful leader of God’s mission. In Ancient Egyptian and Greek mythology, they had the phoenix, which symbolized rebirth, renewal, and resurrection.  

One of the reasons we try to be supportive of our AA here at First Christian and the Rescue Mission is because we believe in the power of starting over. Resurrection is theological, but in many ways, it is also simply a daily part of life. An addict can seek a resurrection from a life of struggle. An unhoused person can find hope in help and love to start over and begin anew. Someone coming out of a traumatic and toxic relationship feels like they have been resurrected from the misery they were in. The question for us is this: do we, as God’s faithful, believe and work in the hope of resurrection? Glenn Cunningham was badly burned in an accidental fire when he was 8 years old. The doctors advised that he would never walk again.  

He had an incredible determination and a strong faith that God would give him the strength. Two years after the accident he began to walk again. From 1919 to 1936 he worked tirelessly on regaining strength and ability believing that God would be with him. In 1936 he placed silver in the Olympics in the 1,500 meter race, and set a record for running a mile in just over 4 minutes. Do we believe in the power of resurrection in our lives, just like Glenn Cunningham believed it in his life? This is the foundation of our faith, that out of any trial or tragedy, God can give us the strength to find our way again, to be resurrected from the trials in life.  

Finally, we must have hope in the power of God’s love. The Psalm for today reminds us that God’s faithful love endures forever. It was Jesus’s love for us that brought him to the cross and led him out of the tomb. Resurrection works because it is supported by love. I’m working on a particularly difficult case in my law job right now. It was a person with significant disabilities who was adopted in the hopes of finding a family that would love her and care for her. Instead, she found the opposite: no love, no kindness. All they offered her was cruelty for her tragically short life.  

But faith tells me, and I have to believe, that even if humanity failed her, God loved her. Even as we recall the abject cruelty of Good Friday, we must remember that the end result was love and hope for us. When we look around the world we see a tremendous amount of hate and animosity. A friend of mine posted something on social media which said, “If you believe Jesus teaches you to hate someone, you need to read the Gospel again.” Jesus brought the hope of resurrection to all—that is rebirth in this life from our trials and troubles, and resurrection hope when our life here is done.  That is the foundation of our faith—this idea that whatever happens in this world is not the final answer because God’s love has overcome the troubles and trials and shortcomings which are inevitable in human life. Hope, renewal, and love mark the reality of Jesus’s work, not death, suffering, and the tomb.  

The foundation on which we build is important. For us as followers of Jesus, that foundation is the hope found in resurrection. A friend of mine was renting a house several years ago. It was a newer house built on a hill. But he soon noticed something. The walls had large cracks in them. When a ball hit the floor, it rolled quickly to one side. Plumbing issues developed. Bows and buckles began appearing in the hardwood flooring along with bumps in the carpet.  

The landlord and my friend called in an expert. He pulled up the flooring and found that the concrete slab on which the house was built was crumbling. In some instances, it had 2-foot-wide cracks in it. The builder had used bad and inadequate concrete, and they had never installed rebar at all to support it. There was nothing to be done. The house had to be torn down and a new foundation laid. My friends, be sure that you are building on a strong foundation of faith. At Easter we celebrate hope hereafter, hope to overcome in this life, and hope in the love that sustains us through.  

As we journey in life, remember that in every Good Friday, an Easter is waiting. In every trial and tragedy, there is hope if we have an unshakeable foundation. That requires us to keep our sights set on what is most important—our faith in God. So, this Easter, remember the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.   

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1540748610728614/

Palm Sunday - Hymn Sing Service

Palm Sunday - Hymn Sing Service

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/2415913418852175

"Jesus Wept" –Rev. Douglas Ivey

Jesus Wept –Rev. Douglas Ivey

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/917420630999662/

Lenten Learning: Healing

Healing—Psalm 23: 1-2, 6; John 9: 1-38 

When traveling, I listen to a podcast called “Swindled,” that talks about large-scale fraud and financial crime. The latest episode was truly uncomfortable. It talked about “The Apostle” David E. Taylor, of Joshua Media Ministries International or Kingdom of God Global Church. Taylor built his ministry on claims of face-to-face dreams and visions of Jesus, who spoke to him, and how Taylor taught his other leaders to do the same. Further he had a substantial faith healing ministry…you know…the kind where the pastors touch you and fall down flailing only to get up fully healed of some issue conveniently incapable of being scientifically tested.  

Let me fully say this here and now. God’s healing does not come in chaos, theatrics, and insanity. God absolutely brings healing in this world and our lives. But it is not some magic from a human who has made themselves out to be a god themselves, and, as they say, pride goeth before a fall. The Apostle and his leadership were indicted in August of 2025 for forced labor, conspiracy, and money laundering. His donation-based empire was staffed by what was essentially slave labor according to the indictment.  

For as long as there have been stories of faith-based healing, there have been charlatans to take advantage of our belief. We read in today’s Gospel that the religious leaders accuse Jesus of being Satan’s charlatan and of violating the Sabbath rules for healing a blind man. We read in this lesson something that offends our modern beliefs. The disciples ask Jesus what sin caused the beggar to be born blind—his or his parents’ sins. It was common belief in those days that physical impairments were tied to sin.  

That is simply not true. Sins can lead you to natural consequences, but God doesn’t visit suffering upon you just to punish you for generations of wrongdoing. If you do risky things you may end up paying the price, but Job is an illustration not the everyday expectation. Remember the words of Jesu here that in every trial or harsh circumstance, the power of God can be seen in us. Sometimes that in the miraculous and sometimes that’s in our own healing and acceptance of living with trials.  

The town was incredulous at what had happened. They could not believe the blind beggar they had known for so many years had been healed and had his sight restored. In the Gospel of John, however, healing is always two-fold. There is a physical healing, but there’s also a spiritual healing. Yes, the man had his sight restored, but look at how his soul was also blind, but now has sight. In verse 11 he attributes his healing to “the man they call Jesus.” As he is challenged by the Pharisees, he says in verse 17, “He [Jesus] must be a prophet.” By the end, verse 38, his sight is perfect and he sees Jesus as the Messiah.  

The hardest part for us is when we don’t get the miracle we wanted, so we go in reverse from Christ, to some prophet, to some guy named Jesus. Faith is not willing yourself into a physical miracle. Faith is, instead, saying “It is well with my soul” in every circumstance we face. If our faith and hope rest only on how we are cared for here in this world, we miss the point of following Jesus, of deliverance, and of death and resurrection.  

We cannot fall into the double-minded debate trap of the Pharisees. Some said that Jesus was not of God because he healed on the Sabbath, and that broke the rules. Others wonder how Jesus could have such power if he is not of God. It’s quandary. Their understanding, their belief is unsettled. They cling to this law and the life and story of Moses. But Moses is not a redeemer. Laws are not redemptive. Only Jesus is redemptive, and in that redemption, we find our healing. True discipleship is faithfulness to grace and the truth of Jesus, not the law.  

The trouble for them is that they cannot believe Jesus is a sinner and has the power of God to cure and heal at the same time. Thus, they interrogate the healed man, they interrogate his parents, then they interrogate him again. By this point they only look silly. They have lost sight, if you will, of the miraculous healing and the joy of this work of God to focus on the nitpicky rules they don’t like Jesus violating. I’m sure we’ve never seen that in the past in our churches, right? While we get caught up on the miraculous healing, Jesus reminds us that healing begins with the soul and spirit. The Pharisees end up cursing and insulting the man who was healed, and he goes on his way filled with grace.  

Sometimes, the church has to wade into the mess to make healing happen. Earlier this year we watched in horror as protests over immigration policies erupted in Minneapolis. Following two deaths and a city on the brink of total chaos, many of us feared where this would end up. But something different happened. The churches in the city opened their doors and brought people in. Clergy came to the city to help calm the struggles. In a situation brimming with hostility and nearing warfare, the clergy and churches began helping cultivate a program called “Singing Resistance Twin Cities.”  

Instead of devolving into hand-to-hand combat, protesters were taught organized ways of protest stemming from the 1960s and 70s nonviolence movement. They began walking calmly singing hymns songs guided and cared for by local and national clergy aimed at protecting safety. Whatever one believes on these protests and policies, healing happened, calm and peace came about because God’s people, the church stepped in to provide guidance and support. We may not agree on everything, but we are called to love our neighbors and to seek Christ in the most turbulent and tumultuous situations.  

Many of us see healing as God miraculously making a cancer disappear. And yes, that absolutely can happen. I have actually seen where prayer made a difference in such a situation. But we also cannot discount the work, our calling, of healing and helping the soul of each person and the collective spirit of God’s people. If the church wants to reignite a passion and purpose, then let it be in demonstrating grace and healing in our world. Let us be firm in rejecting what is sinful and wrong but loving and Christ-centered in how we deal with others. First and foremost, we live in a world of people who are in need of redemption. They need spiritual sight to know what love and faith truly look like.  

In writing about this Gospel lesson, one commentator said that we see the transformative power of the love of God as experienced and seen in the life of Jesus, and we must let God shape our own lives accordingly. To what do we conform our lives? How do we pattern our steps, our decisions, and our daily walk? Does it seek to honor Jesus and love our neighbors? Accountability and grace are not mutually exclusive. Faith and healing are not opposite ends of the spectrum. In our Gospel, Jesus healed the man’s sight and his soul. It’s all part of the same body.  

The Rev. David E. Taylor built an empire peddling what he alleged were faith healings. A federal grand jury called it fraud, money laundering, and exploiting people who genuinely had faith in God and the reverend. Over and above the noise of folks like that, the church still has a calling to be a place of healing. How many of you came to this church and can say that you felt joy again after an abusive prior faith experience. How many can say you felt broken and isolated but found a community that loves you. How many can say you’ve felt welcomed regardless of whatever has happened in life? How many can say you know God is with you? The more about Jesus that we know and share, the more we will hear those words of the blind man, “I once was blind, but now I see.”  

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1410780264155928

Lenten Learning: Faith

Faith—Psalm 95; 6-11; John 4: 5-29 and 39-42 

Last weekend, I decided to go hiking. I have no idea what possessed me to do this, and I clearly paid the price as I’m presently in a boot. But at the time, I had faith, faith that I could make it these 3.5 miles literally up the broad side of a mountain. There were a few lessons to be learned: if I don’t try it, I will miss out; if I focus on every single obstacle, I’ll never make it; and finally, a few aches and pains are worth the adventure and companionship. Faith in a theological sense is much the same way.  

Now, let’s apply them sermon-wise. Faith cannot grow in hardened hearts never willing to take the first step. Faith can only grow if we look to the long term and are open to where we may be led, obstacles or no. And finally, faith works when Jesus stays at the forefront and central focus. These lessons are found in our Psalm and Gospel lessons for today.  

First, faith cannot grow in hardened hearts unwilling to take the first step. We read in the Psalm for today, ““Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness.” The Psalmist elaborates on this saying that from hardened hearts, the people tested God’s patience and were ungrateful for all that God had done for them. Therefore, they wandered in the desert for 40 years without ever seeing the Promised Land.  

When our hearts are hardened, when we plant our feet where we are, God cannot lead us in faith. Faith calls us to movement forward whether it’s a simple few steps or an uphill climb. Imagine if the woman at the well had snapped at Jesus that she didn’t want to hear from a Jewish person because of the anger between the peoples. Hard hearts make for an empty and broken life. Yet we see hard hearts and an unwillingness to follow God’s guidance all around our world.  

We see it in the halls of our capitals, our churches, and in some cases our families. A hardened heart never led Nicodemus to Jesus. A hardened heart would have cost the woman at the well the living water. A hardened heart cost one thief on the cross his eternal mercy. To walk in faith, we must be willing to let God be our rock and let ourselves be like clay—moldable and flexible to God’s wisdom and direction.  

If we want to hear where God is calling and leading, we must have listening ears, softened hearts, and willing spirits. Hardened hearts are a problem because faith is built on trust. If we cannot trust, we cannot have faith. That’s why we hear over and over again about the importance of trusting God. Likewise, we must be able to trust those who teach us, lead us, and shepherd us through a life of faith. A hardened heart will keep us from listening, and it will hold us back from going where faith calls us.  

Second, faith can only grow if we look to the long term of God’s guidance. When we encounter the Woman at the Well, we learn about a long history of division and prejudice between the Samaritans and Jews. The past was filled with disagreement, conflict, and injustice. But God doesn’t exactly call on us to look backwards at old behaviors and past conflicts unless it is to repent and atone for them. God calls us to look to the present and the future—the long-term of where God is leading and guiding us. Jesus, however, offers her living water, and eternal life.  

She again gets caught up on the past—her 5 husbands, her present living situation. The funny part is Jesus identifies it, but nowhere does he judge her for it. Jesus was far more interested in the state of her faith than the state of her sin. When people do something wrong, they tend to know it. They don’t need us to analyze what they’ve done wrong. What folks DO often need help with is how make the change and walk in a better way. No one has found faith because a Christian carefully picked apart their sin. Faith is found when we guide others to follow Jesus and his way instead of a selfish or sinful way.  

God had a plan for this woman. Through Jesus, she was going to help save practically the whole Samaritan village. The disciples’ hearts and minds are bothered, pondering about Jesus, “Why are you talking to her.” They didn’t really want Jesus talking to a Samaritan. It wasn’t proper. But if we go back to Jesus’s words to Nicodemus, “For God so loved THE WORLD,” that Jesus was given on a mission of salvation.  

We live in faith when we follow the long-range plan God has for us, and when we help others find and stay on the path God has for their lives. If we never talk to others, we will never help them with God’s plan, and oh, what a missed opportunity that is. I heard a preacher once say to the congregation, “How sad it would be if Jesus hugs us closely in Heaven, then says, ‘I love you so much, but why were you so scared to work more for the kingdom of God?’” God’s calling and plan for our walk of faith is bigger and more powerful than we could ever know. We just have to trust God, and to follow where we are led.  

Lastly, Jesus must be our central focus and at the forefront of our journey. The Samaritans asked Jesus to stay in their village. Because Jesus was willing to stay two days, many of them came to believe. Most agree the many was quite a sizeable number of people. What was the difference? The Samaritans were treated as outcasts and the Jews had a position of authority and privilege. It is infinitely harder to convince those who have what they need and feel strong in their own authority and self-determination that they need grace. It is easier to convince the oppressed and suffering that they need Jesus because being confidence and comfort bring us a false sense of security.  

Faith cannot work in a hardened heart nor an indifferent or distracted heart. And distractions and confidence are easy to come by these days: my political party is in control, my bank account is sufficient, my Facebook friends agree with me, I’m going to totally dissociate from life and do nothing for a few months. We live in an age of infinite distractions. It’s not just the one TV with 3 channels. Faith needs our attention. Jesus needs our attention, our time, and our willingness. Jesus needs to be in the midst of our lives and our decisions.  

Because Jesus was present, not only did a significant number of Samaritans believe and find faith, Jesus also single handedly reconciled the centuries of conflict between the two ethnic groups. If Jesus is in our midst and our lives, we can do amazing things and find love and grace within to heal the world’s brokenness. If we trust in our own confidence and capability, we may do well for a time, but we will soon find ourselves in need of Jesus.  

Wayne Gretzky, a former professional hockey player, said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Faith is similar. If we never start the journey, we will never reach the end. We must remember that faith cannot grow in hardened hearts never willing to take the first step. Faith can only grow if we look to the long term and are open to where God leads us. And, faith works when Jesus stays at the forefront and as the central focus of our lives. Did the hike last week wear me out and leave me in a boot? Yes. Do I regret it at all? Not in the least. Faith is the same…it may not be the easiest journey we take, but, with Jesus, it promises to be the best.  

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1668054137885102/

Lenten Learning: Salvation

Salvation: Psalm 121; John 3: 1-17 

Life is a journey. Several years ago, I learned how bumpy a journey can be. After a short vacation, my mother, Nanna, and I were flying home. We had one final leg of the trip—Atlanta to Knoxville—on what had to be the tiniest little tinker toy plane I had ever seen. There was one seat per row on the left side, and two seats per row on the right. About ten minutes into the flight, and horrendous storm descended out of nowhere. The plane began to rock back and forth, bounce and sway, and careen up and down.  

Cabin service was discontinued after the turbulence cause Nanna to wear the ginger ale being served. And audible praying could be heard in the rear of the plane. We finally landed. The guy next to me, however, had managed to sleep through it all, slumped over, snoring in my ear. Oh, to be that unbothered about things. Life is a journey, and our walk with Jesus, our process of salvation is much of that journey.  

Our Psalm, Psalm 121, talks about being on this journey. These ideas of looking to the hills, being guarded while we slumber, being given a gentle shade, all of these are indicators of a person travelling. For the Psalmist, it probably was a literal journey. For us it is a bit more figurative. On our journey of life, God will help us, keep us from stumbling, and watch over us while we sleep. Indeed, the Psalmist is adamant about this, “The Lord…watches over you!” with exclamation point included. The Psalm is a reminder that in times of trouble God will literally save us. God’s salvation goes beyond just the theological concept.  

The Lord watches over you and keeps you from harm—from the burning sun and the terrors we feel at night. God stands ready to save us literally from the trouble of this world. Now that doesn’t mean trouble won’t sometimes find its way into our lives. Remember we are promised God’s presence, not absolute perfection. That has to wait for a bit.  

 A friend and I gave thanks for God’s protection back when I was in college. As you know I grew up rural. So, taking an ATV in the mountains to ramble around and maybe pick berries was not a problem. My city-dwelling friend came to visit, and I took him out to show him the beauty of God’s nature instead of perfectly manicured HOA managed sod. He asked to drive for a bit to see how he did. Unfortunately, he went a little too fast up a steep hill and flipped us both off of the ATV. I fully expected the thing to come crashing down on both of us and needing to call an ambulance. However when I dared to open my eyes, I was laying down in the grass, he was sitting a couple of feet away, and the ATV was sitting next to us, right side up, like nothing had happened.  

Sometimes, when life is very hard on us, we must remember those words of the Psalm, “The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.” I know that it sometimes feels like God has forgotten us, but that is not the truth. God is always close by and ready to save us when we call out for help in faith. God will save us, literally, from the dangers and troubles that can come in life. We simply have to trust in God to be there for us.  

The Gospel talks about salvation in a much more theological sense. The story of Nicodemus is one of the most famous of the Gospels. It gives us the most widely known scripture, “For God so loved the world…” It is also the scripture that the theology of salvation is most attributed to. Time and again, we have heard the phrase “born-again Christian.” Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the night. He acknowledges Jesus as being of God. Then Jesus throws him a curve ball. Jesus says, “Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.”  

Nicodemus is confused by this, and Jesus does nothing to clear it up. Jesus adds the greater mystery of being born of water and of spirit. As Jesus talks, he also adds in later verses that God calls on us to sacrifice our judgments and take up our belief in Jesus to guide us and in his redemptive work which saved us. Now, sometimes the work of a preacher is to simplify tough concepts. Today, I want to do the opposite. We have so watered down the idea of being born again, that it has lost the meaning, the complexity, and the mystery Jesus intended it to have.  

The Gospel of John uses the Greek word anõthen. There is no good translation of this word. Jesus is saying we must be born of time and place. We are born anew but also from above, or in a spiritual way. The words used here mean far more than just a personal conversion moment. Anõthen is in response to belief, not belief itself. It also doesn’t refer to any work we do in having belief. It refers to the redemptive work that Jesus does within our heart and soul. To reduce this idea merely to just believing in Jesus and having a personal conversion moment, makes it all about us, when in fact salvation is about Jesus and his love and grace for us.  

Nicodemus was a scholar, very well educated, and generally wise. Yet he couldn’t fully grasp the mystery of what Jesus meant. He fully believed and acknowledged that God had sent Jesus. But there was still this stumbling block to the work that Jesus wanted to do in and through his life and his life of faith. When we believe, we must also be prepared to have our lives changed and follow Jesus. The work Jesus does is redemptive and saving. The work we do is somewhat ordinary. We believe and we follow. Inherent in both of those is the idea that we trust in God to lead us, guide us, and save us from troubles.  

When Jesus talks about salvation, it is a complex, mystery-filled work of faith. It’s hard to understand. It’s an easy thing to follow, “Love thy neighbor.” But in an evidence-hungry society, talk of spiritual and unknowable things is uncomfortable. We want to explain. We want to comprehend. But Jesus gives us a holy mystery. Too many churches, too many of the faithful have taken this complex mystery of faith and reduced it to a slogan—being a “born-again Christian.” It’s become both a slogan and a litmus test. Reducing this to just a slogan and single-issue test ruins the meaning Jesus was conveying. Do you believe, but also, do you surrender enough to allow Jesus to work in and through you both in your physical body and in your soul and spirit? Being born again encompasses both. And it is fully about the work of God, not our own doing.  

Jesus doesn’t necessarily change what our physical body is. Instead, he helps us to understand the fullness and love of God in us and with us. Part of the struggle of life is always our ability to understand. But here we simply have to trust that God revealed in Jesus is one whose love knows no bounds, and we are asked to receive just one gift—God’s grace. Sometimes sermons and services call on us to act and to do. Go out, make a difference, serve, love, help. And sometimes we are called to be still, to reflect, and pray. All the good in the world is for nothing if our hearts and minds are not in the right place—resting safely in the love of Jesus.  

On my journey from Atlanta to Knoxville, when the flight got bumpy and terrifying, the human nature kicked in—do something, react, help, act in some way! But the truth is we were all strapped in and helpless, trusting in the pilot to guide us safely through. The guy next to me was totally unbothered, fully asleep. I think his sleep was probably assisted by a few choice beverages, but even foolishness can teach us lesson. In a journey of life where we have very little control sometimes, we must trust in God to save us and to have saving grace for us. The hardest thing for us to do, but also the most powerful thing for us to do is to be still and say to God, “I need you.”  

 Worship Service Video  https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/957137280139748/