The Marriage Sermon That Wasn't

 Pastor announced that he was going to preach on marriage this morning. I figured I can listen even though it does not have anything to do with me. But he fooled us. He mentioned marriage. But he preached a salvation message. I thought I was listening to pastor Greg on a wedding day service. Pastor Mitchell always used a wedding as an opportunity to minister on marriage. Pastor Greg always preached a salvation message aimed at the wedding guests.

Can I tell you a little secret? On the wedding day everyone is focused on the wedding, even in our Fellowship.

But then, on July the 4th, we sang songs in Spanish. I guess I am a fool to think that the calendar matters in one of our churches.

Tonight is the Bridget Farewell Tour service. Who knows what the sermon will be.

Prayer Request

I want to ask you to join me in prayer for Bridget. I am asking the Lord to let her die in her sleep at home. I am asking the Lord to take her to her Heavenly home, where she can join my wife and the great cloud of witnesses who are there in Heaven already.

Bridget was one of the first people to show interest in me when I moved here. She spent time with me. I will always have fond memories of Bridget and I am blessed to have gotten to know her. But I think that her time on Earth is finished and it is time for Bridget to go home. Amen.

Thoughts For Today

 In Prescott they have what some call the permanent prayer list. Every service the list of those needing prayer is posted. It's rarely someone recovering from surgery or a broken bone. It's mostly older people who had illness or had been ill and who find themselves on the list until they die. Most of them do not care. Some of them wonder why their name is up there. But no one seems to take ownership to make the prayer list current and relevant. We are on track to do the same thing. Every service we post the names of those who need a  miracle. They are still sick, but we keep them up on the screen. We pray for them every service.

In the early days of the revival that birthed our Fellowship things were different. Scores of young people were getting saved. Lots of young men and young women. To put it simply, it became that a guy would get saved and lock into church. He would become a disciple. He would get married and maybe start a family. And when he had been saved for 3 years pastor Mitchell would send them out. Those days ended decades ago. We send out church kids more often then new converts. But we still plant churches so that still works.

Everything that I see today I weigh in the balances of what I know to be true. Everything that I know I learned from my pastor, Wayman Mitchell. 

The Mountain Top

 "So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to me there on the top of the mountain." Exodus 34:2

I am beginning to think that Pentecostals believe that the normal Christian experience is a perpetual mountain-top experience. That the life of faith is a continuous stream of joy and victory and blessing and power. Some Pentecostals work hard to stir up and to maintain a high level of enthusiasm.

But in this verse we find some truths about the mountain top. First, it was only Moses who went up there. You and I, had we been there, would have been left at the bottom watching and waiting. Second, God was not calling Moses up on the mountain to build a house and live there. It was a temporary experience. God told Moses that it was impossible to stay up there or to even see God without dying. And finally, it was a notable and powerful experience but the glory faded. Do your own study on fading glory.

The life of faith is a marathon, not a sprint. As one author described it, it is a long obedience. And no normal person can live a high octane life for very long. To live a long time you cannot burn out prematurely by being reckless.

Part of growing up, in the faith or in life, is dealing with the realities of life as they are. Nothing is high energy excitement all of the time. Even holidays become ordinary once you have celebrated them enough times. Life comes and goes, rises and falls, following seasons and times that are much bigger than our small understanding.

Thank God for mountain top experiences. Moses had them, Jesus had them, but most of the Bible characters did not. I go to church, not to keep the pedal to the metal, but to get refueled enough to make it another week or one more day.

Thought For Today

 Here is something for my Pentecostal brethren to think about. Everyone wants to go to Heaven. But no one wants to die to get there. We all arrogantly think that surely we will go straight to Heaven without dying. But any student of the Bible understands that dying is as much a part of life as living.

People who have no hope of eternal life cling stubbornly to this life. They use heroic medical treatment and intervention to prolong life at all costs. It is a failure for them to have someone die. But search the scriptures and you will find that dying is not to be feared. In fact there are worse things than dying in my opinion.

Our lives are a vapor, here today, and gone tomorrow. But oh how traumatized we are when that vapor fades to nothing. Maybe it is because we are not prepared for death. Maybe our affairs are not in order to survive us.

The fear of death and the stubborn clinging to life is more Catholic than Christian.

"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope." 1Thes. 4:13

A Changing Prayer Request

 I hope that I am wrong, but Bridget is on a path that I have seen before. She is strong in spirit and faith, but her body is very weak. And while people are asking the Lord to heal her my prayer is different.

I pray for Bridget to be strong during what she is going through. I ask the Lord to give her peace and to let her know His love. I pray for the children, that they will be strong and carry on when she is gone. And I pray that through all of this our church may learn a lesson that I have learned. There is a time to contend for divine healing. And there is a time to let her go where we all say we want to go.

I have reached that point several times when I knew that the next chapter of life would be missing certain people. I prayed for my wife until it was clear that nothing was changing. Pastor Mitchel prayed for Kathy, and then he preached her memorial service. Life goes on even when someone dies.

Bridget leaves no spouse. Just children. And no daughters, just sons. So it will be different. But God is never changing and He is always the same.

Staying alive in an isolation ward connected to machines is no way to live. Better to let her go than to prolong her suffering.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15

Ageism In Our Churches?

 How many of you have ever heard the term ageism? It is the same kind of word used in discrimination towards other groups. It is discriminating against someone because of their age. The question is, do we see ageism in our church? 

Ageism can be written and deliberate or it can be unwritten and implied. The net result is that older saints feel ignored or left out and the are told that their contribution is either not wanted or not needed. I am not saying that a crime has been committed. I am saying that in our church and in our Fellowship we are close to a time where serious consideration to this subject must be addressed.

What does ageism in a church look like? Here are some ideas from another denomination that is dealing with this same issue.

1. When ministry to older adults is planned or funded or staffed without the input or involvement of older adults that is ageism.

2. When older adults are ignored in sermons and in worship and in pastoral care that is ageism.

3. When the primary focus of a church is youth and young families and older adults are not ministered to that could be ageism.

4. When older adults are asked to step down or step aside to make room for growth and are told that they are the reason for a lack of growth that is ageism.

5. When facilities make no accommodation for older adults that is ageism.

Some of us were encouraged by some of the sermons preached in Prescott last week. Some of us were offended and spoke disparaging words about the sermons ministering to our ageing Fellowship.

People know where they are wanted and where they are valued and where they feel safe. We have not been a Fellowship of young hippies for a long time.