I have been told one person had confusion about what "JD" means in a recent blog entry. It does not mean "juvenile delinquent". It is the initials of a priest at St. John the Divine. I do not usually give the name of the preacher for a couple of reasons. First I do not have approval from the person. I probably do not need it but it would be polite. Secondly I use the sermon to make comments. I do quote or paraphrase the sermon but often I inject, without making it clear when, my own opinions. So this is me blogging with a sermon as a starting point.
Anyway when JD preaches at 6 PM we always know beforehand because her husband comes in to visit with us in the coffee room. (He is a very extroverted guy.) We rest for about thirty minutes between rehearsal and the actual service.
So he came in and we discussed the situation in Mexico and discussed the possibility of legalizing drugs. He thinks Mexico might give in to the cartel in order to keep murders down. JD comes in in the middle of this and says "pragmatism has its limits". But the husband says that he has a friend who has recently come back from Mexico. They are on the verge of giving in and letting drugs traffic through Mexico without hindrance. The discussion then went to other places. That may have been the most lively discussion we have ever had before church.
A great old tenor from the past Steve Duson, made a surprise visit as a singer. He leads a jazz service at Trinity Episcopal (on Main street). He used to sing with us all the time.
Steve says his oldest is about to enter high school. I remember when he sang with us his son being born. He is still a pretty good athlete. They are creatively talented family. His wife is a former actor for AD Players. They, as a family, did "Best Christmas Pageant Ever" last Christmas at a theater out I-10 way. He said they did nine performances. All the family had parts and Steve and his wife were the parents. That is a big commitment. I wished I have known. I may not have been able to make it but I would have like the opportunity.
Oh this Sunday was our bass section leader's last week. I was surprised to have him say he'd been there 2 1/2 years. (Is that what he said?) Wow. Time sure flies. I would never had thought it had been that long. He's been a great leader. He has patiently helped me with getting pitches. He has spoken on theory of harmony, something that always interests me. He kept us up to date on Pittsburgh sports on his ipod.
As we were saying our goodbyes he mentioned we could keep up on Facebook and then he admitted to reading my blog sometimes. I think that slipped out, hehe. Which blog entries I wonder. That was a stunner. So now I have facetiously commented I have to train a new section leader.
He is driving to New England for the summer and after the summer he will drive to San Francisco to spend a year. He will be learning from new voice coaches and also will still audition for things. Good luck Jeff.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Apostle's Creed
Hmm. SJD is planning to do a series of sermons on the Apostle's Creed. That's a good idea. I wonder if that would work for Life Group. I'm all about borrowing good ideas. They are doing it line by line.
So this week was line three: I believe in Jesus Christ, his Son, our lord.
So the first two lines were about God the Father. Frankly I did not even notice they started the series.
Actually though the priest spoke mostly on the gospel message. I think it was Luke 15. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where he knows he is going to die. This passages is about people who want to volunteer: "foxes have holes and birds have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head" and people who Jesus asks to volunteer: "let the dead bury their on dead". JD spent a lot of time explaining why these comments were not mean or rude.
Why did Jesus say those things? Do you have an understanding of this? We believe God, through Jesus, was loving and patient. Why did he say these things in these particular situations? Luke felt they were important or he would not have included them.
To give short and incomplete answers the first one seems to make it clear that following Jesus is not altogether easy. He wants this man to count the cost. But why? The second one could be any number of things. JD has a theory that since the dead in those days were buried immediately perhaps this man meant his father was not really dead. He wished to wait until his father passed on before joining Jesus. Or perhaps he had no intention of following at all, his dad was simply an excuse.
So this week was line three: I believe in Jesus Christ, his Son, our lord.
So the first two lines were about God the Father. Frankly I did not even notice they started the series.
Actually though the priest spoke mostly on the gospel message. I think it was Luke 15. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where he knows he is going to die. This passages is about people who want to volunteer: "foxes have holes and birds have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head" and people who Jesus asks to volunteer: "let the dead bury their on dead". JD spent a lot of time explaining why these comments were not mean or rude.
Why did Jesus say those things? Do you have an understanding of this? We believe God, through Jesus, was loving and patient. Why did he say these things in these particular situations? Luke felt they were important or he would not have included them.
To give short and incomplete answers the first one seems to make it clear that following Jesus is not altogether easy. He wants this man to count the cost. But why? The second one could be any number of things. JD has a theory that since the dead in those days were buried immediately perhaps this man meant his father was not really dead. He wished to wait until his father passed on before joining Jesus. Or perhaps he had no intention of following at all, his dad was simply an excuse.
Monday, June 28, 2010
The unruly tongue
James 3 speaks a lot about the tongue. The tongue is little but it boasts of great things. James cautions us to be careful in what we say. We cannot unsay unkind or false things. I sure know about that. Typing is usually safer. I have trouble in social situations and certainly fear of speaking badly is one reason.
James 3:2 He says that if we speak well we are perfect. "If a man never makes a slip in what he says he is complete." Perfect usually has a sense of mature and complete, not that one never makes a mistake.
So it is important to be careful what one says.
James has three analogies about the tongue. First is the bit that we put in a horses mouth to guide the horse. With a small piece of metal we can make a 1,000 pound animal go where we wish. Secondly is the rudder. The rudder is not big compared to a large ship. But the captain can guide the ship by directing the rudder this way and that. The third analogy is that of the spark. With a little spark a large fire can be started. Fires can be used for good or can be very destructive.
We can use the tongue to praise or criticize people. Praise is better. God builds us up, we should do likewise. Praise is often hard to do well. At least it is for me.
We can bless or curse (3:10). We can bless God with our tongues. It is appropriate to do that.
But I can identify with the idea spoken here by James and by Jesus too. When I get bitter or angry in my heart it has a tendency to come out of my mouth. It takes a lot of control to keep my lack of contentment from being spewed on others.
Jesus said that it is not what we eat that defiles us it is what we say. It is not what goes into our mouth that makes us unclean, it is what comes out of our mouth in lies and attempts to put people down.
Proverbs 15 goes on in a similar veins.
I love 15:1, it has been a favorite verse of mine. I used to have it posted in my classroom when I taught school: "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a bitter word is a cause of angry feelings."
Knowledge is dropping from the tongue of the wise; but from the mouth of the foolish comes a stream of foolish words. (15:2 BBE)
Kind words are good medicine, but deceitful words can really hurt. (15:4 CEV)
The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools. (15:7 ESV)
Read all of Proverbs 15 if you have the time. A word to the wise. Wisdom comes from God and is not the same as knowing facts. Let us seek God and be wise.
James 3:2 He says that if we speak well we are perfect. "If a man never makes a slip in what he says he is complete." Perfect usually has a sense of mature and complete, not that one never makes a mistake.
So it is important to be careful what one says.
James has three analogies about the tongue. First is the bit that we put in a horses mouth to guide the horse. With a small piece of metal we can make a 1,000 pound animal go where we wish. Secondly is the rudder. The rudder is not big compared to a large ship. But the captain can guide the ship by directing the rudder this way and that. The third analogy is that of the spark. With a little spark a large fire can be started. Fires can be used for good or can be very destructive.
We can use the tongue to praise or criticize people. Praise is better. God builds us up, we should do likewise. Praise is often hard to do well. At least it is for me.
We can bless or curse (3:10). We can bless God with our tongues. It is appropriate to do that.
But I can identify with the idea spoken here by James and by Jesus too. When I get bitter or angry in my heart it has a tendency to come out of my mouth. It takes a lot of control to keep my lack of contentment from being spewed on others.
Jesus said that it is not what we eat that defiles us it is what we say. It is not what goes into our mouth that makes us unclean, it is what comes out of our mouth in lies and attempts to put people down.
Proverbs 15 goes on in a similar veins.
I love 15:1, it has been a favorite verse of mine. I used to have it posted in my classroom when I taught school: "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a bitter word is a cause of angry feelings."
Knowledge is dropping from the tongue of the wise; but from the mouth of the foolish comes a stream of foolish words. (15:2 BBE)
Kind words are good medicine, but deceitful words can really hurt. (15:4 CEV)
The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools. (15:7 ESV)
Read all of Proverbs 15 if you have the time. A word to the wise. Wisdom comes from God and is not the same as knowing facts. Let us seek God and be wise.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
USA vs Ghana
It is good for Ghana and the Africans. They are likely celebrating.
We go back to looking forward to REAL football.
In Italy and France they are still seething. They are crying about firing their coaches. In the USA we are crying, who is the coach?
More people know who Landon Donovan is. But the rest of the team is still anonymous. And most people will likely forget who Donovan is soon enough.
In France and Italy most of the country knows all of the players and can debate the relative merits of strikers and middle backs.
Americans don't know what those are.
We have a little more awareness of world futbol now. But we barely care.
We go back to looking forward to REAL football.
In Italy and France they are still seething. They are crying about firing their coaches. In the USA we are crying, who is the coach?
More people know who Landon Donovan is. But the rest of the team is still anonymous. And most people will likely forget who Donovan is soon enough.
In France and Italy most of the country knows all of the players and can debate the relative merits of strikers and middle backs.
Americans don't know what those are.
We have a little more awareness of world futbol now. But we barely care.
Saturday
About to go to some sort of thank you dinner. I hope to feel comfortable.
Got in a 9 mile walk this morning. Started at 6. I walked down Harrisburg to where it changes into Broadway. I was by a part of the ship channel business. I was sort of looking for a new Republican office that is down there somewhere. It may be further on Broadway.
DW thinks it is dangerous down there. I saw no one. Well there was this young man on the other side of Broadway. He stopped and watched me. I don't know. I made sure he was aware I saw him and that I was not worried. I wasn't. He wasn't going to do much to me unless he had a weapon. He was dressed light like I was so it didn't look like he had a place big enough to hold a knife or gun.
So I never felt in any kind of danger.
I did see a place, a dockside business, with some Republican campaign signs. That might have been what was referred to as an office. But there was no real indication except that a business liked Republicans. I'm not sure. Any way it was a good walk.
As I approached home I was getting tired. I bought a coke and got some more water. But I was slowing down. So I called DW. She came and got me and we went to breakfast at a local place down Harrisburg that I spotted. It was not cheaper but it was filling. We were surrounded by people eating native food. We got tacos with eggs. Homemade flour tortillas. Good stuff.
Got in a 9 mile walk this morning. Started at 6. I walked down Harrisburg to where it changes into Broadway. I was by a part of the ship channel business. I was sort of looking for a new Republican office that is down there somewhere. It may be further on Broadway.
DW thinks it is dangerous down there. I saw no one. Well there was this young man on the other side of Broadway. He stopped and watched me. I don't know. I made sure he was aware I saw him and that I was not worried. I wasn't. He wasn't going to do much to me unless he had a weapon. He was dressed light like I was so it didn't look like he had a place big enough to hold a knife or gun.
So I never felt in any kind of danger.
I did see a place, a dockside business, with some Republican campaign signs. That might have been what was referred to as an office. But there was no real indication except that a business liked Republicans. I'm not sure. Any way it was a good walk.
As I approached home I was getting tired. I bought a coke and got some more water. But I was slowing down. So I called DW. She came and got me and we went to breakfast at a local place down Harrisburg that I spotted. It was not cheaper but it was filling. We were surrounded by people eating native food. We got tacos with eggs. Homemade flour tortillas. Good stuff.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Augustine's commentary on Galatians
I just love this expression of it. In John 8, the Jews brag that Abraham is their father. Augustine says that in that they claim a sort of natural righteousness. Yes that is exactly what they did. They bragged about the merits that they got from circumstances.
But we cannot claim righteousness from our parents. (also see Matthew 3:8-9 and Luke 3:8)
Matthew 3:8-9 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. (NIV)
Luke 3:8 "Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham (NASB)
Paul is arguing in Galatians that the law is not equal to faith in Jesus. Jesus saves, the law cannot save at all, only show us our sin. "For if a law had been given that could confer life, then righteousness would indeed by by the law." (Galatians 3:21)
Quoting Augustine: For more than anything else, it is humility that calls us back from the place where pride cast us down. And this same humility is appropriate fro receiving the grace of Christ, who is the supreme example of humility.
I am reminded of John 8:31+ again where those who believed something about Jesus are shown to be prideful. When Jesus attempts to show them the futility of their pride they respond in violent anger rather than in proper humility.
The disciples show humility when they respond with Peter as their spokesman, "to whom would we go Lord, you have the words of life."
This commentary is just getting good. I am going slowly and am just over half way finished. It's not long. I am satisfied.
But we cannot claim righteousness from our parents. (also see Matthew 3:8-9 and Luke 3:8)
Matthew 3:8-9 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. (NIV)
Luke 3:8 "Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham (NASB)
Paul is arguing in Galatians that the law is not equal to faith in Jesus. Jesus saves, the law cannot save at all, only show us our sin. "For if a law had been given that could confer life, then righteousness would indeed by by the law." (Galatians 3:21)
Quoting Augustine: For more than anything else, it is humility that calls us back from the place where pride cast us down. And this same humility is appropriate fro receiving the grace of Christ, who is the supreme example of humility.
I am reminded of John 8:31+ again where those who believed something about Jesus are shown to be prideful. When Jesus attempts to show them the futility of their pride they respond in violent anger rather than in proper humility.
The disciples show humility when they respond with Peter as their spokesman, "to whom would we go Lord, you have the words of life."
This commentary is just getting good. I am going slowly and am just over half way finished. It's not long. I am satisfied.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Answered prayer
First I want to say I typed rashly the other day. What I got out of the morning sermon was more on an affective, emotional level. The last remarks MP made about things one might pray for about our relationship with our dads touched me.
I want to glorify God for answered prayer. And encourage myself. It is sort of hard to ask for prayer when you have no specific thing to ask for. Just help to do what God asks from me.
I went up Sunday and two stalwart men of God prayed over me. I knew I needed to work over with God's help some old memories from my childhood about my dad. Specifically I need some healing about my rage at how he disciplined me. I could not put that into words with the men who prayed for me. I can only put it like that because I have since prayed about the visual images I have about some early childhood experiences. How can a 8-9 year old express rage at his dad? He really can't. He is a helpless child before that great big man. I need God to assure me that my dad meant well and may even (gulp) have been right.
So anyway these two men prayed and God did speak dispute the little help I gave them.
The thing I am praising God was the little miraculous thing he did. Yesterday when I went to smile at people, friendly strangers, checkers in sales lines, my smile was much bigger, happier than usual. I could just feel it on my face. It just happened. I would have trouble doing it consciously. It really was a work of God and that to me is miraculous. It is insignificant to others but amazing to me.
Was it in response to the prayer or to my revisiting old memories? I don't know. I do know it is a sovereign work of God. I did not effect it by myself.
I want to glorify God for answered prayer. And encourage myself. It is sort of hard to ask for prayer when you have no specific thing to ask for. Just help to do what God asks from me.
I went up Sunday and two stalwart men of God prayed over me. I knew I needed to work over with God's help some old memories from my childhood about my dad. Specifically I need some healing about my rage at how he disciplined me. I could not put that into words with the men who prayed for me. I can only put it like that because I have since prayed about the visual images I have about some early childhood experiences. How can a 8-9 year old express rage at his dad? He really can't. He is a helpless child before that great big man. I need God to assure me that my dad meant well and may even (gulp) have been right.
So anyway these two men prayed and God did speak dispute the little help I gave them.
The thing I am praising God was the little miraculous thing he did. Yesterday when I went to smile at people, friendly strangers, checkers in sales lines, my smile was much bigger, happier than usual. I could just feel it on my face. It just happened. I would have trouble doing it consciously. It really was a work of God and that to me is miraculous. It is insignificant to others but amazing to me.
Was it in response to the prayer or to my revisiting old memories? I don't know. I do know it is a sovereign work of God. I did not effect it by myself.
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