Lent2018
I remember once attending a gathering on the subject of dealing with those suffering from dementia. The speaker pointed out that with those suffering from severe dementia, much of the past, their memories may be lost and that there is no sense of future. Such as it is they live in the present. The speaker went on to say that this is really a Biblically way to live. In his Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 6 Jesus says, “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Think about all the time and energy you’ve spent worrying about things that never came to pass. You can never get that time and energy back. The truth is that our past, our present and our future is in God’s hands. That’s a good place to be. And really, that’s all we need to know. Hold that truth close and it’ll make a difference in today. It’ll make a difference in your life.
Larry Lenow
Lent2018
Day 29: Sabbath- Calling
I’ll never forget the first sermon I preached in seminary—strangely enough, because I never finished it.
I was in a preaching class, and my first assignment was to write and deliver the beginning of a sermon. I can’t remember the teacher’s reasoning, but I can remember that I was supposed to preach on the boy Samuel’s call from God (1 Samuel 3). At a time when the word of the Lord was rare and visions were not widespread, late one night in the temple, Samuel hears someone calling his name again and again and again. The old priest Eli finally realizes what’s going on, and he advises Samuel to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Sure enough, it is the Lord—and the Lord has a frightening message to deliver.
As with my sermon and with Samuel’s struggle to understand, we talk about “calling” in really incomplete and incomprehensible ways in the church. First off, we tend just to talk about “a call to ministry” as though it applies only to ordained pastors. This is silly: all of us are called to Christian ministry through our baptisms. And secondly, we don’t really talk about what that “call” sounds like—or rather, just how many ways it can sound. I’ve rarely if ever heard the unmistakable voice of God ringing in my ears, but I’ve definitely heard the voice of God in the voices of people both in and outside the church.
All I want to suggest to you is God has a calling for you. You may have already heard it. You may never have heard it. All of us need help hearing it. And this Lent, we remember that all of us are called to follow Christ on the road to Jerusalem. If you’ve never had a conversation about how God is calling in your life, please come talk to a pastor or a trusted friend in the church. That’s why we’re here.
Drew Willson
Lent2018
Musician Elvis Costello once stated: “My ultimate vocation in life is to be an irritant.”
Was Jesus an irritant?
A former surgeon, and the current President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said:
“I doubt that the Lord cares much which honorable vocation you choose. But He does care if you love one another and serve one another.”
Can an irritant push us to love one another and serve one another?
American writer and English professor, Mary Gordon, thinks:
“Waiting is the great vocation of the dispossessed.”
Didn’t Jesus focus his teaching on the dispossessed?
An irritant creates discomfort, how do those parables from Jesus make me feel?
Do they push me out of my comfort zones?
Shouldn’t I have the same hunger, passion, and purpose to be an irritant like Jesus?
I think Jesus is tired of waiting for me to become an irritant.
He needs me to love and serve the dispossessed.
How about you?
Are you ready to become an irritant?
Bill Pike
Lent2018
I am sure you have heard talk about mission statements of companies, organization and churches. Do you ever wonder about what your mission in life is? Well, over the years, I know I wondered about my mission, especially through hard times and when things did not go as I expected. There have been times when I felt lost and did not know what my mission or purpose was.
In this crazy world, I am certain that I am not alone. There must be bunches of people hungering to find out what their mission in life is.
As Christians, we may want to refer to the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19,” Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
As a part of Trinity’s family, you may want to look at Trinity’s mission statement: “To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
As believers, we are on a mission from God. We all need to work together and we each are responsible for our part in that mission.
Because we are each uniquely made and differently gifted by God, we each have a different ways we may contribute. Our individual mission will line up with the gifts that God has given us and will overlap all parts of our life. We are all called to use our gifts to glorify God. The good news is you are probably already doing something in your life that is related to your God given gifts and individual mission.
If you are wondering about, searching for or hungering to find your mission, maybe you can take time during this Lenten season to grow closer to Jesus and reflect on some aspects His mission.
Luke 5:32 – “I have come to call not the righteous but, sinners to repentance.”
Matthew 20:28 – “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
John 9:39 – “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.”
John 12:47b – “I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.”
John 18:37b – “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.”
John 10:10b – “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Have a blessed day.
Leila Denton
Lent2018
“4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.”
I Corinthians 12:4-7
What is your life’s passion? What gives you that deep, deep joy?
When I think of passion I think of Bob Argabright with OakGrove School. When I think of passion I think of Anne Burch with CrossOver Ministry. When I think of passion I think of Shaw and Ann Marie Blackmon and their work with youth of all ages. I think of Angela Verdery and her work with our Upward program this year. I think of Tom and Pam Rocklhold with their work with Doorways. I think of Dan and Lola Nichols and Terri Royster with their work at Feed More.
When you are in the midst of your passion, you don’t feel like you’re working. Your inner sense of happiness takes over and you quickly discover that any “task” becomes ministry.
This past Sunday in worship Sandy Cain shared that her passion of creating has found a home with our Trinity Stitchers, a group of women who meet monthly to create several items – prayer quilts, prayer shawls, tote bags for UMCOR kits, walker bags and baby slings just to name a few. In its beginnings 10 years ago, Bernice Chattin and Janet Hill had a passion to bring this ministry into being. Ten years later this ministry is reaping the words of others who have a similar passion.
Let us use our many gifts for the building up of God’s kingdom. As our gifts find expression, we will find our passion take hold, and joy as our ministry is realized.
Paula Cadden for Judy Oguich
*Today’s devotion was written by Judy Oguich, but she was unable to film it this week, so our own Paula Cadden stepped in and filmed it for her and for you. This is just one demonstration of the “passion” our staff has for each other and for the work we do at Trinity.
Lent2018
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of the darkness into his marvelous light.” This verse from I Peter 2:9 reminds us that we are on a holy mission. We all want our lives to have meaning. Whether our days on this earth are long or short we want to know that they make a difference, that there is a point, that we have meaning. We are here as representatives, ambassadors as priests of the Holy God who created us. Recognize that truth, know it and live into it and we become tools, instruments of God’s peace. We may affect many lives or maybe just one, that’s up to God. But our lives will have meaning, the highest meaning, holy meaning.
The old Mission Impossible TV series always started with a tape recording that started, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” That’s the same message we get from God. “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people so that you can proclaim God’s mighty acts.” You want meaning in your life? Accept your mission.
Larry Lenow
