Thoughts and Musings from My Faith Journey
The Board of Trustees encourages able-bodied members to park further away from the church on Sunday mornings. This way those who have difficulty getting around will be able to park in the front row.
Update: This also has the effect of leaving a space close to the building for first-time visitors and guests.
The work of salvation, in its full sense, is (1) about whole human beings, not merely souls; (2) about the present, not simply the future; and (3) about what God does through us, not merely what God does in and for us. If we can get this straight, we will rediscover the historic basis for the full-orbed mission of the church.— N. T. Wright [1]
We need to get this right for our own sake, for the sake of the church, and for the sake of the world. When they founded the Methodist movement, John and Charles Wesley got this right.
[1] N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church (New York: Harper Collins, 2008), 200.
This Sunday I’ll be preaching on Matthew 5:13-20, focusing on 17-20. This is the scripture reading that I polled you about earlier on in the week. I started this sermon without knowing where I was going to end up. It has not been an easy journey, but I’m happy with the destination. I feel the Spirit has been with me and I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned with you.
Augustine of Hippo was a great theologian and biblical scholar. He was a teacher who became the bishop of Hippo (in modern day Algeria). He was born in 354 A.D. and died of old age in 430 A.D. as the barbarian Vandals were besieging the city.
“They [riches] are gained with toil and kept with fear. They are enjoyed with danger and lost with grief. It is hard to be saved if we have them; and impossible if we love them; and scarcely can we have them but we shall love them inordinately. Teach us, O Lord, this difficult lesson: to manage conscientiously the goods we possess, and not covetously desire more than you give us.” — Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 133
Augustine’s influence on the western church was immense. Whether you know of him or not, whether you recognize it or not, how you think about God has been influenced by Augustine. I pray that the way he thought about riches might profoundly affect both your thinking and your living.
I received a notice of copyright infringement from a cable company this morning. Luckily it was for the previous church (where my email has somehow gotten stuck on the account). But it got me thinking about the possibility that the church here in Abilene could get one because of the way we offer free public WiFi. I would like to avoid that possibility. The expensive way to do it is through better equipment, the free way to do it is to stop offering public WiFi. Therefore, my question for the congregation: do you use the church’s public WiFi? If you’re reading this on the blog, you can drop me a line at john@revcollins.com; if you’re reading this on facebook and twitter, you and comment below; or if you’re reading this in an email you can simply hit reply.
February is one of the months when we need volunteers to provide snacks (usually cookies) and prepare coffee and juice for the fellowship time after the 10:30 worship services. Volunteer(s) are still needed for this coming Sunday, (February 9, 2020). Drop me a line if you’re willing to volunteer.
These two verses are in next week’s lectionary reading from the Gospel of Matthew:
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18, NRSV)
These verses have long puzzled me. I’ve long gotten hung up on them. Have you ever wondered what they meant? Would you like them addressed in a sermon? Let me know at john@revcollins.com.
Our second worship service ends at 11:30, the kickoff of Super Bowl LIV is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. That’s a six-hour difference, but if you fear you’ll be pressed for time, feel free to wear your NFL gear* to worship. Not a football fan? Feel free to wear your Micah 6:8 church t-shirt and match the sermon.
* I say NFL gear because while most of you are Chief’s fans, I’m aware that at least one of you will be rooting for the 49ers.