I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I held his fingers steady as he dialed.   I gave him the peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK..I am ready to go.'

I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said. 'Of course I will show you the way home - only Believe in Me now.'

I was at the base of the building with the priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them.

I was in Texas, Virginia, California, Michigan, Afghanistan. I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor.

Some sought Me with their last breath. Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... This way... Take My hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I was there.

I did not place you in the tower that day. You may not know why, but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me?

Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are 'ready to go.'

I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

~God

(shared by Maureen Herzog)

In Luke 5:17-26, some men are carrying a buddy on a mat. The hope is to get the man on the mat in front of Jesus so he can heal him. When the men get their buddy to where Jesus is, they are faced with an obstacle. The home where Jesus is at is very crowded with people. They see no way to maneuver the mass of humanity and get into the home. Then one of the friends is graced with the creativity to think outside the box and says,“ let's go up on the roof and lower our buddy down, so that Jesus might heal him."(Luke 5:19) Low and behold the idea works and Jesus heals the man. “When Jesus saw their faith he said, your sins are forgiven you."(Luke 5:20)

What this story offers us is a biblical model of friendship. Sometimes we are the person carrying the mat and other times we are the person on the mat. However, whether we are on the mat or carrying it, the goal is always the same- get in front of the ultimate relationship which is with Jesus. Jesus is the one who can heal us, forgive our sins, and move us beyond loneliness into eternal community.

It can be hard to know at times when we are on the mat and when we are carrying it. When I met my friend Sharm Scheuerman early this spring he had a diagnosis of terminal cancer. It seemed to me to be quite clear that if any relationship developed between Sharm and myself I would be doing some heavy lifting. What I found was quite the contrary. Sharm and his lovely wife Kathy entered my life to be servants of Jesus to help carry me.Through Basketball Club International (BCI), Young Life, their Church, family and community, the Scheuermans had served Jesus all their lives and were not going to let terminal cancer prevent them from casting a vision for the gospels' eternal truth. On May 23rd, Sharm spoke at GGCC and preached the word on “The Dash,” the mark on a tombstone between the years of birth and death and told us of how that dash represented our life here on earth. On Monday of this week Sharm Scheuerman died, his wife Kathy sent out an email saying                                                               Sharm Scheuerman May 16, 1934 – August 30, 2010.

Sharm lives on now in eternal truth because of his faith and friendship with Jesus the crucified and risen one. Sharm's mission to serve Jesus goes on here on earth because Sharm risked to make a friendship fast with the likes of me and you, even in his dying days. Sharm Scheuerman made the most he could of his time in the dash. Sharm and Kathy Scheuerman offer each of us a witness to the Jesus model of friendship. A model that understands we each carry the others mat and we are each sinners on the mat as well. May we each strive to carve out friendships that build such community. Let us be people who 'go to the mat' for one another.

See you on Sunday.

Still in one peace,

David J.Jensen

3We also celebrate the birthdays of our baptisms. The Bible states, …for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.      (1 John 5:4-5)  Will we overcome the world? Will our faith serve to light the path for others so they might also see God’s love and believe that Jesus is the Son of God? There are so many trials and tribulations put before us. Yet through steadfast faith and endurance we grow in Spirit through those times so that the path along our journey is made more fulfilling.

To all those celebrating birthdays, may God’s love shine on your day and continue to grant you good health, happiness, and peace.   Enjoy the celebration! May you also use the gift of another year of life to continue to grow in the knowledge of God’s word.

Wendy Saathoff

A good crowd of children started rushing toward this one man and the disciples tried to push all of them away from the man Jesus. He said don’t push them away, let them all come to me. No one should deceive the children. Whoever does so will be punished worst than you can ever imagine. Jesus loved to tell stories to the children. He wanted to show them the wonders of the world and heaven just like Bernard wanted to show the beauty of the sea to children. We are all children of God. Sometimes we get wrapped up into the world that we forget to become like children as we see the beauty and wonder of this world and heaven. We are so busy running around that we don’t see all the beauty around us in our daily lives.

I think it is wonderful if you ever get the opportunity to work with kids. Just like Jesus, you can show how awesome life and this world can be if you take the time to do so. I think every opportunity you get to teach kids something is a gift from God. Kids come into this world with no pre-judgment and just a heart to learn and grow. It is a beautiful thing and God intended it to be that way. I think God didn’t want to exclude the adults from this either. Come before Him with the heart of a child and you will learn many great things. God always cares and loves your heart and character. So go out there and experience the wonders of life and God. Rekindle that kid inside of you.

In Christ,

Stan Yee

Sometimes a word is worth a thousand pictures, like the word “vocation.” We use vocation as a mere synonym for “occupation, “ but originally, “vocation” came from the Bible, in the form of the Greek word ”kaleo” meaning literally, “to call by name, to summon or invite.” When we speak of our vocations, we are saying that God calls us to our place of work.

Jesus made an important theological statement when he took up the carpenter’s hammer. He was saying your job in the market place is no less sacred than my job as a pastor. In his earthly ministry, Jesus had your kind of job and he had my kind of job, and he glorified God in both of those jobs. So can we!

Martin Luther made exactly the same point when he toppled the rickety medieval notion that nuns and monks were doing holier work than homemakers and shopkeepers.

Let me leave you with this great thought from John H. Jowett:

“The Lord throws a halo over common toil. Even Christian people have not all learned the significance of the angels’ visit to the lonely shepherds. Some of us can see the light resting on a bishop’s mitre, but we cannot see the radiance on the ordinary shepherd’s staff. We can discern the hallowedness of the priest’s vocation, but we see no sanctity in the calling of the grocer, or of the scavenger in the street. But the very birth-hour of Christianity irradiated the humble doings of humble people. When the angels went to the shepherds, common work was encircled with an immortal crown.”

May God irradiate your humble doings with light from on high!                                      

See you on Sunday.

Still in one peace,

Pastor David J. Jensen

Let Me Live Grace-fully                                                                    

Thank you, Lord,                                                                                       

   for this season
     of sun and slow motion,
       of games and porch sitting,
         of picnics and light green fireflies
           on heavy purple evenings.
             and praise for slight breezes.
               It’s good, God,
                 as the first long days of your creation.

Let this season be for me
   a time of gathering together the pieces
     into which my busyness has broken me.
      O God, enable me now                                                                           
         to grow wise through reflection,                                                                 
          peaceful through the song of the cricket,
            recreated through the laughter of play.                                   

Most of all, Lord,                                                      
  let me live easily and grace-fully for a spell,                                                      
   so that I may see other souls deeply,
     share in a silence unhumed,
      listen to the sound of sunlight and shadows,
       explore barefoot the land of forgotten dreams and shy hopes,
         and find the right words to tell another who I am.

SUMMER / GUERRILLAS OF GRACE / TED LODER

Some questions to think about as you start your week...  

· Who do you watch? Who watches you? How does this affect your behavior? Or, does it? Do role models really make a difference?

· Jesus says in Luke 14:11: “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." What does being humble mean to you? Have you known a person you considered to be “humble”? What characteristics did they have? Why is it difficult to be humble in our world today?

· Do you feel welcome at God’s table? Why or why not? If you were to imagine God’s table, what would it look like? Would you be comfortable? Why or why not? Does this image of God’s table look anything like the tables you sit at? Why or why not?

· How is Jesus’ teaching in Luke 14 related to the words of MLK, “I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be”? What one small change can you make in your daily life to open up the table and level the playing field?

I was a little sad when I turned the last page. I felt as though I had grown to love the ladies of the story and had come to look forward to my daily walk with them. Their stories and wisdom had become a part of me. One of my favorite quotes that made me stop and say a silent “amen” is when Aibileen says to Minny: “All I'm saying is, kindness don't have no boundaries." Now that is the gospel truth isn’t it?!

It seems we are in another ugly election climate with strong opinions on both sides of every issue. The lines in the sand are being drawn. Sharing my beliefs and opinions is important, but it also makes me weary. Standing strong is hard. The women of “The Help” illustrated that very well. But they also showed how a little kindness and understanding can be the very tools you need to change the world.

There is another book that I like to read and walk with the characters daily; The Bible. It gives me all the tools I need to change the world one kindness at a time.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (emphasis and italics mine)
23 This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
24 but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD.

Abba, Thank-you for the ancient & modern stories that reveal your truth. May we find ourselves lost in the pages of your word. May the wisdoms you share become a part of our being so that we may boast that we know you and take delight in your kindness, justice and righteousness. Amen

Julie Weldon

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8.

Dear God, 

I pray that you would help us to turn to you and rest in your peace and security no matter the circumstances in our lives. Help us to trust You God. Amen.

Amanda Jensen

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. Luke 14:1

Who watches you?  Who do you watch? Who are you a role model  for? Who is a role model for you? Jesus was being watched very  carefully one night at a big dinner event. The religious leaders wanted to see if he followed the rules. But then Jesus turned the tables and watched them.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. Luke 14:7

Jesus is good at finding “teachable moments.”  Not everyone likes what he has to say though.  He says sit in the back, not at the head table.  He says let those who aren’t invited to the party in and give them the seat of honor.  Then, you will have lived honorably.  Jesus tells us how to be a role model, or how to model the role he is teaching us to fill.  And, it’s quite a counter-cultural role.  Can we look to the lost, the least, the young and the invisible to be our role models?  Can we lift them up and learn from them?

I know a young woman in her twenties who takes seriously listening to God, serving with her life and being a faithful follower of Jesus by taking risks, going out of her comfort zone and asking a lot more questions than giving answers.  She’s a role model for me.

Role models come in all shapes and sizes, ages and locations.  We don’t have to know someone for them to impact us.  We can be a role model to people we’ve never met or are likely to meet.  When we try to live the way Jesus teaches, we know that others are watching even though they might not even realize it.  Putting others first, learning from those who are different or younger than us and not puffing ourselves up are great ways to start being a Jesus role model.

Jesus ends the story by saying, “And you will be blessed…” Luke 14:14  His teachings aren’t to make our lives difficult – Jesus wants us live blessed!

More Jesus, less me,
Vikki

“In the presence of GOD and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearance and his kingdom, I give you this charge; Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

Preach the Word! This has always brought visions of the man who stands atop a plastic container at the Rockies games and shouts to people going into and coming out of the game. He shouts about repentance and going to hell if we don’t change our ways. To be honest it has always turned me off of the term preaching or evangelizing. I thought this until I heard from my brother a saying of St. Francis “Preach the Gospel everyday, and sometimes use words.”

This was what I thought a follower of Jesus would do… and would say. But, I found out a few years later that St. Francis did not exactly say this J. What he said, or actually what he wrote, was in Chapter XVII of his rule of 1221. St. Francis told his friars not to preach unless they had the proper permission to do so. Then he added, “Let all the brothers preach by their deeds.”

And I think this is even more wonderful than what my brother had told me he thought St. Francis had said. It is important to preach the good news verbally, but it is even more important to preach the gospel by our actions, through our hearts, our minds, and our strength.

The word preach (preached, preaching) is used 52 times in the bible. The word heal (healed, healing, heals) is used 152 times in the bible. Jesus preached. He preached to the 5,000, to the 4,000, and he preached to individuals and small groups. But Jesus did more than preach with his words. He preached with his heart, he preached with his mind, and he preached with his strength.

If words are what you feel will heal, then use them. But if words cannot heal, then tears, or a hug, or a kiss, or holding a hand, or even just being there silently will evangelize even more than you will ever know. AMEN!

Precious Father, Loving God, Holy Spirit, help us to preach with more than our words. Help us to preach with our hearts, with our minds, with our strength. LORD, provide us with words, but please LORD in every case, even with words, let us preach by our deeds! AMEN!

Jim Dietvorst

Eternal God, whose image lies in the hearts of all people, we live among peoples whose ways are different from ours, whose faiths are foreign to us, whose tongues are unintelligible to us. Help us to remember that you love all people with your great love, that all religion is an attempt to respond to you, that the yearnings of other hearts are much like our own and are known to you. Help us to recognize you in the words of truth, the things of beauty, the actions of love about us. We pray through Christ, who is a stranger to no one land more than another, and to every land no less than to another.
~World Council of Churches, Vancouver Assembly, 1983250

Some questions to think about as you start your week…
· Let us always remember that if we can fully understand God, then God is not much of a God after all (Isaiah 55:8,9.)

· How might you better come to know the living Jesus so that when given the opportunity to share him with someone else, you are prepared to do so? Do you desire to practice a higher level of spiritual formation? What prevents you from doing more scripture reading, prayer time and acts of service?

· Have you ever talked to a person of another religion? If you have what was the experience like? How might we pray for rich experiences with those of other walks of faith?

· Why did Jesus come for the entire world (John 3:16)? What does it mean that “…God so loved the world ...?”

I don’t read the newspaper much. I have other things to do. But the other evening, Ken gave me the article from Sunday’s Denver Post that featured an article on the Amish who have been relocating to the southern part of Colorado in the San Luis Valley. Troyers from Missouri, Troyers from Ohio, and Millers from Montana. It reminded me of where I come from.

My mama was born Amish as Fannie Troyer in central Ohio. In the late 1920’s, half of her clan relocated to old Mexico, and the other half migrated to the border of southern Virginia and northern North Carolina. The family that chose Mexico as their destination fell victim to disease and died. Mama’s family homesteaded in Moyock, North Carolina, established a farm and worked hard to survive. Mama and her five sisters always tried to always pick the prettiest cloth flour sacks from the delivery wagon that brought staples to their home because they sewed their dresses from those flour sacks. Mama has an eighth grade education. She learned the basics. She taught me how to work with my hands.

I lived in the heart of an Amish community for five years in Grantsville, PA. I never went to Kindergarten because Yoder School didn’t have a Kindergarten class – but I began first grade when I was five years old. It was a 3-room Amish School and some of my girlfriends were Alma Miller, Ada Mast, and Gertrude.

They worked hard. They didn’t care what others said about them when they had cow dung on their boots during school as a remnant from their daily morning chores. As a kid, I remember turning up my nose to the smell and trying to escape the lingering aroma. They walked to school, I rode the bus. Their only form of transportation was the horse and buggy, we had a car. They didn’t plug things in, they only had a gas generator for power on the farm. We all had packed lunches – there was no cafeteria at the school – and it was all homemade.

The Amish accept the basic tenets of Christian faith. They emphasize values such as simplicity, community, separation of church and state, pacifism and lay leadership. They do not pay into the Social Security system (Congressional exemption in 1965) because the Amish view it as a commercial insurance, which they oppose. They believe church members should care for one another and do not receive Social Security benefits. They oppose war and file appropriate paperwork with the government as conscientious objectors to the war when it’s time for young men to sign up for the draft.

According to the article in the Post, in 2010 there are an estimated 810 Amish in Colorado compared to nearly 60,000 in Pennsylvania. The Amish are moving west.

Creativity, ingenuity, perseverance, innovation. Those words are foundational for me because that is where I came from. I learned to work with my hands. I was surrounded by artisans who maintain simplicity. Cooking, baking, woodworking, sewing, carving, gardening, farming – yes these simple things root me in the soil of living today.

I am thankful to the Amish for providing me the example that Paul wrote about in I Thessalonians. I pray for all those who live their lives privately and without fanfare, not desiring any reward or recognition. I pray for humility and ask that you seek to understand those who have different backgrounds than you. Hum along…

Simple Gifts

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,                       
'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
Will be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend, we shan't be ashamed,
To turn, turn, will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right

Carole Schumacher

Jesus’ final commission to His disciples is also meant for all us Christians as well. We are told to share the Gospel so that others may have the "Good News of a great Joy which shall be for all the people." I had the wonderful opportunity to see a demonstration of that recently along with 5000 others in a small town in the mountains of Bavaria. Some of you may have heard about it. It's called the Passion Play and it's been performed in the town of Oberammergau every 10 years since 1640. The play is a result of a promise made by the people of the town in 1633 when the black plague was ravaging the area and almost all of the population of the region was sick or dying. The people of Oberammergau despite their dire circumstances decided to trust God and give glory to Him in prayer and repentance. The town was spared the ravages of the plague and they promised to honor God with their lives though the means of the Passion Play. They vowed to perform it once every decade as long as the town of Oberammergau exists.

The entire population of the town is involved in one aspect or another of the play. So every 10 years from May to October the towns people of Oberammergau host over 500,000 people from all over the world to share the Gospel in a marvelous 6 hour re-telling of the Passion of Jesus. It's quite a performance and if you get the chance, I recommend making plans for the next one.

It seems daunting at times to share the Gospel but we don't need to become internationally famous like the Oberammergau passion play to do it. We just have to be ourselves and pray that God gives us opportunities to share his word with others. If we are willing to be open and pray for opportunities I believe that God is more than ready to give us some witnessing opportunities. You can make a difference with your time for all eternity.

Live locally, think eternally,

God bless,

Matt Schneider

Should a mosque be constructed at the site of ground zero in New York City? Talk to half a dozen folks and you may get half a dozen answers. What is the answer? The question I am using for Sundays sermon is “How should the followers of Jesus relate to people of other religions?”

We live in a world where you wake up today with Christians, Muslims, and Jews, along with those who practice many other religions, ready to kill each other in the name of God. Several who are killing others believe that they are doing so in the name of God. Christians make up 33% of the world’s population, Muslims 24% and Jews less than a quarter percent, but they own a disproportionate amount of the world’s weapons. If you have studied religious history you know that each of the branches of religion come off of Old Testament hero Abraham.

“Pastors, theologians, followers of Jesus,and all religious leaders need to heed the fact that our work, when taken seriously, is literally a matter of life and death.“ Brian D. McLaren

The great caution it seems to me, is that in a world where fear is rampant, we need to be careful. Fear breeds best where there are few facts, unknowns and ignorance. As followers of Jesus, it is imperative that we reach deep into the faith taught to us by Jesus who spent time with a Samaritan woman, a Roman centurion, a Syrophoenician woman, and some Greeks. Jesus loved them and got to know them. Relationships are vital.

Jesus also spent his time practicing his ministry by healing, teaching, caring , forgiving, and loving others. Jesus did not try to destroy the others. Rather Jesus invited the others in and offered a more excellent way of truth by following him. Jesus did not first seek to destroy or injure those who disagreed with him.

Let us know the practices of Jesus. It is time we put the word “discipline “ back into “disciple.” May other followers of Jesus see him in us. May those outside the body of Christ be welcomed into conversation with us, where we might come to know them and be allowed to treat them as Jesus first treated us. For I agree with McLaren -it is “a matter of life and death.” Let us choose life.

See you on Sunday.

Still in one peace,

                               David J. Jensen

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and
God our father, who loved us and by his grace
Gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,
Encourage your hearts and strengthen you
in every Good and word.”    2 Thessalonians 2.1-17

Sometimes we feel like walking away from God. Life is unfair and we don’t think it should be so difficult. Jesus never promised us that is would be easy. We have to keep our faith and hope that Jesus will take over all of our troubles. Jesus didn’t come to make our lives more difficult. He came to give us encouragement, hope and love to live them with joy.

PRAYER:

Dear God, I ask for you to take over all of my frustrations, sorrows and fears so that I can live my life with joy. Open my heart to accept your encouragement and hope to live my life as a faithful follower. In your son’s name, Jesus, I pray.

Deanne

Some questions to think about this week...

· Who taught you (teaches you) about sexual relationships? The words of Acts 8:31 apply to many topics. “How can I know unless someone teaches me?” Who should have been or who should take on that role? Pray upon this.

· Have you ever made an issue like homosexuality the focal point of your concern for sin in the world, all the while knowing that it is not something you will ever wish to engage in and not focusing upon the sin you are committing? What is an issue of sin such as addiction, or neglect or greed in your own journey that causes sin? How might you focus upon yourself and ask for healing and hope?

· Let us pray for healing from issues of sexual sins. Issues such as pornography, adultery, slavery and sexual abuse. May Jesus offer compassion and mercy through the community of the church to all who are wounded by sexual sins.

· Spend time in prayer and reflection on the words of Isaiah 56:1-8.

More Summertime Practices

GO BAREFOOT.
Let the child in you come out to play. Taking off your shoes changes your connection with the world. You relax and let your guard down. Chief Luther Standing Bear in T. C. McLuhan's Touch the Earth reminds us: "It was good for the skin to touch Earth and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with bare feet on the sacred Earth. . . . The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing, and healing."

WASTE SOME TIME
"It does no good to think moralistically about how much time we waste. Wasted time is usually good soul time," Thomas Moore has observed. Summer is just the right season for idleness and just messing around with things. Quit doing and revel in just being.

LEARN HUMILITY IN THE NATURAL WORLD
"Whales and redwoods both make us feel small and I think that's an important experience for humans to have at the hands of nature," says Roger Payne in Jonathan White's Talking on the Water. He continues: "We need to recognize that we are not the stars of the show. We're just another pretty face, just one species among millions more." Purposefully seek out some places of grandeur in the natural world. Acknowledge your smallness in the vast scheme of things.

SAVOR SUMMER SOUNDS
Summer has sounds of its own, whether the laughter of kids playing at the pool or the serenade of crickets at night. Lie on the ground for 15 minutes without saying anything. Pay attention to what your mind is doing. Then notice what you hear around you. This exercise helps you get better at two spiritual practices — silence and listening.

Summer Blessings,
Vikki

Ideas taken from the article: “Summertime and Living Takes Practice”
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/features.php?id=10968
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

This summer we’ve used the phrase “More Jesus, Less Me” a lot. Both the middle school kids in The Firm and the high school youth in 707 discussed this theme on their mission trips. We’ve discussed it at least twice in worship; it has shown up in several devotions online; and recently, it’s a topic I have been praying about.

I do most of my praying outside. I love to go for long walks early in the morning and pray. Maybe it’s the cool morning air or the sunrise or the quietness of daybreak, but it seems easier to hear God in the stillness of an early morning. The other day, I started thinking about this “More Jesus, Less Me” idea. I was thinking about it and I started wondering, do we really mean it? I mean I personally have been thinking about this verse for a little over a month, but I’m not sure I’ve really made any effort in my life to have “More Courage, Less Fear” or to focus “More on others, and Less on myself” or to show “More Love, and Less Ego.”

And that last one, Love vs. Ego, is perhaps the most difficult. Jesus’ greatest commandment to us is to “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Admittedly, this is hard. Especially after viewing the film The Passion of The Christ this summer, I don’t think I could go through what Christ went through for love. But, in order to truly have More Jesus, and Less Us, don’t you think we need to at least make more of an effort to uphold this commandment?

Love is a funny thing. There is a line from Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah” that states: “Love is not a victory march/it’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.” Isn’t that true? Doesn’t it feel that there is nothing victorious about love? You might “love your neighbor” or “love your brother” or “love your spouse” but eventually that person hurts you. They wound you or betray you. And in reality, you probably do the same thing to them.

And when someone hurts you or betrays you, the pain is very real. It’s easy to feel manipulated, deceived, and worthless. It’s easy to act with feelings of anger and resentment.

Author and pastor Max Lucado says that “Resentment is the cocaine of emotions.” I think what he means is that anger becomes addicting. Once you become angered with someone it is easy to let it fester. Like an addiction you need more and more to fuel your feelings. You begin to find more reasons to be angry with someone and you find more ways to take it out on them. As Mr. Lucado says, “[you] unknowingly move further and further away from being able to forgive.” Like an addiction, you can’t give it up.

But I have to believe that God wants you to give it up.

If I were to ask you to think of someone you’ve been irritated with or mad at recently (or someone who hurt you or betrayed you) most of us could probably think of a name or two. I know I can. As I said before, the pain is real and easy to hold on to. It easily evokes that destructively angered response.

Earlier this week, I was thinking of these relationships in my own life. I was thinking of the people who’ve hurt me, as well as people I’ve hurt. And I realized that there is no room for Jesus in my life as long as I carry these hurt feelings with me. I can pray for “More Jesus, Less Me” all I want, but as long as I am burdened by these grudges I’m carrying, there is no “More Jesus.”

So, I think it’s time we make more of an effort to have “More Jesus, Less Us.” But in order to do this, we need to let go of our pain. We need to forgive and move on. We need to give it up so we can make more room for Jesus. At least, I know I need too. And it isn’t easy by any means. But it is necessary. As Jesus says in Mark 11:25, “if you are angry with someone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

Now, I’m not going to be trite or naïve here and say “forgive and forget.” I’m not going to pretend that you can take three deep breaths and the pain will be gone. But I am going to encourage you to give it up.

The reality is, everyone comes to a relationship with their own baggage. But isn’t that what makes us human. We make mistakes. We screw up. Sometimes the consequences are big, sometimes they are small, but whenever they hurt someone, the pain they cause is very real. But even this pain is NEVER worth ruining a relationship over. After all, we serve a perfect, sinless God who is constantly hurt by us and our bad choices. Yet, he loves us and forgives us for the countless times we mess up. What gives us—sinful, broken humans—the right to hold a grudge?

Now the thing that makes forgiveness hard is that it isn’t logical. We, as simple, sinful humans, tend to favor an “eye for an eye” policy. We understand justice much more than we understand mercy. We prefer to forgive once someone has made up for what they’ve done or apologized. But that’s not love, that’s ego. And that’s not the way it works. We wouldn’t want a just God who forgave us after we’d paid a price or said the right words. We need—and we have—a merciful one; one who forgives unequivocally and without question.

How does one go about forgiving? I don’t know. Max Lucado believes that forgiving is a conscience decision you have to make. He says, “You can choose, like many, to chain yourself to your hurt… or you can choose, like some, to give up your hurt before it becomes hate.” I have to believe that if we pray that God will give us the strength to give it up, that he will help us to do so.

Prayer: Dear God. We are broken people. We come from a hurting world filled with so much pain, so much anger, and so much resentment. We become bitter and filled with self pity. We need your help to move on. We ask for your strength and your guidance. It’s hard to forgive, but we know that is what you call us to do. We need more of you God. More of your courage, more of your love, more of your healing touch. Be with us and take our pain. Take our anger. Take our resentment. Help us to become more understanding and fill us with your grace. We pray that we will have more of you in our lives, God, and less of ourselves getting in the way of who you created us to be. In your name we pray, Amen!

“God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So you should always do these things: show mercy, be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Get along with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:12-13.

Zach Herzog

God of justice and mercy, upset us in our sureness so that we might hear your words.Disturb us with your love, that our hearts might be open to new ideas or people.Awaken us to your challenges, that we might awaken others to the coming of your spirit.

~Some questions to think about this week...

• Has losing ever left you feeling closer to Jesus?
• Are you willing to be praised (Luke 4:15) as well as negatively criticized (Luke 4:29) to follow Jesus?
• What are we to do about the "church?”How might you offer yourself in a new way to bring fresh vitality to the church?
• What do you think of the quote the judge said to Shane Claiborne, “If unjust laws were never broken we’d have no freedoms?”

 “Where should I go to college?” “What should I be when I grow up?” “Do you think I can do_______?” How will I know if I should get married? ” “How many children should I have?”

It is often difficult to answer those questions. In fact as a parent you can’t- but you can say, “Trust in the Lord to show you.” 

Each of my daughter’s has had ‘God Moments’ by lifting up these questions and listening to God. Each one can give you examples. God promises to guide us all.

Psalm 32:8 -I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

Ephesians 2:10- For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This new school year, Dear Lord, please continue to guide our students and teachers. Help us all to listen to your guidance. Amen

Jane Mang

We are Not Self-Starters                                                                         

Speaking, acting, life-giving God
The one with the only verbs that can heal and rescue,
We come petitioning one more time,
Seeking your majestic address to us,
asking your powerful action among us,
waiting for your new life toward us.
Your creation teems with bondaged folk
who have not enough for life,
not enough bread, not enough clothes,
not enough houses, not enough freedom,
not enough dignity, not enough hope.
Your creation teems with bondaged creatures,                                                      
great valleys become dumps,
great oceans become dumped pollution,
fish wrapped in dumped oil,
fields at a loss for dumped chemicals.                                                                              
So we pray for creation, that has become a dump,
and for all your people
who have been dumped,
and dumped upon.

Renew your passion for life,
Work your wonders for newness,
Speak your word and let us begin again.
In your powerful presence, we resolve to do our proper work,
But we are not self-starters.
We wait on you to act, in order that we may act.
Show yourself in ways that give us courage and energy and freedom,
that we may care for our neighbors,
love your creation,
praise your name.
We pray in the savaged power of Jesus,
who cared and loved and praised.                                                                                        
Amen.
~ Walter Brueggemann


Some questions to think about this week...

·  When you pray to Jesus do you have an image of Jesus in your mind? What, for better or worse, have been circumstances that formed that image?

·  You were created (Genesis 1 & 2) with gifts and passions.What is it that you do which puts you in the “flow” and you lose track of time?How can what you love to do be better utilized to bless the world?

· If sin is when we tell God you are in my seat, let us pray to Jesus upon his throne (Matthew 19:28) and take our seat before him.

· Reflect upon Jesus as the master “gardener,” calling all creation to participate with him in business, justice and the arts.

Our visit started off stiff, but ended with hugs and exchanges of addresses and emails and promises to keep in touch. I even got an invitation to join their Artist Trading Card group! Mom said I won them over. I said (and I believe this with all my heart…) “God, won them over. I just provided the vehicle for him to win their love.”

Check out this song by Newsboys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62PoL42LX0Q 

It is a fun reminder to bring Jesus into every relationship we encounter.

Abba, may we seek to renew old friendships with your love as our guide. May we seek to bring you along wherever we travel. May we speak with your words, act with your love, and go with your guidance. Amen

Julie Weldon

I am amazed at how many times humility and pride are mentioned in the Word. These things are so important to God. I have decided that I need to revisit Proverbs 11:12 much more often: "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." So truthful it almost stings.

We live in a time of information overload, and people that are in a constant state of high stress. It's dog eat dog world out there folks. We feel like we have to defend oursevles, and like we should know everything. I don't think we learn much when we believe that we know everything though, or when we are constantly making it a point to prove ourselves. We learn about life and the grace of God when we eat a slice of humble pie. We learn when we admit that we do not know everything, that actually (no matter how old you are, where you're from, or where you've been) there is an endless list somewhere of things that we do not know. We learn when we get to a place where we don't expect other people to recognize us, or to apologize for their "stuff" when we've owned our own. And when we can come to God with open hearts, and lay down our pride... he can use us in whole new ways as a vessel for Him. And we don't have to prove ourselves, we don't have to know everything. As one of the precious kiddos in Children's Church reminded me yesterday, "God even knows all the hairs on our head." God knows. We're just called to check our pride at the door and walk humbly.

Father help us for our want to be right, and our want to protect ourselves... our desire to know it all, and our want to be at the top of the food chain. Help us to eject pride and insert humility. Help us to learn that humble pie doesn't taste so bad, and we need a lot of it so that we can serve You, almighty Father. Amen.

Grace & Peace,
Amanda Jensen

“God is in the text (Bible), it is the habitat of God.”  Walter Brueggeman

On Sunday, Pastor Dave began a new sermon series. The focus of this week was "How should the Bible be understood." 

Some thoughts and questions to get you going into the week....

·Pray that God might develop your heart to listen to the scriptures expecting to hear the voice of God.

·If God’s redemptive love could re-stitch one area of your life with hope through a biblical story what would it be?

·Try reading scripture each day this week for two minutes longer than last week. (If you did not read scripture last week, that’s two minutes per day to start with.)

·Do you agree with Dr. Walter Brueggeman that “prayer” is an opportunity for you to assault God, so God will change the drama (your life, the world)?  If you agree, take some time to pray.

We are Ready to Listen 

Healing, sovereign God,

Overmatch our resistant ears
With your transforming speech.
Penetrate our jadedness and fatigue.
Touch our yearnings by your worlds.
Through your out-loudness, draw us closer to you.
We are ready to listen.
Amen.

(Illumination / July 9, 1992)

Love is not work!

Have you ever had one of those times where loving someone seemed like work. Was it a spouse, a son or daughter, a bother or sister, a mother or father?

If love is not work, why do we have to work so hard to love?

There are times I can sympathize with the synagogue ruler who says to the people, “There are six days for work, so come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” There are those days I feel tired, taxed beyond what I can take. There are those days I feel like it is too much work to love.

Love is not work!

If you are tired… take a break, but don’t confuse love with work.

I was blessed to go with the Senior High to Fort Defiance, Arizona for a week of work, eating, devotions, and contemplation time. One of the questions asked during contemplation time was “How can you love people better back home?” My response was… You can’t! You can only love the way you love now! You can wish you loved more, or you can wish you had loved more, but now you can only love as you are loving now, in this moment. How do you want this moment to be? Loving or wishing?

Today as you work… work hard and know that GOD loves you.

Today as you love… love hard and know that GOD doesn’t love you if you love, GOD loves you so you can love. AMEN!

Precious Father, Loving GOD, Holy Spirit, I pray. I pray that you help me to love more. Love you, love my family, love my friends, love every man, woman, and child on this earth more every minute of every day. AMEN!

Jim Dietvorst

We are getting ready to take a trip with our two grandsons. This will be the first time the boys have spent 10 days without mom or dad, but as they keep reminding me they are 7, big boys, and “we can handle it.” There is an air of expectancy and excitement surrounding this trip, the possibility of a great adventure.

I’m trying not to get attached to results from this excursion. I know I would like them to have a great time and have wonderful memories of time spent with grandma and grandpa, but it’s not really about us and I know that. We know where we are headed, but are pretty much going to go with the flow when it comes to how we will spend our days. My prayer for them is that they see the possibility for goodness and joy in each new day, with time to reflect on how God has blessed us as a family and how we are all part of a much bigger human family. How we have a best friend in Jesus, who wants to share every minute of our day. I just hope they will continue to be the inquisitive boys they always are. Welcoming new people into their lives and sharing new experiences. They instinctively feel love around them. Child like trust and faith, I know Mark and I can learn a lot from them but, it might be hard for us to keep up.

Adults know human love is not always consistent. No matter how carefully we plan there are no guarantees life circumstances will not throw us some curves. Our world today is too complicated. A little more of God a little less of me is a message all of us have been hearing lately. A pretty important one don’t you think? My Abba, God wants me to have a little faith, to trust and see him as He is, a Love that is a sure thing every morning.

We can expect most anything on trips and journeys but, we never travel alone.

“Faith never knows where it is being led, But it knows and loves the One who is leading.” Oswald Chambers

Father, It’s difficult for us to understand a love like yours and hard for us to receive sometimes. We’re so grateful you long to draw us near.  Amen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saEC5g2TDgA&feature=related

Lois Autterson

I am starting a sermon series this week that I am very excited about. The first sermon is on “HOW SHOULD THE BIBLE BE UNDERSTOOD?” (to see all the sermon themes you can go the GGCC website.)

In preparation for this sermon, I have gone back over a few files from some of my favorite teachers. Dr.Walter Brueggemann of Union Seminary, one of the great Old Testament theologians of our day, is one. The late Dr. Donald Juel, a New Testament scholar who taught at Princeton Seminary, is another. Some of the newer teaching I have been reading is from Brian McClaren’s book “A New Kind of Christian.” All three of these offer marvelous scholarship and relevant teaching.

The quote that perhaps resonated with me most came from the late Rich Mullins, who is best known for being a Christian musician-

“The Bible is not a book for the faint of heart. It is a book full of all the greed and glory and violence and tenderness and sex and betrayal that benefits humankind. It is not the collection of pretty little anecdotes mouthed by pious little church mice. It does not so much nibble at our shoe as it cuts to the heart and splits the marrow from bone to bone. It does not give us answers fitted to our smaller minded questions, but truth that goes beyond what we even know to ask.”              Rich Mullins.

May we pray for scripture to offer us truth beyond what we even know to ask. God can grant no greater gift.

See you on Sunday.

Still in one peace,

David J. Jensen

A little girl was shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.

It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there, under the awning, just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day.

I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

Her little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, “Mom let's run through the rain,” she said. “What?” Mom asked. “Let's run through the rain!” She repeated.

“No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit,” Mom replied. This young child waited a minute and repeated: “Mom, let's run through the rain.”

“We'll get soaked if we do,” Mom said.

“No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning,” the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm. “This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?”

“Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything!’”

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one left. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.

Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

“Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD lets us get wet, well maybe we just need washing,” Mom said. Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They got soaked.

They were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories.

To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

Dear Jesus, thanks for the rain. Gotta get cleaned up! Amen.

Carole Schumacher