family feud

Good morning friends,
In our reading today Jesus continues to warn his disciples that they will face challenges even from friends and the religious community they hold dear because of following Christ. Faithfulness isn't always easy. At our presbytery meeting yesterday one of our congregations, Bergen First Presbyterian Church, followed a calling they have long felt from God to leave the PC(USA). Sometimes following our call leads us away from what we have known. It was a sad moment, something like a divorce, because folks who have been linked by denomination for years are going a different way.

It was sad, and also joyful, because now both that congregation and the presbytery feel like they are following their call the right way. There is not always an obvious line that leads safely from here to our savior's call, but we are called and we can follow. We are not alone, and God is working with our church, our presbytery, our denomination and with the Bergen Presbyterian Church as they go their separate way, still serving God. Please keep our presbytery, denomination and the Bergen church in prayer for God's grace and guidance. Also, keep praying for you and for our congregation for that same guidance. God is doing something through each of us and through us together.

God bless,
Sam

John 16:1-6

”I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. ²They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. ³And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. ⁵But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.

loved and hated

Good afternoon brothers and sisters,
It's been good to have a change of scene and it's good to be back home and back in the office. I hope all is well with you. Today's reading continues Jesus' words to his disciples on his last evening with them. He warns that as they continue in his ministry, they will face the same opposition from the world that he did. Likewise for us: if we're really doing God's work, that will sometimes lead us into conflict with the world around us.

That doesn't mean we're supposed to seek conflict, only that when you stand up for what's right in a society that is most interested in money and success, you're likely to be unpopular. No matter whether people love the message or hate the message, we are called to be faithful to Jesus. In that faithfulness we find freedom.

God bless,
Sam

John 15:18-27

¹⁸”If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you.

²⁰Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. ²¹But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.

²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³Whoever hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’

²⁶”When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. ²⁷You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

prayer and arrest

Good morning friends,
Today's reading is Luke's version of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane after his last supper with his disciples. We'll hear Mark's version tonight at the close of our Maundy Thursday service. That service begins at 6 with a potluck supper in Christler Hall. All are welcome. I love that in Jesus prayer, he doesn't get what he asks for first (God to spare him from the cross), but he does gain strength from the prayer. He also prays that, no matter what, God's will be done. That's a good model for us to remember too. 


Jesus is also a model in his arrest. He goes peacefully and tells his disciples not to fight. He also forces the guards and leaders who arrest him to confront their actions. He reminds them that he's never been a threat, that he always acted openly, but they are arresting him in secret instead of in public. Most of the great non-violent protest is similar. It doesn't attack injustice on its own terms, but it does expose it to the light and call it wrong.

May our day be filled with integrity as well,
Sam

Luke 22:39-53

³⁹He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. ⁴⁰When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.” ⁴¹Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ⁴²“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” ⁴³Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. ⁴⁴In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. ⁴⁵When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, ⁴⁶and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; ⁴⁸but Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” ⁴⁹When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. ⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? ⁵³When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!”

Sam Picard

Pastor, Laurelton United Presbyterian Church

laureltonchurch.org

Daily Bible readings in interactive format: laureltonpastor.blogspot.com

Sermons: laureltonsermons.blogspot.com

forgiveness and integrity

Good afternoon sisters and brothers,
John's letters aren't as well known as Paul's letters, but they are wonderful little gems of our faith. In today's reading John makes three related points. First, faith is about what we do; we have to live our faith, not just talk about it. Second, when we admit our sin and shortcomings God forgives us. And finally, we all fall short, so if we claim we aren't sinners we aren't being honest. The freedom to admit our brokenness and trust Christ to heal us is one of the greatest blessings of our faith.

Blessings on your freedom and honesty today,
Sam

1 John 1:5-10

⁵This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; ⁷but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

humility and religion

Good morning brothers and sisters,
This week we're talking about forgiveness, one of the most important parts of our Christian faith. In today's reading Jesus teaches that God values honest humility more than religious devotion with the wrong attitude. The point of the church is to help us grow in faith and witness to that faith together through welcome and service. Religious life isn't about impressing God; it's about living out our gratitude. This is one of my favorite short stories from Jesus about what really counts.

God bless,
Sam

Luke 18:9-14

⁹He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ¹⁰“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 

¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

words and actions

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Paul continues to remind the Thessalonians that his actions matched the gospel he proclaimed. He also praises them for hearing God's word well. Paul's message is a reminder for us in our evangelism. If our actions don't match our words, no one will listen. May we always grow in faith as we are nurtured by God's word.
blessings,
Sam

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

⁹You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. ¹⁰You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. ¹¹As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, ¹²urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

¹³We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.

lamentation and freedom

Psalm 13:1-6
1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

I want to spend most of our Bible time with our New Testament lesson, but I just couldn’t let this beautiful Psalm sit untouched. I couldn’t leave this painfully honest Psalm alone because too often the church isn’t painfully honest.

We put on our best faces for church, maybe we put on our best faces for other people in general. Someone asks how we’re doing and we say something socially acceptable. That’s actually an OK habit to be in a lot of the time. It’s not a great idea to pour our guts out to everyone we meet. But when we take it too far it kills genuine community and relationship.

When we come to church we are with our brothers and sisters in Christ. That means we are supposed to be in a safe place for honesty; a place we can share our struggles and our pain. We’re family, so we should be able to be vulnerable with each other.

But that’s not always how it feels. One thing that gets in the way of honesty and openness is Sunday best syndrome. We feel like since our outfits are well put together, we’re supposed to button up our troubles too. We shine our shoes and our smiles and we tuck our problems and doubts under the carpet so we can do church “the right way.”

That’s the smaller part of the problem. The bigger issue is that we feel we have to be careful with God. We use carefully crafted words and scripted prayers to talk to the God who is high above in heaven. The language in the Bible is stilted and our worship language doesn’t usually sound like how we would have a conversation. We don’t want to say the wrong thing or offend God.

The truth is that God can take it. Look at this Psalm: “How long O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” Have you ever felt that way before? Did you cry out to God like the Psalmist did? Our polite religious tradition is hard to break, but when we open ourselves to God and to each other we learn how to actually trust God. Look where the Psalm ends up: “I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” If we open ourselves up and trust God with our doubt and pain, we’ll find out for ourselves that we can count on God. If we handle God like fragile, precious crystal we’ll never find out how strong and supportive God really is.

living the faith

Good morning (or evening for you night owls) friends,
Today's reading from Jeremiah shows God telling the people to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Being God's people isn't just a privilege; it's also a responsibility. The temple in Jerusalem is God's special place to be with God's people, but for that to work the people have to invite God into their lives by living justly. Faith isn't just about how we worship; it's about how we live. If they oppress immigrants and take advantage of the vulnerable it's not going to do Israel any good to claim that they are God's people. We also see God wondering if the people will even turn God's temple into a den of thieves. The same accusation is familiar to most of us from Jesus' lips centuries later cleansing the temple of sold out ritual.

The challenge and invitation are ours as well. God wants to live with us, so we're called to show God's love in everything we do. When we do that the church is truly the house of God and our lives will shine like beacons of hope for the world. The promise is ours today and always.

God bless,
Sam


Jeremiah 7:1-11
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, you that enter these gates to worship the Lord. 3Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place. 4Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.”

5For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, 6if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, 7then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.

8Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 9Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, 10and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are safe!” —only to go on doing all these abominations? 11Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight? You know, I too am watching, says the Lord.

hypocrisy and integrity

Good morning sisters and brothers,
This morning's reading is somewhat disturbing, but it is a great reminder to live with integrity. Integrity is a word we hear often enough; probably 80% of us work for a company that has integrity somewhere in it's mission statement. To me the heart of integrity is saying and doing what we believe, and its opposite is hypocrisy. Jesus warns his disciples about the "leaven of the Pharisees" and says that in the future everyone's secrets will be made known. The accusation is that the Pharisees aren't practicing what they preach. In the same way, if we believe in Jesus, we should never be ashamed of that.

The other focus in the passage is the importance of the Holy Spirit. As we've talked about some in worship, this may be the most neglected person of the Trinity. We believe in the Holy Spirit, but we don't necessarily make a practice of listening for her guidance. God always surrounds us with love and the Spirit is always available to guide us in Christ's footsteps. That certainly comforts me when I don't know what to do. I hope it will comfort you the next time you feel in over your head.

Blessings,
Sam


Luke 12:1-12
Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. 2Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 3Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.

4“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. 5But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. 7But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

8“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; 9but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. 10And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.”

defense in Jerusalem

Good morning all,
This morning we get a great example of Paul's ability to speak clearly and with integrity to different audiences. We saw yesterday that he was attacked by a large Jewish mob who wanted to kill him. He was rescued by being arrested by the Roman forces. Today Paul begins by addressing the Roman tribune in Greek. Paul's fluent Greek and comfort addressing this gentile official opens the tribune's ears to what Paul says, and shows that he is someone comfortable in Roman society. He also mentions his citizenship here, which has been important before and will be again as our story develops.

Paul then addresses the crowd to make his defense to them, and he does so in Hebrew. In Hebrew he points to his own credentials as an observant and serious Jew. His Hebrew language emphasizes the point he is trying to make: "I am one of you." Paul then begins to tell the story of how he moved from being an ardent persecutor of the church to a radical evangelist for Christ. Regardless of who he addresses Paul understands his audience and seeks to connect the gospel to their experience. While he is flexible and creative in his presentation he always sticks to the truth of God's love and calling even when this will be unpopular, as we'll see tomorrow.

May God give you courage and creativity in your day today,
Sam

Acts 21:37-22:5

37Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” The tribune replied, “Do you know Greek? 38Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?” 39Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city; I beg you, let me speak to the people.” 40When he had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people for silence; and when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:

22:1”Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you.” 2When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then he said:

3”I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, 5as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

commitment and integrity

Good morning friends,
This morning's reading shows us that even the amazing community of the early church wasn't perfect. We read yesterday that no one in the church was needy because everyone shared their property completely. In today's reading we see, not surprisingly, that this kind of commitment was hard for some in the community. We don't know much about Ananias and Sapphira, but like others in the community they sold a piece of property and laid the proceeds at the apostles' feet to show they were sharing what they had. But they only brought part of the price of the sale; they held back some of it for themselves.

Peter's rebuke is revealing: he reminds Ananias that the field was his and he was free to do whatever he wanted. In other words, while Acts tells us that everyone shared everything, that sharing was voluntary. Christians shared what they had because they wanted to, but they didn't have to. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira starts with selfishness, but the deadly part of the sin is lying to God, not holding something back. Presumably, if they had come and told the church they were bringing part of the sale price they would have survived.

Commitment begins in love and demands integrity. To deepen our commitment to our faith and our community we need to truly love God and love the community. Then we need to be honest with ourselves and with God about what we're willing to give and what we still hold back.
May God guide us to live this week with integrity,
Sam

Acts 5:1-11

But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; 2with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3“Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 4While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!” 5Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. 6The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him. 7After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” 9Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.