The First Christian Church Disciples of Christ is located on East Church Street near the Berryville Town Square. Worship Services are at 11:00 AM on Sunday. Bible Study at 1:15 PM Tuesdays.
The wet and hot weather of the last several days have been good for the garden and, so far, plants have been relatively free of insects. We are still mulling over whether or not the blueberry shrubs are doing well--they may need a shot of iron--but they are all standing and seem healthy. The leaf rust on the apple trees also appears to have slowed down if not entirely eradicated. Our corn is about knee high and at least two of the flower beds are going to be spectacular. We are also glad that the raspberry canes planted about a month ago have lived and are taking root. We may plant another line of them in an under-performing east-side bed.
Bed and Tread Method
The Community Gardeners are using a no-till method of gardening that relies on "beds and treads" that was original developed by Chinese farmers over a nearly forty century period. Although the picture above does not clearly show it, plant beds alternate with trenches, or "treads" that gardeners walk on, throw waste and dirt, and then, periodically but at least once a year, clean out and toss the waste material up onto the bed where plants are grown. Over time, the beds get substantially taller and the treads get deeper and deeper. On some Chinese farms farmers don't have to bend over at all to do their weeding and picking.
This method of Bed and Tread farming was popularized by the writer F. H. King in about 1910 in his book Farmers of Forty Centuries and was adaped by USDA as the recommended approach for organic gardners seeking to have a "zero waste" garden. Since the FCC gardeners are largely experimenting as they go along they are unable to report whether it works or not. But it is an interesting process to engage in, and generally attractive. We'll keep everyone posted.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Apple leaf rust (Photo courtesy of Margaret Bourke Blanco)
Jennifer Hudspeth’s quick eye and consultation with Extension Agent Leon Duncan revealed that our newly planted apple trees suffer from a common blight called Apple Leaf Rust. It is unsightly but apparently fairly common and not fatal—although we may end up with leafless trees well before autumn. Doesn’t it seem like modern varieties of trees and other plants are lot touchier than the plants and trees of our childhood? As a kid I recall eating (actually stealing and then eating) apples from Mrs. Siebold’s backyard orchard but was never aware that trees might catch a sniffle or something more serious than a worm or two. Maybe we’re being punished today for my swiping of yesterday (certainly a thorny theological question).
When George Washington was a boy there were 7,000 varieties of apples grown in the Continental United States. Today, there are about 196 commercially available apples. These apples are chosen for their ability to resist bruising, size and color conformity, and shelf-life. I wonder what those other 6, 804 types of apples tasted like?
Today marks one of the major annual celebrations of the Christian calendar: Pentecost. Although most people in our culture have some vague awareness that we’re celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas and the resurrection of Jesus at Easter, you might get a confused look if you mention Pentecost. Did anybody here have someone at Wal Mart wish you a Happy Pentecost this weekend? Maybe we’re glad that marketers have not found a way to commercialize one of the greatest things God has done in human history. But the sad thing is, many Christians don’t know what Pentecost means. This morning let’s take a few moments to think about Pentecost: What does it mean?
What It Meant Then First, let’s talk about the original event and what it meant to the first disciples of Jesus. Their story is recorded in the book of Acts, Acts 2:1-8. Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. So, what’s the day of Pentecost? Jesus came as a Jew, living among the people of Israel who had religious celebrations remembering the mighty acts of God in history. One of their religious celebrations was the Passover, when they remembered God delivering their ancestors from their bondage in Egypt. Jesus was crucified during this Passover observance. Three days afterwards, he rose from the dead, the event that forever removed the power and fear of death and opened eternal life to all who place their trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. For 40 days after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His followers at various times in his resurrected body. Then he ascended into heaven, promising His followers that He would be with them in a new way through His Holy Spirit, and instructing them to wait in Jerusalem and pray for the fulfillment of this promise. And that when the Holy Spirit came, they would receive power to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Now, about 10 days after Jesus ascended into heaven, the time came for the observance of another Jewish festival called Pentecost. Pentecost was observed 50 days after the Passover, and it was a harvest festival. About this time of year we are receiving God’s provision of food as we’re harvesting the first onions and lettuce. In Palestine they were thanking God for the first harvest of grain at Pentecost. Just as there were lots of people in Jerusalem for Passover, when Jesus was crucified, there were lots of Jews from all over the known world for the Pentecost festival. God’s always chooses the right time for His momentous works to have the greatest impact. We’re going to see that the Holy Spirit comes and empowers the followers of Jesus to communicate with these different groups of people and the result will be God gathering diverse groups of people into one new fellowship called the church of Jesus Christ. This particular day of Pentecost was going to be a great harvest for God.
But back to verse 1. Note that the followers of Jesus were all together in one place. They were following Jesus’ instructions to wait and pray. They were obviously obedient, which is one of the reasons God was able to come into their lives in a new way. But I believe another reason God was able to do this amazing miracle in them and through them, was that they were seeking and wanting all that God wanted to give them, even though they probably had no idea what it would be like for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. Verses 2-4 is the attempt to describe in words what is beyond the power of words to describe. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?”
What Pentecost meant for the first disciples of Jesus was they received new abilities to communicate with people about Jesus, and a passion to continue His work that overcame their fear. Those fear-bound disciples who hadn’t even been able to claim that they knew Jesus in their own language now began to speak in other languages. They told of the mighty works of God. And people were amazed to hear the disciples’ witness in words they could understand. Some responded by scoffing and discounting the whole event. But some responded with faith and became followers of Jesus. About 3,000 people were baptized and added that day to the company of the followers of Jesus.
What It Means Now So that is the event of Pentecost, what it originally meant 2000 years ago. But what does it mean to me and to us today that the Holy Spirit came into our world and continues to live in the lives of the followers of Jesus? Let’s unwrap this amazing gift of the Holy Spirit to see what the gift means. I have listed here just some of the scriptures that describe who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does in our lives:
Counselor And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— John 14:16
Revealer of Truth And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17
Teacher "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:25-26
Changes Us But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Romans 8:9
Prays for Us In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26
Gives Special Abilities It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Ephesians 4:11-12
Empowers Us to Witness But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
Have I received the Holy Spirit? In this church we take the points from Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost to simply describe what it means to receive new life in Christ. We call it “The Five Finger Exercise: faith, repentance, baptism, forgiveness of sins, gift of the Holy Spirit. The first three actions are our response to the good news of new life available to us as followers of Jesus. We choose to believe, to place our trust in Jesus. We repent and turn away from self-centered living and walk with Jesus as Lord. Then we receive what God does: forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. If we have asked Jesus to be our Savior and Lord, we have received the gift of His Holy Spirit. Let this pitcher of water represent our lives in Christ. This packet of Alka-Seltzer represents the gift of the Holy Spirit. Drop it in the water still in the package. It’s there, but not much is happening in the pitcher of water, just as we can have the Holy Spirit in our lives, but not be experiencing much of the Spirit’s reality and power. We can choose to hang on to our pride, our attitudes toward people, our habits, our comfort zones. We can choose to say, “God, I want you in my life, but don’t do anything that would change my world or make me uncomfortable or embarrassed.” That’s like having the Holy Spirit within us, but not able to act, like the Alka-Seltzer still in the package.
But we have another choice we can make – every day, sometimes moment by moment. When we unwrap the packet and drop it into this second pitcher of water, we demonstrate that other choice. We can say, “God, I want everything you have for me. I’m not going to limit you or put restrictions on your freedom in my life. I’m willing to be as 100 percent for you as you enable me to be. I’m asking for the power of your Holy Spirit in my life to witness for you in what I do, what I say, and how I live.” You see, the power is not going to be fully released in our lives or in this congregation, until we want it. Like those disciples gathered in the upper room, we need to ask for it. The Holy Spirit never comes in like a bully violating our choice. The Holy Spirit lovingly waits to be invited. Our continually opening ourselves to God and asking is what releases the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It’s like taking the wrapper off the gift so the power is manifest in us and through us.
The Holy Spirit won’t make us wild-eyed religious fanatics. The Holy Spirit will make us more like Jesus, with His power to love people into the Kingdom of God. As we receive all God has for us, we become all God created us to be, fully alive in Christ, joyfully and effectively doing His work in the world.
The eight foot soon to be harvest table above is made of recycled lumber donated by Scott and Amanda Frame. When completed, it will go into our Community Garden and along with matching benches will provide a place for gardeners to meet, to clean vegetables and flowers, or to share a meal. Next steps in the process are sanding, painting, and waxing so that it holds up against our Arkansas weather.
Before the table was a table it was the pile of scrap seen above. And, before it was a pile of scrap, it was a playhouse at the Frame home near Green Forest. Recycling isn't just trendy or a snob activity: it is frugal, wise use of resources, and respectful of both money and the talents of the maker. By summers end we hope to have a grape arbor up, a shady area for gardeners to sit a spell, and a few Adirondack chairs for folks who want to read or sip a libation (no tales told) next to the zinnias.
The table should be finished before services next Sunday. Come out and admire it! And, if you have scrape lumber laying about--we can put it to good use.
Many thanks to Amanda and Scott for their generosity.
Some religious leaders, who were prepared to condemn to death a woman caught in adultery, sought to force Jesus to take a stand on their proposed action. Jesus wrote some words in the sand. We do not know what the words were, but they must have been strongly convicting because after he wrote, all he had to do was to say, “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.” The crowd cooled its jets and melted away. Then Jesus said to the woman, “Go and sin no more.” Point 1: Jesus would have no part in self-righteous judgmentalism, for his ministry and that of his followers was to invite people who had fallen short to live new lives covered by grace in the kingdom of God. Point 2: Jesus would have no part in anything-goes permissiveness, for he was calling people to live not only in the grace, but also in the righteousness of the kingdom of God. I suggest that this story gives us two goals for our dealings with young Christians: (1) build grace into their lives, and (2) build moral wisdom and virtue into their lives. For maturing disciples of Jesus Christ, grace and virtue belong inseparably together. As our Savior, he covers us with grace; as our Lord, he commands the development of virtue in our lives. If you try to have grace without virtue or virtue without grace, the result is no longer Christian.
But Jesus understood that a convincing experience of grace is where it all starts. Unless people were proud, arrogant, and self-righteous, Jesus did not begin by tearing them down. He began by building them up, creating hope, and then challenging them to live up to their potential in the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:16-25 contrasts the works of the flesh—that is, of living outside the kingdom of God—versus the fruit of the Spirit—that is, of living inside the kingdom of God. Living outside the kingdom of God is characterized by self-centered living, living focused on what we can get for ourselves, what we can control, what we can experience. It is the kingdom of me. I want what I want, and I want it ASAP. Just a few of the possible symptoms of living in the kingdom of me are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, and orgies. The list could go on and on. Some of the symptoms of living in the kingdom of me are more subtle, more socially acceptable, like putting too high a priority on being loved, admired, affirmed, but even that seemingly innocent false priority opens a door through which Satan can walk into our lives and wreak havoc.
Disciples of Jesus Christ, living not in the kingdom of me, but in the kingdom of God, focus on letting the Holy Spirit lead and direct their lives, building into them the qualities of Christlikeness, the fruit of the Spirit, the virtues: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Building moral wisdom and virtue into young Christians is a gradual process. It does not happen all at once. Much of it involves developing relationships with young Christians in which we can share insights that help them become more and more discerning about life.
Probably most parents of teenagers are strongly concerned about training their offspring to make good decisions in the area of marriage, love, sex, and romance. We live in a sex-obsessed culture. Sexual obsession and sexual repression seem to go in pendulum swings. In this country, the late 18th century, during and after the American Revolution, was a period with low church attendance, widespread alcoholism, and extremely high rates of children born out of wedlock. It was a period of sexual obsession.
But even in the most sexually repressed times, such as the Victorian era of the late 19th century, people in their late teens and early twenties were still vulnerable. If you will forgive one more reference to my family tree, I noticed in looking at the records that in the 1880’s a young Illinois farm girl gave birth to her first baby just four months after her marriage; her husband was a farm boy from down the road. The bulk of my physical features can be traced back to that farm girl, and she was the only one of my eight great-grandparents who was still alive during my young boyhood, hence, the only great-grandparent I knew, so this was a fairly personal discovery for me. Should I be sharing this kind of information in public? Not to worry, Matthew’s Gospel goes out of its way to point out that Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba were in Jesus’ family tree, all far more outrageous than my great-grandmother. Jesus works to redeem human failings; if we will let him, he will cover us with grace, but he will call those he covers with grace into a life of virtue. Let me repeat, that is what it means that he is both our Savior and our Lord.
LoAna and Laura Beth sang the worship chorus, “You Are My King (Amazing Love).” The message of the song is that, because of the costly, amazing, loving grace of our King, it is our highest purpose and privilege to do all that we do in honor of Him, and so we seek to live obedient lives conforming ever more to his likeness. He is our Savior and our Lord, our source of grace and virtue.
The Bible is filled with wisdom that builds virtue. It is our best textbook for teaching young Christians how to live God-honoring lives. We need to be careful though not to interpret the Bible’s wisdom simply to serve our kingdom of me values, but to interpret it in light of kingdom of God values. Here are the basic hooks on which all our interpretations of the Bible’s wisdom should hang:
1.God created human beings in his image to represent his nature and purposes.
2.Both the Old Testament covenant community (first Israel and then Judaism and the New Testament covenant community (the church) were formed by the grace of God to be a kingdom of priests and a holy people, serving as go-betweens between God and the world, showing the world what God is like.
3.The primary characteristic of God is his steadfast covenant love. God is our kinsman redeemer, sacrificially doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves to keep us in covenant relationship with him.
4.The human marriage covenant is designed to be the most basic human institution in which we show what God’s steadfast covenant love and faithfulness are like in the way we give of ourselves for the well-being of our spouses and offspring. We cannot do that until we have a mature and seasoned wisdom.
The wisdom we offer about marriage, love, sex, and romance should serve those purposes of God.
Young men and women, here’s a clue to keep in mind as you seek your life’s partner: if the person for whom you are experiencing strong feelings is willing to deceive his, her, or especially your parents in order to do something forbidden with you, it is highly likely that down the road, this person will be deceiving you in order to do something forbidden with someone else. A passion-driven person is usually a character-challenged person, and deception is a key symptom of being character-challenged. Impressive promises may flow easily from the lips of such a person and may appear to be heart-felt, but they will be quickly forgotten when something new is also heartfelt. This is heartbreak waiting to happen.
Here is another clue: if the teenager to whom you are attracted is quite confident that he or she is ready for adult commitments, it is a pretty strong indication that the person still has a lot of growing up to do, that the person has not done much reflecting on what it really takes to live out genuinely self-giving love for the well-being of another person. Faithfully keeping commitments is hard work, and even the best immature character is not up to the task.
Can you stand one more clue? A person who is really good at manipulating people into doing things his or her way is not to be trusted ever to care much about your real needs. If the person is smooth at persuasion, but not reliable at follow-through, watch out. There are a lot of romantics who can sweep you off your feet by telling you, perhaps sincerely at the moment, how deeply they love you, but who do not have staying power. The person may be good at the grand romantic gesture, but not often at the hard stuff that counts in daily life.
The wisdom literature of the Bible has some important advice about selecting a marriage partner. The Book of Proverbs spends much of its pages helping young men develop moral character and discernment. It warns young men against being drawn toward flattering, seductive women who can ruin their lives. It describes the kind of woman a young man should seek. The description of the desirable wife may sound a bit like superwoman who can do it all, and that is not realistic—not to mention being intimidating to young women--but as a strategy for reorienting young man’s fancies, which is its purpose, it is a good strategy. The good wife is not a weak and ornamental woman centered on her own pleasure, she is not telling you how she needs a big, strong reliable man like you to make it through life, but she is a strong and good woman, disciplined and goal-oriented, with deep faith, high goals, and practical skills. Because she is prepared for life, the text concludes:
Proverbs 31: 25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. 26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” 30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears (or reveres) the Lord is to be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the (city) gates.
Young men, that portrayal of the desirable wife is wisdom worth holding onto. Look for a woman of strong character, godly character…and your life will be better. Young women, do the same. Look for a man of strong and godly character.
The Song of Solomon—or the Song of Songs, as it is perhaps preferably titled—is best known for its depictions of sexual attraction and love.
Southern Baptist scholar Duane Garrett think that it also has some important wisdom to impart. As he helps us decipher the text, some passages are designed to caution young men that initial sexual experience is an emotionally traumatic event for young women and needs to be carried out in the best and most supportive circumstances within the protective boundaries of a marriage covenant.
Further, the young woman in the poem warns her still single young women companions three times, in chapters 2, 3, and 8, “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.” What does that mean? Garrett suggests that she is warning her companions that they are not to stir up their passions until the proper time, circumstances, and person arrive. Premature passion can only make a person miserable and may lead to mistakes that will plague them for the rest of their lives.
For those with eyes prepared to see, the Bible is filled with wisdom that can help us lead better lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Note for those who are concerned about the scriptural integrity of John 7:53—8:11:
Since we read John 8:2-11 last Sunday and I referred to it in my sermon, some of you may have been led to wonder about the way it is annotated in your Bibles.
Almost all modern translations, whether Protestant or Catholic, liberal or conservative, bracket John 7:53-8:11, containing the much loved story of the woman caught in adultery, usually with a note that this passage does not appear in the earliest Greek manuscripts of John’s Gospel. Many also note that its writing style is not John’s. These are not new observations, but have been around through much of Christian history.
Most modern scholars believe that this passage is an authentic record of Jesus’ ministry that was dislocated and then was arbitrarily inserted into its present location in John’s Gospel. A few suggest that it may belong following Luke 21:38 where it appears in a few manuscripts; I lack the competence to judge the latter suggestion, but I am favorably inclined toward it. At least one scholar who believes that it is Luke's suggests that Luke had to omit it to get the rest of his Gospel to fit on the scroll he was using. That is far more than we know.
In conclusion, my own view is that this text should be treated as carrying scriptural authority even if we do not know for sure where in the Four Gospels it originally belonged, but for the sake of the consciences of those who question its scriptural authenticity, I am willing to follow the rules for using a questionable text. The main rule for using texts of questionable authenticity in preaching and teaching is that they should never be used to support any doctrinal claim that is not supported by at least one text of unquestioned authenticity. So far as I can see, every theological or moral point that could be legitimately drawn from this passage is also supported by other reliable texts, actually many other texts. My purpose in using this passage is not to introduce a new point, but to support old points by potent illustration. Therefore, I feel thoroughly justified in my use of this text].
The women of the church want to thank David Bell for the bookmarks we received yesterday during the worship service. The picture you took of mama robin and babies and shared with us on the bookmark was phenomenal.
Resting and talking after the hard work of setting up for the yard sale.
Hot dogs - yum!
Caleb models his unique cap with hangers creation.
Chow's on
Alicia wins the rock, paper, scissors challenge
The weather was perfect for a picnic Wednesday night. And with the inside of the church filled with donations for the yard sale, we ate outside. Beautiful evening, beautiful church yard, beautiful kids.
Cucumbers, growing up a trellis. 
