Sermon Excerpt for Oct 4!

SERMON excerpt:   

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Why do bad thing happen to good people? This is one of those questions that people of faith have pondered it seems forever. Why do seemingly good or innocent people suffer? Why do children die in natural disasters? Why are infants born with debilitating diseases and why do babies get cancer?

Job is the book in the Bible that deals with this issue head on.

 He loses all his possessions and his family in one day. Then he loses his health and suffers from a horrible disease. Yet in all of this, Job does not sin against God.

But the question of why bad things happen to good people is much closer to home than some guy who lived thousands of years ago in a far away land….

For me it's in my own family. But the question of why bad thing happen to good people is much closer to home than some guy who lived thousands of years ago in a far away land. For me it's in my own family. Why did God allow my wife to have a stroke and have to give up a musical career that she loved? Why did God allow my niece to be stricken with a neuro-muscular disorder at the age of 23 and cause her to live as helpless as an infant until she died at the age of 50.  My mother was hyper diligent about her health, yet one morning I got a phone call from one of my brothers who told me that she had been diagnosed with cancer and it was so widespread in her body that she only had six weeks to live.  Why did these things happen t them? They were surely innocent, yet God allowed this to happen to them.

People of faith have wrestled with this issue for thousands of years. Well what about Job? Could he have been truly blameless? . Like many of us, maybe he never actually stole anything or killed anyone. But Jesus raised the bar of righteousness to show us God's standard. Jesus says if we covet we have stolen and if we hate we have killed.

. But what about suffering endured by children and infants? It doesn't explain people born with debilitating and painful ailments?

The second answer is that bad things happen to good people because God chooses not to interfere.  God started the machine going and people have messed the universe up. As a result bad things happen to good people because we have messed up the way the universe is supposed to work.

Our sin has thrown a monkey wrench into the internal workings of the cosmos and gummed up the machine.

But that is not a Christian belief. God is involved in His universe. God does intervene in its workings to cause oceans to part and rain to fall or not fall and to heal diseases and save people.

Another answer is that bad thing happen to good people because God allows us to have free will. God in His eternal love has allowed us to do what we want. We can choose to do evil because we have been given free will as a gift.

But it still doesn't explain things like natural disasters. Oh, maybe global warming can be blamed for some of it. But it doesn't explain all the earthquakes and tsunamis and hurricanes and tornadoes that inflict suffering on so many innocent people.

Job demands that God give him an explanation for why these things have happened to him. In chapters 38 - 41 of Job we have God's answer. But God doesn't give an explanation. Instead God asks Job a series of questions: Were you there when I put the stars in the places? Can you tell the sea where to go? Do you understand the ways of the creatures of the deep? Can you control them?

Basically God's answer is: "I am God, I know what I am doing and you don't."

That doesn't mean we shouldn't ask questions and seek understanding and even question God.

Perhaps the more important question is not "why" bad things happen but how we respond "when" they happen!

When bad things happen to good people what do we do? How do we respond when the innocent suffer? What do we think when natural disasters injure and kill? How respond ultimately determines who we are in Christ. 

Today, we celebrate Holy Communion with Jesus our Savior. In our celebration, we are reminded that Jesus endured great suffering on the cross so that we might be forgiven of sin and have the promise of eternal life at his return. Till then, even in our suffering, we wait with eager hope for that day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children…

So, let’s celebrate that hope together, and may God bless you all. Amen.

Sermon for Sept. 13!

Word Power –

Mark 8:27-38

Being a Christian is a two-step process. The first step is to recognize that God finds us acceptable. The time that we in the United Methodist Church celebrate the good news of God unconditional grace, God’s acceptance of us for what we are, and God’s forgiveness for our flaws, is at our baptism.  But, that is only the first step. The second step is claiming that assurance for ourselves.

...each believer must respond to God’s grace and stop focusing on himself or herself and trying to seek out his or her own happiness, and instead begin to concentrate more on loving and caring for others. This is the secret ingredient to abundant living. This is the key to the Christian faith. This is what it means to be a follower of Christ. This is what is meant by the words “born again.” And this is what it means, in this passage from Mark, to take up the cross.

Jesus gets the conversation going by asking his disciples what everybody is saying about him. The disciples answer him in terms of popular beliefs, "Oh, Jesus, you know, some are comparing you to John the Baptist, or maybe Elijah, or some other prophet." "Well, what about you guys. You know me by now. What do you think? What are you saying about me? Who do you tell people that I am?"

And Peter, the one who was always looking for proof, always trying to find a way to know for sure, comes to a crossroad point in his faith journey. It is he who speaks for all of them...

.... finally truly believing deep within the most secret inner places of his soul, that Jesus is of God. He says, "You are the Messiah."

And it is then that Jesus begins to explain what kind of Messiah he is. Jesus tells them that he not going to be the popular hero. He is not going the lead their country to power or military success. They aren’t all going to become rich or famous. Jesus is not going to give them what they think they need to be happy....

. The way to fulfillment is not by saving your own life, but by saving the lives of your neighbors. I will suffer and be rejected by the world, and if you want to follow me, you've got to do the s. The way to fulfillment is not by saving your own life, but by saving the lives of your neighbors. I will suffer and be rejected by the world, and if you want to follow me, you've got to do the same.  You've got to quit thinking about what will make you happy....,

You've got to get your self out the way..., You've got to deny your self and follow me.

The reason I continue to be a part of the church, even with all its flaws, is because it is where this idea of following Christ is taught and perpetuated. I believe I need to surround myself with other people who proclaim Jesus as their Messiah because I have learned that the more I focus on him—learning his ways and trying to think like him, act like him, be like him—and the less I focus on myself...

We are not our own; therefore neither our reason nor our will should predominate in our deliberations and actions. We are not on our own; therefore let us not propose it as our end, to seek what may be expedient for us according to the flesh. We are not our own; therefore let us, as far as possible, forget ourselves and all things that are ours.

Our self-help culture tells us that the way to be happy is to love ourselves and focus on doing what we most want. But the church tells us that the way to be happy is to deny ourselves and take up the cross.

.... , at the core of the church is always Jesus:

Jesus, whose teachings and actions flew in the face of popular culture.

Jesus, who issued a radical call.

Jesus, who has led us on a journey that leads to true joy.

Wisdom from Above

“Wisdom from Above”

 James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

In doing my research for this sermon, I ran across a book entitled; How to Argue and Win Every time. I don’t recommend it. But obviously a lot of people have read this book because it has been on the national bestseller list several times. According to the author Gerry Spence, we were born to win arguments. The problem, says Spence, is that we have been locked up by our parents, our preachers, and our teachers. We have been taught like puppies, “Don’t bark!” Arguing sets us free, he said. Life is an argument that you either win or lose. You can win by buying his book and learning how. Here is a whopper of a quote that comes from page 15: “When we give ourselves permission to argue, we become like born again gladiators.” I suppose that for some people the idea of becoming a born again gladiator is an appealing image, but when I read excerpts from this book I came away shaking my head. This is what the book of James calls the wisdom of the world. In our passage of scripture, James is urging us to seek a higher wisdom, the wisdom that comes from above, and that is what we are going to talk about for a little while this morning. Let me give you the background. The book of James is a call for the Christian Church to live out the law of love. Jesus said that we are to love God with all our hearts and minds and strength and soul – and to love our neighbors as ourselves. In the first chapter James says, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” In the second chapter James says “If we love our neighbor as ourselves, we are doing what is right.” In the 3rd chapter James talks about taming our tongues. In our passage of scripture this morning, James is talking about arguments in the church and how we should speak and act with wisdom – God’s wisdom – when we deal with one another.

Next time you find yourself wanting to argue or fight, ask yourself why is this important. Is it because I want to win, or because I want this or I want that? All of this is what James calls being double minded. We have all these mixed motives that make us want to fight. But wisdom from above is pure or single minded. Saint Paul said to the Philippians (2:3) “Be of the same mind as Christ.” Paul said to the Romans, (12:2) “Do not be conformed to the ways of the world but be transformed by the renewal of your minds.”

 James tells us that wisdom from above is sincere, and humble. My favorite Abraham Lincoln quote comes from one of his early political debates. During the debate his opponent accused him of being two-faced. Mr. Lincoln says one thing but he will do another – he is two faced. This is the oldest political trick in the book. If you accuse your opponent of being two-faced, then no matter what they say people will think that they are being two faced. How do you respond to that? Worldly wisdom says attack back. Accuse your opponent of something worse. The best defense is a good offense. Attack, keep on attacking, and win. We all know how negative campaigning works. But that is not what Abraham Lincoln did. Rather, after his opponent had called him twofaced, Abraham Lincoln said: “If I had two faces do you think I would be wearing this one?” 

This week I want to ask you to continue  to pray that God will give you wisdom in dealing with others. James said, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to us. That is how we get wisdom from above.

Sermon Except for August 23rd

Excerpts from   Is It My Turn Yet?

Acts 17:10-11

In my life as a Christian, I have encountered many born again, spirit filled believers who often misquote or misapply scriptures without consideration for the context of the scripture. We easily run with every hint of revelation and don not make time to verify what we hear or read. 

One of the most misquoted or misapplied scripture in my opinion is 1 Corinthians 2:9.

        But it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Like everyone else or should I say, other seekers, I read everything I could get my hands on to try to understand how I might be able to apply that to my own life and see what it was that God had for me,…

All the books I was reading  weren’t helping because they kept telling me to look within and to chose the one thing that I do best..  That was depressing.  Because when I looked deep within, as per instruction, I couldn’t see anything.

I kept going about my life as always, but I made a decision to ignore my negative feelings..  Fortunately during that time I was around a lot of Christians who were on similar journeys  and I was able to share mine with them.

I hadn’t become all that God had planted in my heart but at least there was a vision that kept me going…

Dreams or visions can take the form of a strong desire to to achieve something.  Desire doesn’t come in a vacuum.  It’s planted in your heart by God. 

2^nd Corinthians 3:18 teaches us, “But we all, with open face beholding us as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed, into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

But thank God There is greatness in us!  Our body is the dwelling place of God.  And we need to desire all that he has created for us.

When Moses sent twelve spies to spy on the land of Canaan, they came back and ten of the spies were devastated and told the Camp of the Israelites that there was no way they could go up against the Canaanites. 

You can pursue God’s dreams for your lives .  You were born for more than just mediocre stuff.  You are called to go after larger dreams for God.  And He will go with you.  And, there will be another big dream waiting there for you. 

In 1^st Chronicles There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful.  Jabez  called on God saying “Oh that thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine right hand might be with me, and thou wouldst keep me from evil, that thou wouldst not grieve me!  And God granted him what he requested .

Do you really need any more reason to pursue God’s dreams for you than his promise to you?  Or, Are you waiting for the right time to live the dreams that he has placed in you. 

If we’ll all be honest with ourselves, there is a part of us that wants more.  You sense it.  You feel it.  That’s God showing you what he has for you.  Don’t shut him out.  Don’t close up.  Go after your dream. 

You Have to be  Honest About Your Relationship with God. Here you’ll find some “ifs.” The key is in the “remain.” It speaks of relationship with God. A connection with Him if you please. What should remain in us? His Word! If I ignore His Word why should He pay any attention to my prayers? The key is to fill our minds with the Word and then we will be in Christ and He in us. What are you saying, “If I don’t read and study the Bible I will not get my prayers answered? No, what I’m saying is our prayers will not be effective as much as how much we know the Word

There is another requirement to answered prayer. You Must Have A Forgiving Attitude Toward People. (Mark 11:24-25.)

Watch out that no bitterness take root among you for as it springs among you it causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual life.”

You Must Believe That God Can Answer and will answer…

You cannot doubt. You cannot fear. You must not fear. Fear cancels faith and without faith it is impossible to please God, Hebrews 11:6.

“According to your faith so be it unto you.” Often we expect so little and we get little.

We Must Pray In Jesus’ Name.

It is not a mystical password either - nor the secret word. Do we not end most of our prayers by saying, “In Jesus name?” Why do we do that? What does it mean?

said, “I am the way, no man comes to the Father except through me.”

Remember, “faith and patience inherits the promises”(Hebrews 6:12).

If you are believing for something big, be prepared to stand long…..

Hear this message in it’s entirety on Sunday August 23, 2015 at Springhead United Methodist Church.

Sermon Exerpts for August 16, 2015

A Healed Heart  

1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Searching for Wisdom after Pain

Most people, if asked about Israel's famous king, Solomon, will remember him for his wisdom, a gift God gave him after he asked not for riches or wealth or long life but for help with governing the people wisely and well. (Of course, God was so pleased with his request that Solomon received all the other things, too, a happy turn of events for the new king.)

As a young man ("I am only a child" – probably about 20 years old, according to The Oxford Annotated Bible), Solomon must have felt overwhelmed by both his sudden power and his weighty responsibilities. His success gave him pause rather than moving him to exultation. His father David, the greatest of Israel's kings (there's a lot to live up to!), had placed him on the throne rather than his brother Adonijah, the "rightful" heir…

The path to the throne wasn't pretty for Solomon, and it was far from Israel's finest moment.

Perhaps Solomon showed that he already had a degree of wisdom even before he asked for it. He notes the subtle but important distinction between intelligence (which we value highly in a technologically advanced world) and wisdom (which has often been in short supply despite our scientific progress).

In the book, Healing the Heart of Democracy (a timely read in this election season), the writer speaks of the "heart" as holding something more than just our feelings. It seems to me that he's saying that the heart is where wisdom resides, although wisdom needs intelligence and brings it together with feeling, intuition, sensory input, and experience…

." Unfortunately, Solomon's wisdom was great in many ways except when it came to women or his loyalty to God. This is another intriguing question we might ask about Solomon: How could the great king who had spoken with God go on to worship false gods? Solomon's weakness for foreign women seduced him…

Very few of us have read carefully about Solomon's other worship practices, that worship of false gods and his failure to remain loyal to the one true God. Could there be a greater irony than this, that the builder of God's Temple then sought after other gods?

In the end, scholars seem to agree that the books of 1 and 2 Kings (once united then split because of length) not only tell a story but provide a lesson in failure.

Today we live in a society that, unlike ancient Israel, claims to be built upon the separation of church and state but often brings religious beliefs and claims of authority into the political arena, if not our shared public life. For example, we may argue vehemently about putting the Ten Commandments on a courthouse wall….

Yet so many of us fail to make sure that all of God's children have the basic goods of life – in other words, we neglect "the widow, the poor, and the foreigner in our midst" – those most vulnerable and in need. Wasn't this exactly what God expected in both the Old and New Testaments?

Would Jesus have much to say about engraving Commandments in stone when the heart of God's law is broken all around us?

It's no wonder God said kings were a bad idea. Our lectionary passage is preceded by David's deathbed scene, in which he instructs Solomon to do away with his (David's) enemies. In between our two lectionary segments is another passage in which Solomon takes a convenient opportunity to have his older brother Adonijah (who, it might be argued, was the rightful heir to the throne) killed.

This is another dimension of the story of Solomon's succession to his father's throne that is missed in the lectionary editing: the role of several women in the affairs of the kingdom. As usual, women such as Abishag and the famous Bathsheba are behind the scenes (and in the omitted verses), but their influence is significant in spite of their marginalization.

The only voice they have is the quiet one, whispering in the ear of the powerful man to whom they're attached. Karoline M. Lewis suggests that we might consider the role these women played, and finding God "at work in the unexpected, and perhaps unaccepted, dimensions of human relationships"

Tradition says that Solomon is famous for building the greatest worship center in ancient times, but his heart strayed to false gods. What lessons might we learn from that story?

When we think about our leaders, do we, truly, hope for and expect integrity of heart and uprightness, or have we turned over "secular" issues to a kind of amoral consideration of "national interests"?

What would the world look like if we, as a people, exhibited integrity of heart and uprightness? Do we as a culture seek knowledge and education that leave out the wisdom dimension? Where, can we find wisdom?

Early morning prayer service draws hundreds

Early morning prayer service draws hundreds

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By Eveline Chikwanah
Aug. 5, 2015 | HARARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS)

Eggester Jokomo sits huddled near the church pulpit, eyes closed and her lips muttering an inaudible prayer. Around the 80-year-old, people of varying ages pray. A few women kneel at the altar, while others pace the sanctuary, praying loudly.

It is 4 o’clock in the morning, and the church is half filled with people focusing their energy on crying out to the Lord. One woman kneels beside Jokomo and presents her prayer requests. The two hold hands as Jokomo prays for her and assures her all will be well. They embrace when the prayer is over.

Welcome to early morning prayer at St. Mark United Methodist Church.

Known as rumuko in the local chiShona language, the St. Mark United Methodist Church prayer gathering now attracts members of other denominations, at times drawing more than 500 people of different ages to the church. 

“Early morning prayers are more powerful than those done at any other time,” Jokomo said. “That strength and determination which is required to enable you to rise from the warmth and comfort of your bed makes rumuko the trademark of a prayer warrior.”

The Rev. Vienna Mutezo, Harare Central district superintendent, said the rumuko programs are spiritual and orderly with a concentration on individual prayers.

“Attending rumuko is a sacrifice of time and home comfort, especially during the winter time,” she said. All circuits in Harare Central hold rumuko prayers, but most are on Sunday, and St. Mark has the most vibrant program, she said.

Jokomo is hailed as the pioneer of the St. Mark program.

“Initially I would come to the sanctuary to pray with Selina Masango, the late Approniah Mapfeka, Lizzy Murahwa and Lydia Mandizera early on Sunday mornings. We used the opportunity to pray for the church and our pastors. We also held Monday evening prayers, but the program failed when I was no longer able to walk unaided,” said Jokomo, who uses a walker.

In Zimbabwe, early morning prayers were originally held only by women.

“Rumuko is drawn from the Resurrection where Mary Magdalene and other women went to the tomb very early in the morning, with spices to treat the body of Jesus and found that he had risen. Women were the first to learn of the Resurrection, and we believe there is great power in the early morning prayers,” said Eunice Muponda, evangelism chairperson for the Zimbabwe East Conference women’s union.

A long tradition

From the establishment of the Zimbabwe women’s union in 1929, the late Lydia Chimonyo was known as a prayerful woman who communed daily with God around 4 o’clock every morning.  Since then, rumuko is an integral part of all women’s district revivals and conference conventions.

Men and teenagers take part now.

The St. Mark rumuko has become so renowned that Joshua Mufunde, who lives in the city of Chitungwiza, 30 kilometers (19 miles) away, attends the service.

“I have been inspired by the advanced ages of the worshippers and the level of commitment exhibited by the St. Mark parishioners.  I am hoping to launch a similar program at my church.”

Mufunde, a member of St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, said his church currently holds rumuko on Sunday mornings. 

Jokomo and the St. Mark church lay leader, Davison Mauwa, attributed the phenomenal growth to the participation of one of the church’s evangelists, Fred Bande Mutemera.

Praying changing lives

Mutemera, 39, said he started attending rumuko six years ago, after he was involved in a car accident. 

“I had an accident in September 2009, and I started coming to the early morning prayers when I realized the court case was not proceeding the way I expected,” Mutemera said.

As the legal action dragged on for more than eight months, Mutemera experienced the power drawn from rumuko: “Coincidentally, each time I missed the rumuko prayers, the case would weigh heavily against me. I remember two occasions when I did not attend rumuko, my lawyer failed to appear at the courts and the magistrate issued a warrant for my arrest.”

Jokomo said the teachings conducted by Mutemera and other leaders have enhanced the early morning prayers because congregants keenly follow the daily lessons and do not want to miss them.

Babrinna Madyira, 49, said the daily teachings have enriched her family life: “We were taught about dreams by Mutemera. I had a son who consistently had nightmares and because I had a better understanding of what was happening, I was able to pray for him and break the chain of dreams he was experiencing,” she said. Four members of her family attend rumuko every day.

“We have witnessed many breakthroughs from the early morning service. Women who suffered from infertility managed to conceive after consistently attending rumuko. Other women whose babies were lying in breech position turned and were safely delivered,” Jokomo said.

She also testifies to the power of rumuko in resurrecting some aspects of her life: “When I started the program, people assumed I was a widow. My husband had abandoned our matrimonial home. He decided to return after 28 years,” she said.

Chikwanah is a communicator of the Zimbabwe East Conference.

Believe Jesus When You Pray

Believe Jesus When You Pray

We can have all our doctrines right and be experts in the Scriptures like the Pharisees, but it will be of no use unless we apply it to our lives by faith.

This was the reason why those Israelites whom God delivered out of Egypt could not enter their promised land: "For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it" (Hebrews 4:2).

For the same reason, God cannot answer our prayers unless we pray in faith: "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord" (James 1:6-7).

Can you believe?

Two blind men came to Jesus and said to Him, "Son of David, have mercy on us!" (Matthew 9:27).

Why did they phrase their petition for healing in this way? According to tradition, being blind was a punishment and curse for something terrible they or their forefathers must have done. So the men actually were saying to Jesus, "You know that we are not worthy of getting anything from You. If You would do this for us, it is Your choice and mercy."

And the Lord answered them, "According to your faith let it be to you" (Matthew 9:29).

With this Jesus was saying, "The question is not whether I am willing to show mercy—I am always willing—but can you believe?" They could, and they immediately received their sight.

Pastor Patrick C. Elmore