This Saturday (March 27, 2010) from 9:30 am – 12:30pm join us at church for a plant exchange and gardening program.   There will be a rock painting table for the young and young at heart.

Saturday, April 3:  Join us at 4pm for Easter Egg Decorating and Pizza Eating!  Bring your own hardboiled eggs and dye – and a pizza topping.  We’ll supply the vinegar (for the egg dye kits), pizza dough, sauce, cheese, and some drinks.

Sunday April 4th:  Easter Egg Hunt begins at 10:30 sharp (for younger children – 10:40 for older kids).  This year’s hunt will be outside (unless pouring down rain).  Bring your own Easter Basket. 

Vacation Bible School:  July 12 – 17th.  VBS U (VBS leader training) is April 17th (9am – noon) in Bothell.  Let Carol H. know if you can participate.

It’s difficult to share buildings when we have different ideas about how the buildings should be used.   It’s difficult to share theologies when we have different ideas about who God is and who God calls us to be.  And it’s difficult to share in worship together when we have different ideas about what worship should be.  Sharing gets harder and harder!

Our challenge, I believe, is to come together around a single leader (Christ) as empowered by a single Spirit (as in Holy) as created by a single God.  As we do this we bump into one another, get angry, and we all make mistakes.  But, this gives us the opportunity to see the other side of the story, to forgive others as well as ourselves, and to discover new ways of living and being.

No one said life would be easy, Christ never promised that life could be frustration free.  But, God can shape us into the most amazing people if we stay in the game and move where God might have us.  As we move toward Holy Week – remember that before new life can happen there are always labor pains!

If you get a chance to watch it – what do you think?  Where are the places that we are pushing and pulling ?   Would you like to let the Holy  Spirit do more of the work? 

Ash Wednesday blessings, all!

^-8Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions: ^8-9“Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple.¹⁰“And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave. ¹¹“If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.” ^12-13Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.

One thing I’ve learned over the past few years of trying to be a “disciple” is that folks are ready for their spiritual journey when they are ready.   The church can start the best and most exciting programs and people may even show up, have fun, and meet lifelong friends, but, that does not guarantee that the planned event will help anyone grow closer to God.  We tend to come to God in our own time – and when the time is right we are open to hearing God’s word.  And – when that happens, God’s work really does chase away our “demons” and bring to us healing.  A relationship with God is relational by nature- and involves spending time with God through prayer (the listening kind, not just the talking kind), scripture reading, and worship – as well as by other spiritual disciplines.

Reading Mark at Starbucks was an experiment that has worked in a few other churches, but, it didn’t catch on here.  Justin and I have been the only “readers” for that past few weeks and there have been no comments on the blog  for quite some time.   A life following Jesus is a life where we are not afraid to change course and so I am changing course now and  putting our “Reading Mark” group on hold.   By doing so I believe I’m following the advice that Jesus gave his earliest disciples:  “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.” 

Let me know when you’re ready, though, I’m waiting and available to all who are interested in growing closer to God. 

Grace and Peace,

Carol

Next – Jesus the “boss” sends disciples out to do ministry.  Just a reminder – the biggest chunk of ministry we’ll ever do in our lives will probably not be connected with a church program!!!  We have the chance to “do” ministry at work, in our relationships, when we raise our children, when we volunteer to coach little league, when we vote, and when we drive on 405.   Nevertheless – sometimes ministry involves helping others develop a relationship with God.  If we want our churches to stay alive we need to all do our part to help others become followers of Christ.  Jesus didn’t sent people out alone – he sent them in pairs – perhaps for moral support.  He didn’t train them to “talk people into” believing… seems he was looking for those out there who might be receptive to a new message.  Maybe God had already planted some seeds in their minds?  Who do you know who might be open to a spiritual boost?  Invite them to a church activity – or just talk about your spiritual journey with them.  Who knows where it could lead?

Finally – we hear that Jesus’  doings got back to King Herod.  We know Herod was a dangerous and powerful leader – he had John the Baptist beheaded at the request of his daughter.   Jesus and his followers must have really been stretching the cultural norms of the day.  Most of us don’t like to make too many waves in life.  Especially waves that might drown us!  But when we get “stuck” in a rut – often the only way to get out involves wave-making changes.  Luckily as a culture we have progressed since the times of Jesus and Herod – I’m positive our President would never have anyone beheaded.  So – think about the world we live in, think about your own life – are there some places a few waves could do some good?

Here’s a hard one to grasp sometimes:  being a Christian does not ensure that my worldview is the same as God’s Worldview.  That’s because we aren’t perfect yet (we’re trying to move in that direction hopefully) and we just miss the mark sometimes.  How do we know when we make the mark?  Confusing, isn’t it?

Mark is trying to show us what A Godly Worldview looks like in his gospel.  In chapter 4 he relays some parables that help us shed some light on the matter.   Jesus is said to have taught in parables, a combination of story/riddle.  Why didn’t he just come out and tell everyone directly?  I  have some of my own ideas on that matter.  Have you ever heard someone talk who was passionately for gun control or against it?   If you disagree with them how willing are you to let them know?     When we become passionate about an idea or cause very often that passion stems from a past experience that  has become part of our worldview.  Once something has become our worldview we resist (maybe even unconsciously) changing our minds.  Sometimes we fight to the death to defend our worldview.   I think Jesus knows that arguments seldom change anyone’s minds and often make enemies.  However, who can resist a good story or riddle?  We listen with our guard down waiting for the point and then stir it around in our  mind trying out different possibilities for what it might mean.  By the time someone figures it out (if they ever do) Jesus would be long gone.

The first parable in chapter 4 is the one about the sowing-challenged farmer!  Really, though, this farmer can’t seem to get the seeds in the right place.  He threw some all over the road and others in unplowed, thorn infested ground.  Some seeds did land where they should - in well prepared soil so that there was a harvest – yeah!!!  Does it seem sometimes that God is careless too about establishing A Godly Worldview here on Earth?  I mean really, just turn on the news and you’ll hear about Swine Flu, the war in Afghanistan, and unemployment rates.  Does this sound like the vision God has for our world?  If God is so powerful, why aren’t we there yet? 

One think I wonder about, though… perhaps it’s God’s job to spread the seed, but our job to prepare the soil???   Good soil is of course symbolic for openess to God’s message.  What must we do to help others become open to God’s message?

In A Companion to the Gospel of Mark M. Rascho suggests one example of A Godly Worldview is forgiveness.  When we live as if we believe that we have been forgiven by God we then take the risk of forgiving others in the same way.  “Our relationships and our world will become a different place because of the power of the kingdom of God [A Godly Worldview] in our lives.”  Our actions plow the relational soil preparing others to receive new ideas and live in new ways.

May you all live this week knowing that you are forgiven and loved by the Originator of the Big Bang, Creator of the Universe.  Each one of us is special and has a unique role to play in preparing the soil for the sowing of the seeds for the kingdom of God.  Happy Holidays, all.  Join us at Starbucks next week to read the Christmas stories.

How many of us haven’t dreamt at one time of being rich and famous?  We see crowds rushing to get a glimpse of a movie or sports star and wonder what that might feel like – to be recognized and admired by crowds of people.  Mark gives us a different look at fame in verses 7-12.  It got around that Jesus could cure the sick so crowds of people swarmed to Jesus for healing.  It wasn’t all that glamorous in fact – the people were so demanding that Jesus was afraid of being crushed by them and asked his disciples to have a life boat ready in case he needed an emergency escape route.  Now that Jesus the man is no longer on earth it’s up to all of us followers together to carry on his ministry and his message to others – all while living our busy lives.  A professor and pastor I know reminded us once that John Wesley asked  leaders to pose 2 questions to their small groups each week:  What has God done for you this week? What have you done for God this week?   If we all decide to do our part of that second question – we can help God to transform this world into such a better place.

As we read on it seems that Jesus has more followers than he can handle.  Jesus has another decision to make – he can’t spend enought time with everyone to ensure they know enough to carry on his ministry when he’s gone.  So, he narrows it down to 12 apostles who he can get up to speed in time.  We live in a busy world right now – time flies by.  Technology links us to infinite knowledge, friends, and opportunities.  Life in the fast lane can become overwhelming unless we pare it down.  When making decisions about what and who to keep in our life and what and who to keep out – don’t forget Jesus.  He’ll continue to pay dividends long our earlthy lives are over.

Young adulthood is a time of finding ourselves, discovering our identy, and determing what purpose God has for our life.  If we skip this step, we get the chance to do it over when we are middle aged – an often more inconvenient time for this kind of work.  In childhood we often align with our parents and their value systems.  In young adulthood we decide what values we’ll claim for our own and sometimes this causes a clash with the people who raised us.  Jesus defines a new family for us – those who do the will of God.  He defines such a family as thicker than blood relatives.  I pray that we all can find love within the families we grew up in.  But, there’s a bonus to accepting God’s love for us.  We then become part of an even bigger family – the family of all of God’s children.   Those Christians we run into at church are no longer acquaintances or even strangers, but, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are a family with a purpose too – our job is to help God’s Kingdom become real here on earth.  What would it look like for God’s Kingdom to become real here on earth?  We’ve already seen glimpses of it during these first 3 chapters of Mark.  Please join us in person or online as we continue to unlock the secrets of God’s Kingdom by reading Mark.

Last night I remembered to turn on the television right at 5pm when President Obama was giving his Afghanistan speech.  Looking out over the young cadets in his audience and to the soldiers listening remotely I was reminded that sometimes I forget that we are a country at war – and have been for the past 8 years!  That is – until I turn on the TV or read the newspaper.  Karl Barth supposedly challenged us to read the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other.   When we live and make decisions based on biblical values the world we live in should grow closer and closer to the good world that God intended.  As one who is easily seduced by idealism it’s easy for me to desire that world to exist right now.  I want heaven on earth and I want it now!  Evolution, on the other hand,  is a slow process and God who created our universe and humanity seems to have eternal patience.  Perhaps the pathway to peace takes longer and is more convoluted that I can even imagine.  And so I will pray for President Obama, I will pray for all the soldiers already in Afghanistan and those to be sent, and I will especially pray  for the days to come – may they come sooner than later and bring with them the message of Christmas – Peace on Earth.

In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. Peoples shall stream to it, ²and many nations shall come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. ³He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; ⁴but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid;  (Micah 4:1-4a; New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved)