Easter 2020

A brief Easter message and a word of encouragement on this Easter to remember!

Good Friday 2020

Here's a Good Friday devotional I recorded for our church family to reflect on as we head into a very unique Easter weekend.

Not So Fast

If you are looking for something to read during the quaran-break, I would highly recommend The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. I finished it a couple of months ago and it was without a doubt one of my favorite books of the year! It was very challenging to me and I kept wondering how in the world to begin to implement the principles of slowing and observing a Sabbath day. It is so counter-cultural for the fast-paced, busy, full lives we lead.

Hmm. It turns out that we have an amazing opportunity to implement these scriptural principles and commands now so that when things return to "normal" we can keep living lives of balance and sanity.

COVID_19 and Lent

I want to commend again to you the Bridgetown Daily podcast by John Mark Comer (or occasionally another of his church’s pastoral staff). They have been particularly insightful, encouraging and challenging. All are only around 5-7 minutes and are a wonderful supplement to your devotional time or just for you to enjoy. 

Out running this afternoon I heard yesterday’s (March 26) podcast and wanted to share some highlights. What follows is a redacted transcript. To hear the entire thing, - and I highly recommend you do so - go to bridgetown.church/series/bridgetown-daily/ or subscribe via your favorite podcast app.

He starts out saying,

“I find it very interesting that the COVID_19 shut down and the "shelter in place" comes to the west during the time period that we call Lent. Lent is the time in the church calendar when followers of Jesus remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. It starts with Ash Wednesday when followers of Jesus put the symbol of the cross on their forehead in ash to remember that line that will at some point be spoken over all of us at our grave: “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.” To hold before our mind the reality that we are mortal. We are human. We get sick, and in the end we all die. All of us. The stats on death are pretty hard to argue with. 100%. …Human beings are mortal. We are made from the dust and we die.

And that reality is sad… Paul, in the New Testament called death, “the last enemy to be destroyed.” In his theology, Jesus is at war with death, and his resurrection was the decisive victory that one day will spread out to all of Jesus’ followers, and that is what we look forward to on Easter.

But the reality of death is sad,… but it's also liberating, and dare I say, invigorating. In Lent, we remember that we do not need to be afraid. And if we do not need to be afraid of death itself, that opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Kind of the best moments of the church [historically] have been when she was under pain of death, but not scared to give up her own life.

In Lent, we also remember that we need to redeem the time - to not squander our life on trivial things or how many hours a week can we give to video games, or Call of Duty, or online shopping, or endless chit chat, or our own egoistic pursuit of pleasure, or success, or money, or power, or fame, or experience, or more followers on Instagram, or whatever it is. Life is short. We are mortal. We live and then we die. It could be in a century; it could be in a day. We must live for what matters.

And so in Lent, followers of Jesus choose to give up some kind of a pleasure in order to let that abstinence do a kind of deep work in your soul of purging and purifying all of your attachments to the world… stripping you and I down to the bare essence of what life is all about in order to create more space in our budget, in our time, in our schedule, in our life, and above all in our soul, for the presence of God and the life of Jesus who is back from the dead.

But now here's the thing: We are all in lent now. The virus, shelter in place, the economic fallout, all of the uncertainty around the future, it's all a kind of lent a kind of abstinence - a kind of stripping down and purging and purifying our soul and our society. And this virus is an invitation to face reality and to meet God there. The reality that we are human, mortal, frail, vulnerable, susceptible to disease, not nearly as in control as we think. And that is okay.

He references C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters where Lewis makes the point that war (and by extension times of crisis that we currently face) break us out of what he calls “contented worldliness.” In times like this, nobody can believe that they are going to live forever.

“Again, the goal of this insight that we're mortal - that we die - is not fear at all. It's actually not scary for a follower of Jesus because we follow a rabbi who is back from the dead. The goal is rather to wake us up from that contented worldliness - from a kind of spiritual slumber or stupor. The idea that we are mortal - that we are made out of the dust that we die - need not make us morose. Actually, it's more likely to make us joyful, and grateful, and more present to the moment and alive in the marrow of our bones.

So to close,… remember that the body you're in right now, even if it's healthy and strong, it is dying. And one day it will come back from the dead. Feel the reality that you are mortal, that you live in time. Every minute every second is a precious gift. We don't take time - we don't “seize the day,” we receive the day as a gift from God. Not a right, but a gift to be alive. Today is a gift.

Remember that life is short. That it's meaningful and it's beautiful. That it's a gift that you're alive with Jesus, and you need not even fear death itself.”

 Great stuff. Peace be with you all!

Worship Online this Sunday

Since our church is unable to meet in person for corporate worship during the COVID-19 lock-down, I want to suggest some ways to connect with the Body of Christ in worship online.

Our church will not be hosting our own live online service, but there are years of messages archived on our website: First Presbyterian Pine City. Pick your favorite message from the past to refresh your memory or catch up on a series you may have missed! You can stream from the web site or download to listen to at your convenience.

If you'd like to experience live worship online, many churches are hosting services. Some of my favorite are North Point Church in Atlanta (Andy Stanley's church), Menlo Church in California (John Ortberg's church), and Eagle Brook Church here in Minnesota.

Tomorrow, March 22, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. Central our family will be enjoying Michael Jr.'s live comedy watch party on Facebook. This is an 80-minute comedy special, previously released in theaters for one day only and not available in any other format at this time. It will be both hilarious and inspirational. Go to Michael Jr.'s Facebook page to join the fun.

If you'd like to worship through giving you can still do that at home, as well. Just click here or click on the Give page on our church website. You can specify the general fund or our Faith Promise giving toward missions. If you'd like to give to our 150th Anniversary Reaching for the Future fund you can still do so online, but please contact the church so we can make sure it is deposited in the correct account.

So that's the reason!

I heard a great definition of anxiety today quoted by Pastor John Mark Comer: "Anxiety is imaging the future without Jesus Christ in it." Wow. How powerful.

I was sharing with the youth group on Wednesday night one of my favorite passages from Philippians (4:6-7) where Paul encourages (commands?) us: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." And for the first time I recall I noticed the four words at the end of the verse preceding it (verse 5): "The Lord is near." and the thought struck me, "So that's why we aren't supposed to be anxious!"

For those who are experiencing heightened levels of anxiety or know those who are, take comfort in that reminder: The Lord is near. For those of us who walk with Jesus we can live with that assurance and the peace - the shalom - of God that will guard our hearts and minds!

An Inspirational Interview Recommendation

Yesterday while our for my run I listened to a wonderful interview yesterday that Pastor John Ortberg did last Sunday with Dr. Condoleezza Rice about her faith a dealing with difficult times. She reflects on 9/11 and the aftermath as well as sharing her own faith journey (and she's Presbyterian!) 

If you're looking for an inspirational listen check out the video here. You can also download the audio as a podcast - just search for Menlo Church in iTunes or your podcast app.

Daily Inspiration

Looking for some daily inspiration during these difficult days? Might I suggest a daily podcast that Pastor John Mark Comer has begun for his church. They are about 5-7 minutes long and are terrific. It's the Bridgetown Daily podcast.

You can find info and links here https://bridgetown.church/series/bridgetown-daily/ or wherever you get your podcast.

Can I Have Your Attention, Please?

[Note: I'm going to be ramping back up my blog posts (that's the plan, anyway). Some or most of what I am posting here in the next few weeks I will also be posting on our church Facebook page, however I'm acutely aware of how toxic Facebook can be and for those who (wisely) decide to take a break from Facebook, this will be a different way of accessing that same content. (Plus you may find some other interesting and/or helpful posts here!)]

To our church family and friends,

As we begin a season where our regular routines have been disrupted I wonder if this may be the time that God wants to use in our lives. I am reminded of CS Lewis' famous line from The Problem of Pain where he writes: "“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

We find ourselves faced with a time where it is going to be difficult to distract ourselves with busyness or numb ourselves with entertainment. For many of us, our schedules have been cleared and we find ourselves with time on our hands. What are we going to do with that time?

I pray we would use the next several weeks as an opportunity to grow with God in ways we might never be able to during the busy, hurried routines of our everyday life.

What might that look like for you? What are some practical ways we can leverage this time to take the next step in our walk with Jesus?

I'd love to hear your ideas. Join the conversation by commenting below.

As always, praying for you and rejoicing in Him!

Pastor Rob