December 6, 2020

December 6, 2020

To join our online worship service please visit: stmarkknox.org/sermons

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. – Isaiah 9:6-7

            Advent Wreath at home – Light the first two candles, the candles of hope and peace.

One of the beautiful names given to our savior by the prophet, Isaiah, is “Prince of Peace.” Aside from the catchy literation of calling him the ‘prince of peace,’ I wonder what it means for our Savior to be a prince?  When we think of hierarchy we probably consider ‘king’ to be on top, followed by queen and they perhaps prince.  Yet, as I understand the role of a prince they are often the ones to create peace with countries outside their own, or even within groups of people in their own country.  The prince works as the advocate of the king to ensure peace within and round the kingdom. 

With this in mind, Jesus is truly our Prince of Peace.  Jesus is our advocate before the throne of God.   Jesus is the Emmanuel, the God who is with us, and does not bring law and order, but liberation and sustaining hope even in our darkest times.  The peace of God, through Jesus, gives us an expectation of a better way of life, that allows us to live into God’s righteous peace even now.

On this second Sunday in advent, we prepare for the light of Christ is our lives, but understanding the peace that is coming as we await with hope for the coming of Christ anew.  May we find peace within and offer peace to all whom God has called us to interact. Let us seek peace for all in the name of Christ, our Lord.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 5, 2020

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. – Romans 8:25

            Light the first candle of advent, the candle of hope

We might recall that old mantra ‘seeing is believing.’ It has been used by advertisers for years to help the potential customer have proof of whatever deal is being offered.  The phrase, itself, dates back to the 1600’s meaning that only concrete proof is convincing enough to help others understand a truth.

For the Christian, however, we would see this going back even further.  In John 20, we know that Thomas, says he would not believe in the resurrection until he saw the resurrected Jesus himself.  Later in that chapter Jesus appears before Thomas, and has him place his hands where the nails once were. Jesus says to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Many might suppose that the phrase of believing in seeing comes from Thomas’ need to have proof of the resurrection.  However, when we see Jesus response, and the response of Christians to believe and have that great hope of a resurrection life, we must realize that faith in such hope is even greater than seeing.

This season of advent is, for us, an opportunity to renew our hope in the one who came among us, and will return to us.  Our Emmanuel is the one whom we believe came as a child, taught us how to live and love through is life, died for our sins, and rose again that we would have life everlasting.  We have not seen him, yet we believe that he will return to us again one day.  Advent allows us to place our hope in that day of his return. It allows us to have a hope that helps us be patient, even through our current circumstances. Hope that allows us to have faith in what we cannot see.

Even when we cannot see, we have a faith that allows us hope in something better. This hope gives us the energy and desire to do good for those around us, and to offer them the hope that the days ahead are brighter because of Christ Jesus our Lord.  May this season of advent, and beyond enliven our souls to share such hope that in us, people may see the goodness of God and believe in something better.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 4, 2020

December 4, 2020

…and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. – Romans 5:5

            Light the first candle of advent, the candle of hope.

What happens when we place our hope in the one who can do more than we ask or imagine?

There’s a story that’s told of a little boy who had fallen in love with music.  One day while walking downtown with his parents, he stopped at the window of the local music store. There in the window was an old upright piano. The boy couldn’t wait to convince his mom to come look at it.  He ran to catch up to her, snagged her coattail, and asked, “mom come and see, I found what I want for Christmas.”

The boy’s mother went with him to see the piano, he begged and exclaimed how great a Christmas present it would be.  His mother simple remarked, with no expression on her face, “we’ll see.”  The boy hoped and prayed that his mom would understand his love for music and get him this perfect gift.  Even if the piano was old and ‘previously owned’ it didn’t matter to him. He really wanted that piano.

On Christmas morning, the boy woke up with great excitement at what might be waiting for him downstairs, as he made his way out of his room and started that way, he heard the sounds of his older sister already tickling the ivory keys.  The boy almost fell down the stairs he was so excited.  When he saw it, however, it was not the old upright brown lacquered piano he has shown his mom in the store window.  Instead, what was there was a brand new piano! It was as big as life itself, a rich mahogany beaty with a bright red bow on top. The boys wish had come true, but it was even better than he had asked or imagined.

God’s love is like that as we place our hope in Him. We may ask and hope for something, but the gift God gives is bigger than life itself, and better than we can ask or imagine. Even when things don’t seem to be going our way, God has a way of giving us hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. May we rely on the Holy Spirit to give us a hope that does not disappoint in this season as we wait, with great anticipation, what God has in store for our future.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Worship Online Only This Week

St. Mark Family,

During this season of Advent, I had great hope we would see the numbers of COVID cases decrease, that we would feel more comfortable to gather together and worship.  However, as the weeks progressed, here in East Tennessee, we have seen the exact opposite. As of today this week has seen our highest number of new cases to date in Knox County. On our metrics we are watching, Knox County has increased to 62.4 new cases per 100k in population. This is the highest we have seen in our area. As hard as it is to say, we will be online only this Sunday, December 6, 2020.

I am praying for all of you, hoping you remain safe. Please remember, if you must go out, to wear your mask, wash your hands, and keep your distance. I hope you will join me in praying that these case numbers will decrease so that we can be back in-person soon.  I have this great hope, that even in these weeks apart, God will continue to connect us through prayer, and as we celebrate this season of hope, peace, joy, and love.  May Christ give us all light in these dark times. 

Grace & Peace,
Sam Ward

December 3, 2020

December 3, 2020

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. – Psalm 33:22

            Light the first candle of advent, the candle of hope.

Is it possible for the love of the Lord to be on us even when we are unaware? Even if we find ourselves with little or no hope, does God’s steadfast love remain with us?  I hope that we would answer with a resounding, YES!

So often we feel that hope and love are feelings that are with us when life is good, when things seem to be going well.  However, the truth of hope and love in the Bible is that they are ever present with those who need them, because they are aspects of our God.  When our true hope is in the Lord, we know that present situations, or circumstances have no real effect on how much God loves us.  Even when we are deep in sin and regret, even when we are as far away from God as we think we can get, we need be reminded that the love of the Lord is steadfast for us.  God’s love has the power to overcome any darkness, and I believe that is something in which we can and should place our hope.

The psalmist reminds us that even when we find ourselves in a place of waiting, like we are during the season of advent, the steadfast love of the Lord helps us to rekindle and know such hope.  This year, waiting has become more common. We wait on a better news of a slowing pandemic, we wait on approval and distribution of a vaccine, we wait for the day we can gather with friends and family without fear, some of us wait, longing to return to church.  Still, even in this time of waiting the steadfast love of the Lord is with us. 

May the steadfast love of the lord rekindle in us the hope of Christ today, knowing that better days are to come. May we keep our hope alive in the One who is and was, and is to come.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 2, 2020

December 2, 2020

For in hope we were saved… - Romans 8:24

            Light the first candle – the candle of hope.

There is a scene near the end of Return of the King, the third in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring series. Samwise Gamgee, the traveling companion, friend, and person charged with taking care of Frodo Baggins, encounters the great wizard, Gandalf.  Gandalf, who had though Samwise dead, asks a simple, yet profound question: “Is everything sad going to come untrue?”

Within this question, we find one of the main messages of Advent. We have a real, tangible hope, and we long for the coming of our King who will come and make all things new. Pain, confusion, sadness, even sickness and this pandemic – all things will be made new.

We do not take this great hope as a way to undervalue the life that we have now, but is can help us to have a greater context. Our hopes and expectations anchor us in a greater reality that is both transforming and transcending. Current pain or hardship doesn’t become less real, or less important; rather, because of the great hope we have in Christ it becomes finite, whereas eternity is infinite. We know that no matter what we face in this world, it will at some point “come untrue.”

Paul anchors the believers in the church of Rome in this certainty of hope. They are called to wait for the King who will make good on His primes. The end of the current age will come, everything sad will come untrue, but until then, we must trust in God and wait with great hope.

Advent has the potential to create in us a transforming anticipation because of the hope it offers for something better. Because Jesus came, we can walk through the difficulty of life with a very real hope. A hope that Christ will come again. A hope that one day, we will no longer have a need for hope because on that day we will stand face-to-face with the One in whom we have placed our hope.

May we seek the hope of Christ’s coming as the child of heaven, as the savior of our souls, as the King who will return to us one day.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 1, 2020

December 1, 2020

For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. – Psalm 62:5

            Light the first candle of advent – The candle of hope.

When the world around us seems chaotic, the best place to find hope again is to find silence. I cannot speak to how many of you have found silence, or perhaps have tried to distract yourselves from it this year.  I can only speak from my own experience which I imagine is very different. 

Our children came home from school, a day early for the beginning of Spring Break in March of this year.  They have not been away from us, or family, since.  If you have ever known the blessing of children in your life, then you probably know that this blessing comes with a lot of noise.  I don’t ever think the noise in intentional, but as the children play with one another, it seems to get louder with each passing moment. Then, when it’s time for them all to go to bed, after the hour or so of fighting to get them to sleep, there is that moment of silence.

Silence, while possible to find, has become difficult to find this year. However, I’m aware that others long for such noise again, and I am sure that Samantha and I will feel the same when silence becomes more common. 

King David is living in a time of chaos when this psalm is written. He is facing another battle with the Philistines, with more giants like Goliath (see 2 Samuel 21), but David is now an old man, not the young person we remember who took down the previous Philistine warrior.  David has been through so much in life at this point, and now understands the realities of who God has been and is for him.  Much the same way, the more we have been through in this life, the more we have placed our trust and hope in God, we find the reality that God is there with us, leading us through it all.

We might even call out in those times of silence:

Rest, my soul, don’t worry anymore.  Don’t be frightened.  Do not fear what we cannot see with our eyes because we have a great hope that comes from the Lord.  We have a great hope that something good will come because we have seen good come from times of trials and tribulation.  We have seen the sun rise and the sun set even in the midst of battle and this proves that our God is sure and true.  So be at peace, be at rest my soul because our hope comes from Him who makes all things happen according to his plan.

For God is my rock and my salvation.  I have hidden in him so many times, so many different times when I was full of fear and dread.   I could only find a proper hiding space in my God.  He protected me like a mighty rock and He was never shaken.  Though I lay in his embrace shaking with fear and doubt. My rock saved me before, and my God is never shaken. God remains our hope now and forever.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

November 30, 2020

November 30, 2020

And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. – Psalm 39:7

            If you are participating in Advent at home, light the first candle – the candle of hope.

This year, more than a season, or a momentary thought, hope has been on our minds.  With all that this year has brought, we have needed hope in which to cling, in which to get through, in which we might believe something better is on the horizon.

Still, today, we wait with great hope for the day that this pandemic becomes a memory, and we can embrace the ones we love without fear or hesitation.  Hope, however, is more than the sense of what might be. We might ask where does hope originate? How long have people had hope, and seemingly it has been since the beginning of time that hope can be seen as a needed element in our lives.

Even if we look at the biblical story of Adam and Eve, who had all that they could imagine, paradise in the garden. After they were deceived by the serpents, and ate of the forbidden fruit, however they lost the innocence of having all their needs provided. It did not stop their lives, but it did make it more difficult. I wonder if when their first children were born, they began to have hope that life would be better for them?

We always hope life is better for those who come after us, many of us strive and toil that we can make life better for our children. We always hope that tomorrow will be better than today. I cling to this type of hope even now, even though days are moving along fine, I can still have that hope that tomorrow will be better.  

In this season, we wait with great anticipation the coming of Christ, we know that Christ has already come among us, but in Christ and with Christ’s forgiveness in our lives, we have a hope that is enduring and everlasting; a hope that will see us through our waiting times. For what does your heart hope for today? May you wait on the Lord, with great hope, for he will secure you in his arms, bring his wisdom and truth, offer forgiveness, and give you a better tomorrow.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

November 29, 2020

November 29, 2020

To join the online worship service, please visit: stmarkknox.org/sermons

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” – Jeremiah 29:11-14

• If you are participating in the advent wreath at home, light the first candle

Sometimes, we find it hard to accept our present situation.  We believe that there should have been something better in store for us than the current set of events, or where we find ourselves in them.  We might even want to believe, that we don’t deserve this situation, and it needs to be over with as soon as possible. 

We all fall into this line of thinking, sometimes, especially when we are in time of hardship or trouble.  It would be nice to believe that times of difficulty are fleeting, but even if they are, it seems as though it just makes way for new hardships to come our way.  The only way we truly overcome the situation of life is to keep hope.

In the 100 years, give or take, that we get in this life, In the scheme of eternity, they really are fleeting, and our hope, the hope that we focus on especially in preparing for Christmas, is the hope that Christ brings to give us a future that is now and everlasting.

During the lifetime of the prophet, Jeremiah, the people of God lost their homes, their possessions, many loved one, and essentially every part of their way of life because of the conquest of the Babylonians over Jerusalem.  They were a people in exile, and having lost everything, even a very day can feel as though it is eternity.  More than anything, they wanted to have your homes restored, to have back their possessions, to have back loved one, and to go back to the life that they enjoyed.  When someone lives in exile, they want it to be over.  In this case, the people, wanted their God, who never fails, to come and to rescue them, to overturn the Babylonians and to restore them as the people of God.

They wanted to believe the false prophets who say: “this is only temporary, don’t worry about settling or rebuilding, life is going to get better for you.  You can count on it.”

However, this is not what Jeremiah, the true weeping prophet, says to the people. 

Jeremiah has heard from God, and it’s going to be a while.  Seventy years to be exact.  Of those who were currently living, only the children would have a chance at seeing Jerusalem be restored in their life time.  This seems like even more terrible news than having been banished or exiled in the first place, to now know that God has said you’re not going back either.  Yet, God has a plan for his people even in Exile. 

The hope Jeremiah brings to the people in this time is that God has a plan for us even when we can’t see it, even in the midst of exile, and for us even in the midst of a pandemic. We can be reminded to place our hope in the One who is coming and has overcome the world. Even in the midst of trails, or exile, or in our current situation, the people of God can have hope because God is with them through Christ who connects us to a community through faith. We will see each other through to the other side, and on that, we have hope.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

November 28, 2020

November 28, 2020

Sharing from the Congregation: David Petty

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name O Most High — Psalm 92:1

Those who know me know that I have a fascination with languages.  I find it interesting that in Latin the word for “high” and “deep” is the same, altus.  That seems odd to the English-speaking mind: aren’t they almost exact opposites?  But to the Latin mind it’s all vertical distance — just in different directions.  In most Latin sentences the meaning would be clear from the context.  If necessary a word could be added to indicate up or down, like we might add “left” or “right” to indicate lateral direction.

In Greek the word charis, which means “grace,” also can mean “thanks.”  Spanish does the same thing: gracias means “thanks” and “graces.”  Similarly, in English we speak of “saying grace” and have the words gratitude and grateful.

The implication seems clear: like height and depth, thanksgiving and giving grace are really the same thing.  It’s just that one goes up and the other goes down.

Do you really believe that?   Is grace something that you and I can give to Almighty God?  Well obviously we can’t do it on the same scale as God, but, yes, I think we are called on to, in our small way, extend grace (unconditional love) to the Lord.  We also are called to extend it laterally, that is, to other people, near and far, known and unknown.

Gracefully submitted,
David Petty

November 27, 2020

November 27, 2020

17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. – Luke 1:17

No doubt, this odd year has thrown nearly every regular tradition to the wind. Yet, as we wake up on this day after Thanksgiving, we might find that we are still in a way, preparing for something.  For many, this extended weekend is a time to being the preparations for Christmas.  I know many families who will spend this weekend putting up the Christmas decorations, and adding a little joy to the home’s décor. Our family decided to do this a little early this year. We decided that 2020 needed all the joy we had to give, so our tree is up already, stockings hung, and lights hung outside the house.  There, still, may be some other little things we will do to beautify our home for the coming season.

One of the great focal points of this season we call advent, in the church, is the advent wreath.  The advent wreath prepares our hearts for the coming light of Christ.  The wreath consists of four candles, typically, in a circle around a center fifth candle – the Christ candle.  While we use blue, pink, and white candles in the church, any candles can be used in this wreath. The history of this tradition comes from Germany, and many families would make the lighting of this wreath a part of their families own spiritual preparation for the joy of Christmas.  The tradition wasn’t introduced in the church until sometime in the 1920’s.

Now, in the year 2020, when so many of us are spending more time at home, this might be a good year to bring this tradition back into our homes.  We will continue to make the lighting a part of our worship service both online and in person, but I would invite you to create your own wreath to light at home as well.  There are countless ways and ideas of how to make an advent wreath at home, but truthfully, as long as you have five candles (real or battery powered) you can participate in this wonderful tradition, and I want to encourage you to do so.

On Sunday, November 29 we will light our first candle, the candle of hope. Each day that week, our encourager will bring a message of Christmas hope. The weeks that follow will bring themed messages of Peace, Joy, Love, and on Christmas Eve and the days that follow we will focus on the Christ candle.  I truly hope you will prepare a place in your home to celebrate the message of advent, the hope, peace, joy and love of the coming Christ with us as we make ready for our Lord.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

November 26, 2020

November 26, 2020

Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

There are several themes which run throughout the Holy Scriptures. Themes of mercy, grace, and the loving rule of God.  These themes ring true for our lives no matter where we are on the journey of faith.  But this one statement; seen above, doesn’t just run a theme, it is a response.  We see this response repeated again and again throughout the history of the people of Israel.  It’s a common phrase we see in the psalms as well as something people would sing or shout as they enter into battle, or because they survived such battle.  The response is this; that in all things we should give thanks to the Lord because of His goodness and His enduring love that has no end.

Can we imagine a world in which we gave constant praise to God?  Perhaps we live in such world, at least in our inner selves because we are grateful for all that the Lord has done to bless us.  However, to contemplate being thankful in all things, or in all situations,  is a challenge. We constantly are in need for something new from God, that we would have reason to give thanks.  Yet, in God’s enduring love, we have already received the blessing for which we should give our eternal thanks and praise.  Honestly, I don’t think there is anything we have that we can offer God besides our thankfulness.  There is no possible way we can repay God for the all the great things He has done for us, therefore we can only humble ourselves in gratitude to His majestic and enduring love that has no end; for He is good!

Today, on this day of gratitude and thanks, I invite you to pray a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings you have received, and I want to challenge you to reach out to someone, a family member, a friend, maybe another church member. Let them know that they are a blessing in your life, send them a text, email, card, call them.  I hope that we might all hear words of thankfulness today, that gratitude would swell up, and we would be reminded, in all things, to “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”

Many blessed thanks to you, from my family to yours this Thanksgiving day!

Grace & Peace,
Sam

November 25, 2020

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. - John 4:34

As we get closer to the day, set aside for giving thanks, I’m sure there are some out there already preparing some of those favorite dishes. Though depending on how your family is choosing to keep safe and/or socially-distant this year, it might have been the year you finally shared that secret recipe. Just because we may not be together, shouldn’t keep us from those moments of comfort in the food that we love to share. I know my wonderful wife, Samantha, will still make some of her delicious chocolate-chip cookies (I’ve already had a sample batch), and hopefully in the future we can share those with you.

When I think about the food aspect of this season, I often think that it’s the beginning of something great, as we typically share more times together whether, dinners, parties, get-together, but many of those may be cancelled this year. or maybe we’ve found a way to connect online and hold these gathering together yet apart.  I know I’m thankful for the opportunities to “see” my family through online means, even when they aren’t able to come into town.

Though we love the food and gatherings of this season, the words of Jesus remind us that there is something that has not changed this year.  The work that we do for the kingdom of heaven, the way we give thanks for the great many blessings we have received, the sharing of the gospel, all are things that we do as the church, and while the way we do these things may have changed, we continue to work to dot the will of God as we focus on sharing in the ministry of Jesus Christ. As we have been called to be like Christ, we are asked to eat the food of service to God’s will. I know that may sound more like work than relaxation, however, this is the will of God – to show love and compassion to the needy, to humble ourselves as we sustain the orphaned and the widowed, to welcome the stranger. In that position of gratitude in service, we find that this season may ring a little differently. I think we can still do some wonderful things this year, as we reach out to our neighbors, offers words and acts of kindness, as sending out notes of encouragement. We may never know how the comfort and love of God is working through us. Yet, a life in Christ is a life of gratitude through giving in the way grace has been giving to us. So eat, drink, be merry, and go forth and share the merriment of Christ love with all whom you greet.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

November 24, 2020

Sharing from the congregation: David Petty

Then on that day David first appointed the singing of praises to the Lord by Asaph and his kindred:  O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples — 1 Chronicles 16:7-8

The first Thanksgiving had nothing to do with the pilgrims.  American Thanksgiving, in particular, began as a southern holiday and moved westward and northward.  The reason why the pilgrims get so much attention is that Yankees wrote most of the history books.

Thanksgiving celebrations occurred in ancient times; the Israelites, early Christians, and other religious groups had them.  I don’t know to what extent they were part of Native American life.  The first Thanksgiving celebration by Europeans in what is now the U. S. was in St Augustine, FL, in 1565, among Spanish settlers.  Other Spanish settlements such as El Paso, TX (1598)) and Santa Fe, NM (about 1610) followed.  The first English speaking Thanksgiving was in Virginia in 1619.

The first official United States Thanksgiving was proclaimed by a Virginian, president George Washington, in 1789.  Several other presidents proclaimed official Thanksgivings, and by the 1860’s the holiday was almost universal, although it was celebrated on different dates in different states and municipalities.  President Lincoln (born in Kentucky!) sought to establish a uniform date by declaring, in 1863, the final Thursday in November as the official date, and that set the stage for our current uniform date (though later moved to the fourth Thursday).  The current popularity of turkey probably comes from its use as a feast bird in Lincoln’s time; there is no evidence that the pilgrims had turkey on their first thanksgiving.

The point of all this is not to pick on historians or on New Englanders — or on turkey lovers.  The point is that Thanksgiving celebrations, like much else in our country, are characterized by diversity.  Turkey for Thanksgiving is great, but so is roast beef, tacos, fried fish, or vegetarian fare.  For many of us, there is no such thing as a traditional Thanksgiving.

In 2020 this idea of “nontraditional” Thanksgiving has been, like so many other things, given an additional twist.  Because of social distancing, many of us will not be celebrating in large family gatherings.  Laurie and I will be having a quiet meal at home (with turkey) — one of the few times we have done this for the holiday in nearly 50 years of marriage.  I know that many other families will be doing the same thing.  That’s OK.  Clearly, the true meaning of Thanksgiving is the one indicated by its name.

So this year, give thanks with turkey or tacos or trout or tofu or whatever you like.  Give thanks with a group or individually.  But by all means give thanks.

Gracefully submitted, 
David Petty

November 23, 2020

15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 
- Ephesians 1:15-16

The apostle Paul, is writing to his beloved people in the church at Ephesus, and in a moment of reflection for all that they have done, he says; “I do not cease to give thanks for you…” Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be thankful without ceasing - to be in a state of perpetual gratitude?

I believe that this is possible, and it is the most uplifting thing we can do in our souls. Especially this year, as we have struggled through so much, and continue to do so.  It is a year to be grateful for all the things we have, so that we don’t become distraught by all that we do not have.  This year is a time to reflect and give thanks for the many wonderful and blessed years we have experienced, and anticipate with great joy the coming years we will experience. Perhaps we will even realize that we may have tried to overcomplicate things at times, and we will learn to enjoy the simple gifts, like sharing a cup of coffee and conversation with a friend, even more on the others side.

The psalmist in Psalm 30:12 writes: To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever. It is that reminder, like the one from Paul, that we can choose to be grateful, and we should. Although our lives may not be perfect and we will have, or do have many trouble, there is still so much more for which to be grateful. Even with all that this would has gone through this year, and continues to go through, gratitude for what we do have should come to mind and heart. There are always blessings to be counted, if we simply look to God.

Thank God for waking us up this morning. Thank God for birds that chirp. Thank God for the home and love we share with family and friends. Thank God for the enteral life he has given in Christ. Thank God for the blessings of knowing we will reunite with loved ones in heaven. Thank God that he has overcome, and his mercy and grace know no end. Thanks be to God that his love never end, nor never fails, and for those things alone, may we never cease in giving our thanks back to God.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

November 22, 2020

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14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. – 2 Corinthians 2:14

We give thanks to God for all the blessings that meet us this and every day. However, on this Christ the King Sunday, we mark the end of the Christian Calendar.  Today is the day to celebrate that Christ is the final victor, that Christ is king of our lives, and give thanks that we are a part of the triumphal procession that rejoices in sharing the good news everywhere it goes.

Today, though we celebrate this great triumph, we look around and come to a reality that though we mark the end of something, the end of the things we see has not yet come.  We are still living through a global pandemic, some families will not be able to gather this year, or their gatherings will be smaller.  We have so many reminders of the hardships of this life.  If I might offer any encouragement today, let it be that we as Christians are called to give thanks in all circumstances. We know that the fragrant blessings of Christ abound even in darkness, we are assured that we stand with Christ, and we will make it through and rejoice on the other side of any pain or suffering we may now face.

As we begin this week, I hope we will focus on all the blessings we do have. I hope that we will be grateful for the ways we are still connected. I pray that gratitude will overcome, and we will laugh and rejoice at the beauty Christ has brought to our lives.

I pray you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week, and may the new Christian year bring you unimaginable joy! Thanks be to God for Christ who carries us through, always and forever. Amen.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

November 21, 2020

Sharing from our Congregation – Sue Biggerstaff

The following quotes come from A Case for the Psalms by N.T. Wright.

-Sing these songs and they will renew you from head to toe, from heart to mind.  Pray these poems, and they will sustain you on the long, hard but exhilarating road of Christian discipleship.

-The psalms offer us a way of joining in a chorus of praise and prayer that have been going on for millennia and across all cultures.

-The psalms were there long before us, and they will sustain generations yet to come.  They are, in that respect as in many others, a reflection of the faithfulness of the God of whom they speak.

As we read through the psalms, we are taken from laments and mourning to high exultation and thanksgiving.  We recall the creation story and Israel's history. There are hallelujah and ascent psalms that tell us how man praises God.  But some of the most joyous psalms are how nature praised the Creator.

-Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad, let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.  Then all the trees will sing for joy.  (Psalm 96)

-Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing for joy.  (Psalm 98)

- The heavens declare the glory of God;  the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech;  night after night they display knowledge (Psalm 19)

Maltbie Babcock must have had some of these verses in mind when he penned his famous hymn.

This is my father's world, and to my list'ning ears all nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres.

Gracefully Submitted,
Sue Biggerstaff

November 20, 2020

14 So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
– Matthew 18:14

We are more accustomed to hearing the parable of the lost sheep in Luke’s gospel, as it follows the parable of the lost coin, precedes the parable of the lost or prodigal son. Within that context we get the point that there is rejoicing over the one who make the wrong choices, and the grace of the father that comes to the one who turns there life around. Yet, as we see the same parable of the lost sheep in Matthew’s gospel, we might hear it a little differently.  Matthew’s account has Jesus instructing his followers about becoming like children to be great in the kingdom of heaven, of how important children are because of their innocents and how important it is to not let them stray or stumble.

When we follow this line of thinking and come to the parable of the lost sheep, it seems as though it is better for that we never become one of the lost ones.  Yes, there is grace for those who are lost, but given the right care, love, and compassion from the time we are children, we might never have to stray to know God’s grace.  We can belong in our Father’s house and rejoice in His presence.  Matthew 18:10 says “..for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.”

There is great rejoicing in the lost that is found, but Jesus is telling us that the will of the Father is that no one is lost.  The idea here is of a totality in God’s kingdom of all. God offers mercy, grace, forgiveness, and love, that we might all be a part of God’s kingdom now and in the age to come. Jesus teachings point us to understand that if we are a part of this kingdom, then we have a job to see that others know they are accepted as well.  The beauty of being a herald for the kingdom of God, is that it should be good news for all to hear. We, as the church today, get the opportunities to be such heralds – to tell people that they are accepted, loved, and forgiven.  If only we understood the true power those actions had, perhaps we would do them more often.

As we come close to celebrating the thanks we have for what God has done in us, I hope that we will share that good news with those around us. We need to share the story of faith, let others know of the struggles God has helped us overcome, and rejoice that we and all who profess Christ as Lord are a part of something that is everlasting.

Praise be to God for we are sheep unto his fold, now and forever. Amen.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

CHURCH CLOSURE - NOV 22

St. Mark Church,

I had truly hoped we would not be back in this position, but as you are probably aware the case numbers of COVID-19 have gone up significantly this week.  Our Church Council discussed earlier some guidelines and metrics that we would follow to help us make a determination on what would be best and safest for our congregation as we continue to navigate this pandemic.

While we all agree that our church is doing all that we can to ensure the safety of our people while present, the significant upturn in case numbers has presented us with a very difficult decision to close for in-person worship for Sunday, November 22, 2020.

Unlike our last closure, this is not indefinite.  We will watch the numbers, pray, and hope this is only a short, temporary set back.  We will look forward to meeting again as soon as the numbers, on a seven-day-rolling-average, decrease to where they were prior to this week.  

Our online service will be available anytime after 9 a.m., on both the website and Facebook,  we hope you will join us in worship online for this Sunday.  We will still celebrate our commitments, pray together, and sing hymns together, though we will be apart.

I truly appreciate all of you, and all that you do to share in the ministry of Jesus Christ through the ministry of St. Mark United Methodist Church.

Grace & Peace,
Sam Ward

• A Quick Note about Commitment Cards: If you have not already done so, please turn these cards into the office, or by email at your earliest convenience so our Finance team can do their important work of balancing a budget for the ministry we will do in 2021.

November 19, 2020

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. – Psalm 105:4

Living a life of worship is about knowing where to place our focus. Every day, no matter how busy or how relaxed, there are multiple things that desire our focus. So often we give our focus to too many things, and find that we aren’t able to get anything done. 

I know I feel that way from time-to-time.  I might want to focus on a writing project, but at the same time, I have an email that needs attention, get a phone call or text message, one of the kids has a question, or needs something, there is a visitor in the office, the list of things that want to draw my attention could go on and on, and has yet to cover the topics of the way news outlets or advertising seeks to gain some of our attention. So how do I or we get back to our main focus?

Some might say, we need to create a space where those distractions are limited or can’t get to us.  That advice might work, but there are plenty of times that isn’t possible. We might try to give everything a little bit of our attention, but after a while, we will probably be so distracted we have no idea what we were trying to do in the first place.  I find that the advice of the psalmist, to seek the presence of God, continually helps everything else fall into place.  I don’t know that it will work for everyone, but keeping the focus on God’s presence to give us strength and encouragement allows us to remember why we do the things we do. It reminds us that there are those who are important to us, and we should acknowledge them, and hear what they have to say. The presence of God also guides us to what is important, so we can decide whether or not to answer the phone call or text now or later.  The presence of God also helps us to realize that the news or advertising isn’t that important right now, and it will be there whenever we have the chance to catch up. I believe our strength is found in God’s call to remember those around us, know the love of God that is in us, and in those relationships. Especially as we approach a time of Thanksgiving, we should make sure our attention is drawn to the things that matter most – giving thanks to God, for give us wonderful people in which to share His divine love.

May your day be filled with focus, and may it be on the presence of our Lord.

Grace & Peace,
Sam