First Steps – December 12, 2022

Lately, I’ve been pondering this:
“We depersonalize people by stereotyping them. We depersonalize God by generalizing Him.”
 
First – Other People
With the flick of a word, one can stereotype a person and from there, it is simple to not love them.  This is very easy to do.  In the span of one day, I heard many examples.  Perhaps the most known label of Jesus’ day was Samaritan.  Once labeled, it is easy to ask the same question as the expert of the law asked of Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10).
 
Obedience to God’s command to love our neighbor is easier when we exclude people from the command by dehumanizing them. It narrows the pool to only the ones we want to love. Yet, the Parable of the Good Samaritan re-humanizes people. In a sense it re-neighbors people and our neighbor becomes every person.
 
Second – God
If God is always a spiritual principle, an ethical or moral cause, or a mysterious feeling, then we fail to comprehend how He has revealed himself.  In Jesus, we see God personally—a living body that ate food, drank wine, spoke to people, and listened to people.  Jesus was born into a family, had a childhood, got angry, wept, and lived and walked among people.
 
The reason this is important is that we can’t become more like Jesus by divorcing our humanity. We don’t grow in grace by becoming less human. We aren’t more spiritual by being less human. It is in our humanity that God seeks to redeem. It is our humanity that God loves, and it was a human that God humbled himself to become in the person Christ Jesus. 
 
So, again, ponder with me:
“We depersonalize people by stereotyping them.  We depersonalize God by generalizing Him.”





 This Week’s Readings:
*Monday – Revelation 18
*Tuesday – Revelation 19
*Wednesday – Revelation 20
*Thursday – Revelation 21
*Friday – Revelation 22

Prayer Requests:
*Families traveling to and fro this holiday season.
*Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not.
*Comfort those who are grieving and in distress.
*Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times.
*Guidance for those seeking to find their way.
*Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6


December 4, 2022 – “Skipping Christmas – No Jesus” – Rev. Dr. Shane Green

Worship (SPUMCColumbus)
Worship (SPUMCColumbus)
December 4, 2022 - "Skipping Christmas - No Jesus" - Rev. Dr. Shane Green
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Traditional Worship Service/Matthew 1:18-25

First Steps – December 5, 2022

Is there a such thing as a respectable sin?  I’ve wondered.  Obviously, in the strictest sense, the answer is a resounding “NO!” However, hang with me as we explore the concept.  Some sins need no announcement for they shake the earth. For instance, adultery, theft, and murder are easy to spot, and by no means would anyone call them respectable. They rear their ugly in places that would never be a pew or at a church meeting.  

But there is a sin that can show up often in the pew or in the middle of a worship service where Christians gather to praise God.  It is self-righteousness that can be a type of cancer to the heart for out of this one sin grows many others: Gossip, lying, lust, and envy.  Though we wouldn’t call them respectable, but at least they happen in a respectable place, in the pew, under the radar of anyone to see.  

They are eusebeigenic (Eugene Peterson’s term stemming from the Greek eusebeia meaning “godly reverence”). Peterson formed this word while recovering from a staph infection where his doctor said he had an iatrogenic illness, a disease contracted while being healed of something else.  Spiritually, while being healed from something else, a person can develop a practice of something equally as destructive, self-righteousness. While reverencing God, we practice judgment, gossip, envy, and many other inward sins stemming from self-righteousness.

This was the struggle of the older son in Luke 15.  He failed to realize he was a wandering sheep just like his younger brother.  Whenever we cross the line and fail to recognize our constant need for God’s grace, our sin of self-righteousness is eusebeigenic.  Thankfully, the remedy is simple in practice, difficult in heart—humble oneself and allow God’s Spirit to show us our constant needs. It is there that we will find that his grace continues to be sufficient.





 This Week’s Readings:
*Monday – Revelation 13
*Tuesday – Revelation 14
*Wednesday – Revelation 15
*Thursday – Revelation 16
*Friday – Revelation 17

Prayer Requests:
*Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not.
*Comfort those who are grieving and in distress.
*Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times.
*Guidance for those seeking to find their way.
*Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6


November 27, 2022 – “Skipping Christmas: No Magi” – Rev. Dr. P. Shane Green

Worship (SPUMCColumbus)
Worship (SPUMCColumbus)
November 27, 2022 - "Skipping Christmas: No Magi" - Rev. Dr. P. Shane Green
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Traditional Worship Service/Matthew 2:1-12

November 20, 2022 – “Gratitude: An Outward Blessing”

Worship (SPUMCColumbus)
Worship (SPUMCColumbus)
November 20, 2022 - "Gratitude: An Outward Blessing"
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Traditional Worship Service/Philippians 4:14-19

First Steps – November 28, 2022

Two of my favorite books carry the same title: The Story of Christianity by Justo Gonzalez. They are a two-volume set of Church history that was a required reading for first-year seminary students. I’ve always liked them because I love the Church’s history. For at one point, I considered becoming a Church History professor; however, over the years, my affection for these books has deepened because I like the concept of the story.  A narrative directed by God that now includes me.  

Do you consider yourself part of the narrative of God’s work? Sometimes, I think we miss this important part of the gospel. We are in fact very much a part of that story. You are a character; you have a part to play. God uses you as much as he used Moses, Peter, Andrew, Paul, and many others. Don’t miss your part in the story.

Read Hebrews 11:1-12:3. Ponder the narrative of faith. Focus on the beginning of Chapter 12 and know that you now have a part to play.  





 This Week’s Readings:
*Monday – Revelation 8
*Tuesday – Revelation 9
*Wednesday – Revelation 10
*Thursday – Revelation 11
*Friday – Revelation 12

Prayer Requests:
*Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not.
*Comfort those who are grieving and in distress.
*Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times.
*Guidance for those seeking to find their way.
*Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6