Look around you and you’ll notice that one of the fastest growing, most profitable businesses involves renting out storage units. The storage industry is bigger and more profitable than the entertainment industry in Hollywood. People spend more money on storage than on movies or entertainment.
Few people stay in one place anymore. It seems like 1 out of every 4 people you meet were born outside of Cape May. On average, people in the United States move at least eleven times during their lifetime. Sometimes the spaces are bigger; sometimes the spaces are smaller. We get new jobs, we get married, we have families, we get divorced, we become “empty nests,” we move across the country. All of these changes in lifestyle and location can involve a pressing need for storage. We just love or must store “stuff.” If we have access to “bigger barns,” we are liberated and uninhibited about amassing more stuff to fill those empty spaces. We think more “stuff” will make us feel more situated, safe, and secure. While authentic emotional attachments can be a positive influence in our lives, its just a likely that emotional attachments to things can diminish our lives, too. What to do?
Jesus’ parable in this week’s lesson from Luke 12:13-21 reminds us that the best “storage” we can have is not in storage lockers but in the hearts of those we love, the minds of our communities and our neighbors, and those in need. Who did God prioritize to be recipients of our accumulated “stuff” and “treasures”? Those who are treated unjustly, the strangers, visitors, women, children, the sick and injured, the cast-out and the left-out are the real “storage units” for any leftovers and surplus in our lives.
You may want to invite someone with you to worship this week as we talk about life’s storage lockers. (Then get ready for the new!)
Pastor Kevin
“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being” (Matthew 6:19-21).
Last week we revisited the first moon landing on July 20, 1969. Wow. (You may listen to the message, Mary, Martha, and the Moon, just below on this page.) This week, we hear Jesus teach his followers a prayer. We refer to it as The Lord’s Prayer, but is it the “Lord’s” prayer”? Maybe it should have been called the Disciple’s Prayer, but the Prayer, whatever its title, is a common-sounding prayer. What made the Prayer unique was not it content, but to whom it was addressed. No rabbi in Jesus time, or before or since, would have started any prayer referring to God as “Daddy”! That’s right. “Our Father…” is the term “Daddy” and Jesus shocked his listeners who were not used to having such a personal relationship with the Creator! What’s more, after Jesus’ outrageous prayer lesson, he tells a few stories that encouraged the disciples to even be persistent in prayer, courageous in prayer, with God. Now that’s shocking!
Become a part of Jesus’ prayer lesson and learn about why Persistence Is Never Futile when we are connected to the Jesus Force this week the Red Brick Church. You’ll want to bring along a few friends to worship with you, too! Everyone’s welcome!
This week, we will revisit the first moon landing on July 20, 1969, when an estimated 650 million people watched in amazement as Neil Armstrong descended a ladder towards the surface of the Moon. Do you remember where you were that Sunday? What was going on in the world? The Astronaut’s words spoken that day, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” will help us understand the Apostle’s words from Colossians 1 that the earthly Jesus has a cosmic role, too!
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers–all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:15-17).
When we think of Jesus’ ministry we may ask, is Jesus really the One? From time to time, all of us can want some reassurance. So its not surprising that Jesus’ good friends, Mary and Martha, wondered the same thing. Jesus reminded everyone to look around at what you hear and see, “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them” (Matthew 11:2-6). In our message this week, Mary’s devotion to Jesus is praised, compared to Martha who was preoccupied with other things (Luke 10:38-42). We may mistakenly think of Jesus as only earthly, and our daily attention is limited to our needs alone. But Jesus’ role is far larger!
Become a part of Jesus’ cosmic story this week the Red Brick Church which will enlarge our spiritual world and equip us to better understand God’s earthly and cosmic mission that includes you and me!. You’ll want to bring along a few traveling companions to worship with you.
When Jesus’ advance team returned, it was a celebration like no other! Last week I sent the kids on their own “You Go First!” Journey to the balcony to retrieve a hidden treasure and bring it back. remember what they discovered in the yellow bag?! Amazing things happen when Jesus asks us to go first! (You may want to listen to the message, “You Go First!”, here!)
Immediately after those good news reports, a lawyer who wanted to prove himself stood in the front of the group and asked Jesus who his neighbor was. NOBODY ever asked that question! Why would they? But Jesus answered the lawyer’s question with a story about a Samaritan (i.e., bad guy in the story) who was good (not the fairy tale ending the lawyer was expecting!).
One take-away as we hear this story is to be inspired to be a better neighbor as we identify with the Good Samaritan and be more like him. Good. But could we identify not with the Good Samaritan, but with the Good Traveler who was left for dead along the road, the one whom the Good Samaritan generously assisted? Umm.
Do you ever feel like you’ve fallen in a ditch? Lost your way? Maybe felt like someone or some thing left you for dead? Maybe you’re run out of resources when you thought that would never happen to you! Feels bad, sure. We all have felt like that from time to time. But the Good News twist we’ll discover is that we’ve got a lot in common with that Traveler on the road and we will take a few steps in the Traveler’s shoes to prove it. But if we are the Traveler in the story, who is the Good Samaritan representing? Find out this and much more on Sunday, July 14th!
Become a part of Jesus’ story this week the Red Brick Church where travelers from Mayflower descendants to presidents have found hope for the journey. You’ll want to bring along a few traveling companions to worship with you, too. We’re ready for a road trip at Cold Spring Church!
Last week we crossed the Rubicon where Jesus was leading us to spiritual resolution and revolution, hopeful futures, and transformational change. Well, this week, our Gospel reading is from Luke 10, and instead of following Jesus, Jesus tells us to go first! Really?
Jesus did amazing things. He showed people the way, spoke the truth, and gave life. But there comes a time when disciples have to go out on their own. Like our campus’ eagles, George and Adele, who forced their eaglets, Elliot and Eloise, out of the nest so they could achieve their potential and take responsibility for their own future!
Similarly, Jesus sent an advance team of 72, ordinary people in need of the kindness of strangers, yet given the authority to heal and cast out spirits, a power made known to those who welcome them and provide for their needs. The Jesus way requires trust on the part of those going and those to whom the disciples are sent to produce a plentiful harvest to be gathered, shared and used to feed the world, physically and spiritually.
Maybe you’re like me, feeling a bit overwhelmed when my grandkids wanted me to go on the Buccaneer Pirate Ride. Whoa! Did I want to go first? No way. But, I knew it was important to them, and also to me. Wow! Going first can be scary sometimes, but God sends us ahead with the promise of a harvest of goodness, if we don’t give up! What a ride!!
We may think: wouldn’t it have been better for Jesus to go first and for us to follow? Wouldn’t Jesus going first offer a greater display of power get people’s attention and move the story of redemption forward with greater speed and efficiency? Apparently, no. All of us have been sent ahead. Are you ready to go first? Jesus is.
One way to “go first” is to invite someone with you to worship this week. It’s time to leave the nest! Get up and go!
Do you know what an Advance Team is? When an important plan is underway, like when the President of the United States has to visit, a team of people, an advance team, is sent first to prepare, check it out, bring back information, and be sure its secure for the president’s visit. Let’s experience being on an advance team together. Would you enjoy that? OK! Are you ready? Pay careful attention to the directions, and up in the balcony, you will find a yellow bag. (More details are given you will hear in the message.) Before I send you, let’s pray and ask God to help you. (Prayer.) (Returning with the yellow bag!) Great job. Enjoy the treats in the bag. Choose your favorite! And remember, God has an advance team. You know who that is, right? Yes! You! Now go, listen to Jesus’ word, and enjoy your discovery every day!