Tag Archives: G*d

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on November 17, 2015
Tags: G*d,   

Find Joy In G-d, Not Stuff — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

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November 17, 2015

“Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.
Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.”
Psalm 16:1 – 5

“The appearance of Psalm 16 in the lectionary is an opportunity both to appreciate its artistic beauty and to open ourselves to the challenge of Israel’s radical monotheism. In our pervasively self-centered context, for instance, what difference might it make if we entertained the conviction that life is not something we achieve, but rather something we receive as a gift from God? What difference might it make if we viewed the life-sustaining resources that most of us enjoy not as something we have earned or deserve, but rather as evidence of God’s goodness? Might a pervasive sense of entitlement begin to be replaced by a posture of humility and gratitude?

My tradition tries to capture the challenge of Israel’s radical monotheism in the first question and answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (which I paraphrase as follows): “What is the chief end of humankind? The chief end of humankind is to glorify God and enjoy God forever.” A symptom of our dis-ease is the fact that enjoying God is essentially nonsensical to most of us. But the psalmist knew what it meant to enjoy God! What difference might it make if we began to try to ground our pleasure and joy not in self nor in stuff but in God? It’s worth a try!” (Erhard Gerstenberger, Psalms: Part I(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), Working Preacher Website)

“What difference might it make if we began to try to ground our pleasure and joy not in self nor in stuff but in God? It’s worth a try!” We live in a society that continually tells us that we need more stuff. This time of year is really challenging to me because the Christmas advertisements come out, especially on the television. If you watch one of the children’s stations, they inundate our children with ad after ad about the toy they just cannot live without. Pleasure and satisfaction are linked with how much stuff we have, how new our stuff is, and how quickly we can get the stuff. At some point in time, each person will come to the realization that joy and purpose do not come from stuff. But for some of those same people, that realization comes too late to make a real difference in their lives.

Begin now, today, to make a change in your life. If you are always thinking about your stuff, may I suggest that you may have a problem. And the problem that you have is not about having stuff – it is about the fact that your stuff has power over you. If we focused on our relationship with G*d and our neighbors who are in need, as much as we focus our time and money on our stuff, this world would be a lot better off. Relationships have much more value than stuff will ever have. Take a stance against stuff – and find joy in a relationship with Christ.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on November 9, 2015
Tags: G*d, , Unity   

We Are —- One in the Lord – Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

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November 9, 2015

“For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”   Hebrews 9:24 – 28

“Every time we — both clergy and laypeople — work off guilt by all that we do for the church, we make it a mechanism for atonement. Such a mechanism can create apparently successful churches. But the side effects can be lethal: a cold shoulder towards newcomers who haven’t “earned their way,” or even the scapegoating and expulsion of some members (including the clergy!).

What a difference it makes to experience the church as a community of forgiven sinners, who don’t need to sacrifice each other, whose consciences are cleansed “from dead works to worship the living God” (9:14). When it comes to Christian community, this is the real deal.” (Working Preacher website, Commentary on Hebrews 9:24-28 Susan Eastman)

“What a difference it makes to experience the church as a community of forgiven sinners, who don’t need to sacrifice each other…”. Wow! I could not say it any better. It always amazes me how quickly “believers” are prepared to throw a church member under the bus of “right practice”, or in front of the trolley of “being right”. Someone new comes to the church and hopes to have a voice, even maybe be involved in ministry, and the “established” members sacrifice them on the altar of “we have it all under control, no need for you or your voice”. It frustrates me so much as a pastor. Grace is thrown out the window time and time again because people feel “threatened” – like the Alpha lion trying to fend off opponents to his “pride”. The church was never intended to be a place where individuals could stake out their own personal place of power and authority. The church is the gathering of individuals who, while being simultaneously Saint and sinner, they come to hear the word preached rightly and the sacraments administered properly, and work toward the completion of the Great Commission: to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching people everything Jesus had taught them. (Matthew 28:19ff)

Again, as I ended my November 7 devotion, I will say again: “We might be un-equal in society, but we are one in the Lord, brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Pastor Dave