In Spirit & In Truth: How Christians Worship

We're back by popular demand (actually, at the request of a friend of mine) to share our latest Rolling Hills UMC youth Sunday school experience. We're looking at how diverse - and yet the same - Christian worship can be (even if we limit our search to Christian worship in North America).  As you view these videos, ask yourself:

•  Have I ever been a part of a worship service such as this one?  What was it like?
•  How is this worship experience different from the others I have been a part of?
•  How is it different from others I am seeing here?
•  What does this worship experience have in common with the others?
•  What does this worship experience teach me about God?

Let's start by taking a trip to a Quaker meeting in Brooklyn, New York to learn a little about how our friends there (pun intended) worship.  Shhhhhhhhh!!

Waiting on the Lord in silence can be a powerful thing.  Try it some time as an act of worship.  "Be still, and know that I am God."  -Psalm 46:10 (TNIV)

Now, contrast the silence of a Quaker meeting with the decibel level in this worship service at a Pentecostal congregation in Denver, Colorado:

That's a joyful noise if I ever heard one!  "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs."  -Psalm 100:1-2 (TNIV)

Compare what we just witnessed in Denver to worship at this Orthodox congregation in Andover, Massachusetts:

To worship in such splendor and formality must give you a real sense of the majesty of God!  "Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"  -Psalm 8:1 (TNIV)  "Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth."  -Psalm 96:9

At the other end of the spectrum of worship-space formality, we have brothers and sisters who worship on occasion in a tent ... That's right, it's an old-fashioned camp meeting in Mistissini, Quebec:

Does this worship service seem free-form when you compare it to the liturgy of the Orthodox service?  That's OK ... "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."  -2 Corinthians 3:17 (TNIV)

For another change of pace, try out the traditional worship service in this Lutheran Church:

There's nothing else like sharing in Holy Communion, as we see at the end of that video!  "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."  -1 Corinthians 11:26 (TNIV)

Other Christians have exchanged pews for theater seating and hymnals for video screens.  Check out this contemporary worship service at the famous Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois:

Now, there's a drum set with resounding cymbals!  "Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals."  -Psalm 150:5 (TNIV)

Here is a congregation full of worshipers who are anything but spectators!  Listen to how EVERYONE is a part of this pastor's preaching at a Baptist service in Arkansas:

Silence?  Not this Sunday!  "With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him."  -Psalm 109:30 (TNIV)

Finally, here is something most of you probably have not experienced: a charismatic Christian service where some worshipers speak in tongues while praising God in song:

Paul describes speaking in tongues as a gift of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12.  You can read it here.

So, silence or cymbals?  Tents or cathedrals?  Rock bands or hand bells?  It's all worship.  However you may worship our God ... whatever your faith tradition may be ...  "Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant."  Psalm 135:3 (TNIV).

Horseshoes and Faith

Rolling Hills United Methodist Church is located in horse country.  There are a number of farms with horses nearby, and some of our members are horse-owners.  So I thought it was only fitting that we play the game of Horseshoes together during our Youth Sunday school class last week:



A good time was had by all ... and there were plenty of ringers thrown (which makes me think there were some Ringers among us, if you know what I mean).

Of course, a horseshoe hung on the wall pointing upward is a traditional sign of good luck. 

That reminds me of this story that I read on Bible.org:

An American scientist once visited the offices of the great Nobel-prize-winning physicist, Niels Bohr, in Copenhagen. He was amazed to find that over Bohr’s desk was a horseshoe, securely mailed to the wall, with the open end up in the approved manner (so it would catch the good luck and not let it spill out).

The American said with a nervous laugh, “Surely you don’t believe the horseshoe will bring you good luck, do you, Professor Bohr? After all, as a scientist …”

Bohr chuckled, “I believe no such thing, my good friend. Not at all. I am scarcely likely to believe in such foolish nonsense. However, I am told that a horseshoe will bring you good luck whether you believe in it or not.”

Bits & Pieces, September 17, 1992, p. 6

Niels Bohr was smart enough to know that he didn't know everything.  Just because he believed something to be false didn't make it false.  Truth doesn't depend on our believing it to be true.  Truth is truth, whether we believe it or not.  God is God, whether we believe in God or not. 

Jesus told his disciples that he is "the way and the truth and the life[.]"  John 14:6 (TNIV).  What does Jesus mean when he calls himself the truth? 

The truth is: God loves you, and Jesus is God's love in the flesh! 

The truth is: God will not abandon you, and Jesus is called "Immanuel" (which means "God is with us").

So remember this Good News:  Jesus is the truth, whether you (or others around you) believe it or not!

A Bocce - Bible Connection?

On this 4th of July, as Americans gather for family picnics and backyard barbecues, fun and games abound!  Horseshoes, badminton, baseball (or, its scaled-down cousin -  wiffleball) ... It all makes me wonder: What games did Jesus play?

Last week, during the Sunday school hour, we pondered that question as the Rolling Hills Youth Sunday school class played a friendly game of bocce on the dirt of the softball field in front of our church building.  "What is bocce?" you may ask.

Wikipedia explains that bocce is a bowling game from Italy. Italian migrants have taken the game with them to other parts of Europe, North and South America, and even Australia.

Bocce has its origins in ball games played in the ancient Roman Empire.  The website for the United States Bocce Federation has this to say about the origins of the game:
The early Romans were among the first to play a game resembling what we know as Bocce today. In early times they used coconuts brought back from Africa and later used hard olive wood to carve out Bocce balls. Beginning with Emperor Augustus, Bocce became the sport of statesman and rulers.

Wait!  Emperor Augustus?  How do we Christians know that name? Ah, yes, we know it from the Christmas story as told in Luke 2:
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. -Luke 2:1-7 (TNIV).

Caesar Augustus ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BCE until his death in 14 CE, which means that Augustus governed the Roman Empire (of which Palestine was an involuntary outpost) from the time of Jesus' birth through his teen years.  We know that Roman soldiers were a common sight for the Jewish people of ancient Palestine in Jesus' day.  The gospels record Jesus interacting with Roman soldiers and authorities (see, for example, Matt. 8:5-13), and, of course, the Romans ultimately crucified him. 

So, I wonder ... WWJP? (What would Jesus play?)  Did Jesus grow up seeing Roman soldiers and officials playing bocce?  Did the game ever interest him and his friends?  Did he, perhaps, play the game of bocce?  Unless archaeologists uncover evidence of a Holy Land Bocce Federation, we may never know on this side of heaven whether Jesus was a champion bocce-baller. 

I've searched the internet for any proof that Jesus played bocce, and I just might have found some video evidence.  Check out this video by Croatia's Luky.  There's a bocce game at the end of the video ... and one of the players looks a little like Jesus to me.  What do you think?    

You've Got Mail

What are Epistles?  They're not the leaders of the early church -- Those were the Apostles!  The Epistles are a series of letters you find in the New Testament of your Bible.  These are letters written by the likes of Paul, Peter, James and John.  The letters originally were written for specific people about issues in specific places at specific times, but the church has come to see them as inspired ... as containing eternal truths for us all that are inspired by God!  So, you've got mail in your New Testament in-box that you need to read.  Here are a few of the inspired messages you will find when you open that mail:

In Paul's letter to the church in Galatia, we read about the Fruit of the Spirit -- the qualities that grow in our lives when we are living for God: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law."  -Galatians 5:22-23 (TNIV).  Looking for someone who lives by the guidance of the Holy Spirit?  Look for someone whose life displays the Fruit of the Spirit! 

In the 13th Chapter of Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, we find The Love Chapter -- a moving passage about the power of love.  We often read this passage at weddings, but it's really about how all of us are to treat each other.  Here's a video clip from one of my favorite movies: The Mission.  Robert De Niro plays an 18th Century slave-trader and mercenary who leaves his life of sin to become a Jesuit priest, ministering to the same native tribe he used to enslave.  In this clip, De Niro is reading the moving words of 1 Corinthians 13 as he learns, from his experiences with his native hosts, what it means to love others.

Another powerful epistle we studied today is Paul's letter to Philemon.  You can read the entire letter HERE.  (It's only 25 verses long!)  Paul met and befriended a run-away slave named Onesimus, who then became a Christian.  Paul sent Onesimus back to his owner (another Christian, named Philemon) with this letter -- urging Philemon to take back Onesimus, "no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother ... a brother in the Lord."  Philemon 1:15 (TNIV).  This letter's message of Christian brotherhood and freedom was used by abolitionists in the 18th and 19th Centuries as they argued for an end to the evil institution of slavery.  On a lighter note, here is a cute little video that tells the story of Philemon and Onesimous with singing puppets.  As one of our class members said this morning, it's so bad that it's good ;-)

 We had a full house in Sunday school this morning -- and a number of great nominations for Best Epistle Passage. 

Ben, our newest class member, nominated the entire Third Letter of John.  Why?  Because, by number of words, it is the shortest book in the Bible. To John, you are what you do.  Check out verse 11:  "Dear friends, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.  Anyone who does what is good is from God.  Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God."  - 3 John 1:11 (TNIV).

Jack chose Colossians 3:20 (TNIV): "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord."  His mother told him to pick that verse, and he did ;-)


Wes picked 1 Peter 1:24-25 (TNIV): "[T]he grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever."  When Peter writes these words, he is quoting from Isaiah 40.


Nick selected Paul's description in his letter to the Ephesians of the "full armor of God:"

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  -Ephesians 6:13-17 (TNIV).

Jake nominated 2 Corinthians 9:6 (TNIV): "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously."   

Adrienne sent in her nomination by text -- Romans 12:2 (TNIV):  Do not conform to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will." 

Paige also selected a verse from Romans -- Chapter 1, verse 18 (TNIV):  "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of human beings who suppress the truth by their wickedness."

Alex chose our winning passage of the week, 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 (TNIV):  "Do not deceive yourselves.  If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become 'fools' so that you may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight."  Congrats to Alex, who wins the Wesley Award for Best Epistle Passage!  Congratulations also to Wes, our overall winner, with three Wesley Awards to his credit this school year!

This brings the Wesley Awards to an end for this school year.  We will start up again in the Fall.  In the meantime, we will be posting during the Summer as the Spirit moves us ... but not every Sunday. 

 I leave you (for now) with this benediction from Jude 1:24-25 (TNIV): "To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—  to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."  Now, listen to this song, Breathe (Benediction) by the Newsboys.  It's a remake of the classic hymn, Breathe on Me Breath of God, and it includes the words of Jude's famous benediction!

Amen, and God Bless You ... 

Act(s)ion Heroes

Welcome to our recap of today's youth Sunday school class, where we took a look at the New Testament's Book of Acts (often called the Acts of the Apostles). 

The Book of Acts tells the fascinating story of the birth and early history of the Christian Church.  Tradition tells us that Acts was written by Luke, a physician and travelling companion of the Apostle Paul.  Luke wrote Acts for a patron by the name of Theophilus.  Acts is something like a sequel to the Gospel of Luke.  In Luke 1:3-4 (TNIV), the author of the Gospel of Luke writes: "I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you might know the certainty of the things you have been taught."  The Book of Acts then begins: "In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven ... "   -Acts 1:1-2 (TNIV).  So begins Luke's telling of the history of the early church -- a history filled with Christian act(s)ion heroes such as Peter, Paul, Stephen, Barnabas and Philip.  If you haven't read the Book of Acts, or you would just like to brush up on it, here is a tremendous little video that condenses the whole book into three action-packed minutes:

This week, we had four nominations for the Wesley Award for the Best Story from Acts.  Nick nominated the story of the Stoning of Stephen, which you can read in Acts, Chapter 7 here.

Stephen became the first Christian martyr, getting stoned to death for boldly proclaiming to the religious leaders that they had murdered "the Righteous One" -- Jesus -- by playing a part in the events that led to his crucifixion.  A young man named Saul was in the crowd when Stephen was stoned.  Luke tells us that Saul "approved of their killing him."  -Acts 8:1 (TNIV).  Saul later became a living example of the redemptive power of Christ, being transformed from a persecutor of Christians to a great Christian missionary and teacher! 

Wes  selected a particularly gruesome story ... the Death of King Herod.  You can read about it in Acts 12:19-24 here.  Herod Agrippa, whose image is seen on the coin below, was struck dead by an angel when his subjects likened him to a god and he did not correct them and give credit where it was due -- to the God of his forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

Luke tells us in Acts 12:23 (TNIV) that "the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died" ... eeuuww!

Adrienne picked the Earthquake Jailbreak found in Acts 16:16-40 (TNIV).  We read there that an earthquake freed Paul and Silas from their chains while in prison.  But they didn't flee the scene.  They stayed put until their jailer and his entire household had come to believe in God!

And our winning scripture was chosen by Paige, who picked a story we can all fall for!  In Acts 20:7-12, we read this about a man named Eutychus:  "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.  Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. 'Don’t be alarmed,' he said. 'He’s alive!'   Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted." -Acts 20:7-12 (TNIV).

I'll bet your pastor never preached someone to death!  And then helped bring him back to life!  Do you think that Paul's all-night sermon (and Eutychus' fall) helped church attendance the following week or hurt it?  Congrats to Paige for selecting our Wesley Award Winner of the week.  Join us next week, when we bestow the Wesley Award for Best Epistle Passage.  

Sunday School Cheat Sheet

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of Summer in these parts.
 

But Summer vacation isn't here yet for our high school and middle school students.  There are still final exams to be taken before the school year ends ... 



Fortunately, there's no final exam in the youth Sunday school class at Rolling Hills Church.  But what if there were a final exam for Sunday school?  What would you need to know?  Just study the five points below, and you will be ready to ace the test ...

ROLLING HILLS SUNDAY SCHOOL CHEAT SHEET

(1)  You are God's amazing creation. You are made in God's image; yet, you are uniquely created to be YOU (and the God who created you knows you better than anyone else ever could).  [Check out: Genesis 1:26-31; Psalm 139:13-16; Luke 12:1-6]

(2)  God is a loving God.  God is not looking to punish you, burden you, shame you, or hurt you.  God is love!  [Check out: Psalm 145:8; Matthew 11:28-30; 1 John 4:16]

(3)  Jesus is God's ultimate gift of love to us.  Jesus showed us how to live, died suffering the pain of all humanity's bad choices, and rose from the dead on Easter morning -- blazing the way for us all to follow to an awesome life with God, both here and in heaven. [Check out: John 3:16; John 10:10; John 15:13; 1 John 4:9-10]

(4) We show God our love and thanks by loving others.  We treat others as we would want them to treat us.  And when we do good things for others, it is the same as doing them for God!  [Check out: Matthew 7:12, Matthew 25:31-40, John 13:35, 1 John 4:19-21]

(5)  When we make God our priority and bring God's love to others, God's got our backs!  So hang in there.  Keep up the good work.  God pays attention, knows what we truly need, and is looking out for us.  [Check out: Jeremiah 29:11; Isaiah 58:6-9; Matthew 6:25-34; 2 Thessalonians 3:13]

So write these five points on your hand if you must!  Just don't forget them.  Enjoy your Memorial Day holiday, and check us out next Sunday, when we select the Wesley Award winner for Best Story from the Book of Acts!

Story Time!

Jesus loved to teach by telling parables -- stories that convey a truth about God and God's Kingdom.  You can find the parables of Jesus in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke (which are often called the synoptic gospels).  Click here for a handy chart that tells you where you can find each of Jesus' parables.

Here are our nominees for Best Parable:

We had a small class today, so I threw a nomination of my own into the mix: THE PRODIGAL SON.  You can read the full story in Luke 15:11-37.  Here is a video of the story acted out with Lego characters:

One thing that fascinates me about this story is that Jesus never tells us how the older son responds to his father's pleas to join the party.  Does the older son join the party and reconcile with his younger brother?  Does the older son ignore his father's pleas and hold a grudge?  Jesus doesn't say.  It's up to us to write our own ending to this story ... by how we live our lives.

Nick chose the PARABLE OF THE SOWER, which you can find at Matthew 13:3-8.  Here is an animated video of the story.  Watch what happens to the seeds sown on the path, the seeds sown in rocky places without much soil, the seeds sown among the thorns, and the seeds sown in good soil:

This is one of the parables that Jesus explained to his disciples after telling it.  Here's what Jesus had to say about the story:
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When people hear the message about the kingdom and do not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their hearts. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to people who hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  The seed falling among the thorns refers to people who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to people who hear the word and understand it. They produce a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”  -Matthew 13:18-23 (TNIV).

Wes nominated THE PARABLE OF THE NET, which is an interesting but lesser known parable that gives us a glimpse into the Day of Judgment:



“'Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.  This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  'Have you understood all these things?' Jesus asked. 'Yes,' they replied."    -Matthew 13:47-50 (TNIV).

 

And our winner this week is Adrienne, who selected THE PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN.  This is the second in a series of three related parables Jesus tells in Luke 15: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Lost (or Prodigal) Son.  Here's the winning parable: “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  -Luke 15:8-10 (TNIV). 

Now, watch the parable as demonstrated in this wonderful little video by Haeuk Kim, Hanako Shimizu, and Youki Shimura:

Congrats to Adrienne for picking this week's winner!  Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend.  The school year is coming to an end soon, so we will have a special post next weekend to help you with your studies for final exams.  Then, the Wesley Awards will return on Sunday, June 3 with our selection of the Best Story from the Book of Acts.  You will not want to miss these next two posts!