Today is the fifth Sunday after Pentecost. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Eldad and Medad”. Our Scripture passage comes from Numbers 11:24-30 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 104. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 104)
Leader: O LORD, how manifold are your works!
People: The earth is full of your creatures.
Leader: These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
People: When you give to them, they gather it up;
Leader: When you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
People: When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
Leader: When you take away their breath,
People: They die and return to their dust.
Leader: When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
People: And you renew the face of the ground.
Leader: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
People: I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
Leader: May my meditation be pleasing to him,
People: For I rejoice in the LORD.

Question for Further Reflection:

In this passage, God’s spirit falls freely on whoever it wants to.
How does God continue to surprise you in your own faith journey?
What does this radical freedom say about God’s character?

Happy Father’s Day! Also, today we will celebrate our Graduates! Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Do As He Did”. Our Scripture passage comes from Matthew 9:35-10:11 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 100. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 100)
Leader: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
People: Worship the Lord with gladness;
Leader: Come into his presence with singing.
People: Know that the Lord is God.
Leader: It is he that made us, and we are his;
People: We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Leader: Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
People: And his courts with praise.
Leader: Give thanks to him, bless his name.
People: For the Lord is good;
Leader: His steadfast love endures forever,
People: And his faithfulness to all generations.

Question for Further Reflection:

In this passage, Jesus commissions His disciples to live a life like His.
What is something you could change today to live a little more like him?

This week, Robin and I got a reminder of what it means to be the church. This week has been a busy one up at Hope Valley. We’ve had meetings to prepare for and attend, special documents to print up for services, a funeral service to plan, and then the day-to-day stuff that comes with working at a church.

For myself in particular, I know that I’ve had pastoral care meetings this past Monday. I led staff meeting on Tuesday morning, where we started looking ahead to things like Graduate Sunday, the first Sunday of July, and VBS. I met with a family to plan a funeral service for their mother and have coordinated with another pastor who will be participating in the service. As I write this article, I’ve worked with Robin to get a prayer list together and sent out, proofread the rest of this Illuminator (if there are any typos, I’m sorry), and started prepping for a committee meeting I have this afternoon. In addition to that, we’ve had our usual Wednesday foot traffic at the church.

I say all that to say that just as Robin and I were get-ting to a place where we could really get into a groove and work on the things we needed to, a man rode his bike up to the church and told us that he needed help. We sat in my office and talked for a little bit. And I must confess, my mind was racing through a thousand other things I “needed” to be doing in that moment. Prayers needed to be written. Volunteers needed to be contacted. Paperwork needed to be reviewed. And again, I’m going to confess, there was a part of me that thought, “Just tell this guy you can’t help and you can get back to the stuff that needs to get done; the stuff that matters.”

Then, I remembered something I’d literally just read Wednesday morning. When preaching about the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote that the Good Samaritan “will always stand before us as a nagging reminder that we must … see men as men.” He goes on to talk about why the Priest and the Levite may have passed by the injured man on the Jericho Road and argues that they may have had perfectly valid reasons to keep going — be it religious duties, civic duties, or just fear of bandits on the road. He says the question of the Priest and the Levite is, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” Dr. King writes, “Then the good Samaritan came by, and by the very nature of his concern reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’ … The good man always reverses the question.”

So, Robin and I helped him. We stopped doing all the church things that needed doing. We went and got a gift card to help pay for some medicine. We gave him some water to drink. We took him to Burger King to get some food. And, amazingly, when we got back, the church had not fallen apart. Emails went out. Prayers got written. Volunteers were contacted. Paperwork was reviewed. And a man who needed help was seen and helped. I’m grateful for Dr. King’s sermon and his conviction to call me out of my own selfish preoccupation and attend to this man. Dr. King asked both Robin and I, “If you do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?” Thanks be to God, we saw past the day-to-day and were able to do the work God called us to do.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Today is the Third Sunday after Pentecost and Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “In My Bones”. Our Scripture passage comes from Jeremiah 20:7-13 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 86. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 86)
Leader: There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
People: Nor are there any works like yours.
Leader: All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord,
People: And shall glorify your name.
Leader: For you are great and do wondrous things;
People: You alone are God.
Leader: Turn to me and be gracious to me;
People: Give your strength to your servant;
Leader: Save the child of your serving girl.
People: Show me a sign of your favor,
Leader: So that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,
People: Because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Questions for Further Reflection:

In this passage, Jeremiah is going through a wide range of emotions.
Why might it be encouraging to see this passage in the Bible?
How can we, as a church, provide space for people who are struggling?

Today, Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Words as Gifts”. Our Scripture passage comes from John 17:1-11 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 68. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 68)
Leader: Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
People: Let those who hate him flee before him.
Leader: But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God;
People: Let them be jubilant with joy.
Leader: Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
People: His name is the Lord—be exultant before him.
Leader: God gives the desolate a home to live in;
People: He leads out the prisoners to prosperity.
Leader: Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
People: Sing praises to the Lord,
Leader: O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
People: Listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
Leader: Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel;
People: And whose power is in the skies.
Leader: Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel;
People: He gives power and strength to his people.
All: Blessed be God!

Questions for Further Reflection:

In this passage, some of Jesus’ last words are a prayer for His disciples.
Which of His words resonate with you?
What does He mean when he says “eternal life” comes from knowing God?

We are entering an interesting time of the church year this coming Sunday. We are entering Ordinary Time. Now, you may read that and think, “What is he talking about?” Basically, the church year is divided into two halves. Starting on the First Sunday of Advent and running through Trinity Sunday, the church calendar is in a pretty consistent rhythm of anticipation and celebration. Advent anticipates the celebration of Christmas. Lent anticipates the celebration of Easter. There are a few Sundays between the end of Christmastide and the beginning of Lent, but for the most part, that first half of the church year is spent in those two modes: anticipation and celebration.

Now, however, we enter the second half, a long stretch of Ordinary Time that, this year, ends with Christ the King Sunday on November 22nd. On a practical level, that means the paraments on the pulpit and the communion table will be green through November 15th (Christ the King Sunday gets white paraments). On a pastoral level, that means that I’ll have a little more freedom in what kinds of sermon series I want to preach and which passages I want to preach from.

But, you may read the name for this season, “Ordinary Time,” and think, “Well, that just seems condescending. Yes, Christmas and Easter are special, but ‘ordinary time’ makes this part of the year just sound…boring.” While there is some debate on where the name came from, the most common explanation is not that the church thinks these Sundays are “boring”. Rather, they are “ordinal” numbers, that is, they tell us how long it’s been since Pentecost. So, for example, this Sunday, June 7th is liturgically known as the “Second Sunday after Pentecost.” That continues until November 22nd, the “Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost” aka “Christ the King Sunday”. These numbers keep track of where we are in the church calendar.

Now, what that means for us as individual believers is simple—this time of the year is one meant for exploration. There’s no pressure to be preparing for Christmas and all its celebration. The quiet reflection of Lent and the pomp and circumstance of Easter Sunday have faded. We are entering a time of the church year when we can meander through Paul’s letters if we want to. We can spend some time reading stories about Abraham or Moses or David. We can challenge ourselves with some of Jesus’ harder teachings (think the Parable of the Dishonest Manager). And in so doing, we have the unique opportunity to draw closer to God in ways that feel uniquely personal. Where is God leading you during Ordinary Time? Which books, which passages, which characters is the Holy Spirit guiding you toward? Or, which part of Jesus’ life is compelling you these next twenty-five weeks? If you’ll seek God’s guidance, this time will be anything but ordinary.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Today is Trinity Sunday. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Letting Others In”. Our Scripture passage comes from Matthew 28:16-20 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 8. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 8)
Leader: O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
People: You have set your glory above the heavens.
Leader: Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark,
People: To silence the enemy and the avenger.
Leader: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
People: The moon and the stars that you have established;
Leader: What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
People: Mortals that you care for them?
Leader: Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
People: And crowned them with glory and honor.
Leader: You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
People: You have put all things under their feet,
Leader: All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
People: The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
Leader: Whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
People: O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Questions for Further Reflection:

In this passage, Jesus tells his disciples to bring people into the community.
What does it mean to truly be a part of a community?
Why is it risky to bring others in?
Why does God call us to do it anyway?

Today is Pentecost Sunday.

Our Guest Speaker, Dr. Steve Bolton, will bring the message, “The Wonders of Pentecost!”. Our Scripture passage comes from Ephesians 1:15-23 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 107. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 107)
Leader: O Lord, how manifold are your works!
People: The earth is full of your creatures.
Leader: These all look to you
People: To give them their food in due season;
Leader: When you give to them, they gather it up;
People: When you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
Leader: When you hide your face,
People: They are dismayed;
Leader: When you take away their breath,
People: They die and return to their dust.
Leader: When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
People: And you renew the face of the ground.
Leader: May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
People: May the Lord rejoice in his works—
Leader: Who looks on the earth and it trembles,
People: Who touches the mountains and they smoke.
Leader: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
People: I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
Leader: May my meditation be pleasing to him,
People: For I rejoice in the Lord.

Questions for Further Reflection:
Pentecost has been called The Birthday of the Church – God’s Holy Spirit infusing Christ’s followers with His presence and power.
What signs and wonders of God’s Holy Spirit have you noted in your own spiritual journey?
List and give thanks for those moments you became convicted, convinced, converted, or perhaps when you especially felt led, reassured, encouraged, or empowered by God’s Spirit.

By the time you’re reading this article, I will hopefully be done with some of the most tedious parts of moving into a new place. It’s not the packing up I find the most tedious. Nor is it even the unpacking of boxes that gets to me (that can be weirdly fun, i.e., “What’s in this box? Oh! That thing!”). No, the most tedious parts of moving into a new place, in my opinion, are laying down contact paper in all the shelves and cabinets, getting everything cleaned, and deciding where everything is going to go in the kitchen.

First of all, while I recognize the importance of using contact paper to line shelves, it is persnickety and the paper loves to bubble up, fold up, or stick to itself. All I’m trying to do is lay it flat; why won’t it lay down?! Then, there’s all the cleaning that comes with getting a new place. Running cleaning cycles for the dishwasher, the washing machine, the dryer. Cleaning the bathroom and getting it ready to be used. Wiping down all that contact paper in all those shelves while ignoring all the egregious folds and bubbles. Cleaning dishes, glasses, silverware, cooking utensils, pots, pans, and more! And then deciding where everything will go so it’s in the easiest place to get to while cooking, maximizing ease of use without minimizing counter space. It’s … a lot.

But once it’s all done, it’s amazing the sense of peace that settles in. A kitchen that has been fully prepped is a wonder-ful thing to behold. Y’all know that I like to cook and it is amazing how relaxing it can be to walk into a kitchen and know, “I have everything I need. It is here, at my fingertips.” Weeknight meals come together quickly. Friends can casually chat as the cooking happens. And holiday gatherings are so much easier when the kitchen feels like it is actively helping you. Taking the time to set things in order makes extraordinary things possible.

When I think about what it means to be a Christian, I believe there are certain basic things we have to set out first, things that must be done before moving on to more complicated, extravagant theology. We believe that God is the Creator of all things in this world. We believe that God created human beings and called them, “very good.” We believe that even though all people have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, God still loves them. We believe that the kingdom of God is not just a place far off, in another time and place. We believe that because of Jesus, his life, his death, and his resurrection, the powers that would hold humanity back have been defeated. These are basics, yes. They are nowhere near as annoying to lay down as contact paper, but once these basics have been laid down, more beautiful theological convictions become possible.

Because God created all people and loves all of them, we Christians have the audacity to believe all people deserve respect and dignity. Because we have been convicted of our own sins and found that God’s grace is sufficient, we can build community with people others might steer us away from. Because of the stories of Je-sus’ ministry, we know how to reject ideas that would deny the image of God in another per-son. By the way, the most effective way I’ve found to address those ideas that would tell us another person is unworthy of love, respect, dignity is to simply ask, “Would Jesus love that person?” If the answer is, “Yes,” then my faith actively moves to help me say, “Then I will love them, too.” And, thanks be to God, the answer to that question is always, “Yes.” Lay the foundations and extraordinary faith becomes possible.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Today is Ascension Sunday.

Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Father of Glory” Our Scripture passage comes from Ephesians 1:15-23 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 93. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 93)
Leader: The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty;
People: The Lord is robed, he is girded with strength.
Leader: He has established the world;
People: It shall never be moved;
Leader: Your throne is established from of old;
People: You are from everlasting.
Leader: The floods have lifted up,
People: O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice;
Leader: The floods lift up their roaring.
People: More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
Leader: More majestic than the waves of the sea,
People: Majestic on high is the Lord!
Leader: Your decrees are very sure;
People: Holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore.