Sermon Summaries

I know, it's been a few weeks since I last posted here. It's just been crazier than usual. Mike and I no longer have a vehicle. Two weeks ago tomorrow, we were supposed to have gotten the tires replaced. Two weeks ago today, just before Noon, Mike crashed the van. He had a COPD blackout coughing fit with no prior warning like his body would typically send. They didn't take his license right then, but IDK what's going to happen with that. Physically, Mike only bruised his lower belly. It was so minimal, evidently, that he didn't even realize he had done it until I mentioned it early last week. The van is totaled because he hit a telephone pole at 20-25 mph. We are still waiting on the report from the Sheriff's Office before the Insurance Agent can process our claim. As we have Liability only, they will only need to pay the town back for any damage the pole may have sustained. Which it did. From what Mike told me, although it wasn't in the pictures, the van was literally holding the major portion of the pole off the ground.* Meanwhile, we're hoping to get the cash back from the garage that Mike paid in to help with the tires.* I'm also looking at the possibility of a partial refund on our registration. We had a 2 year stretch that we paid for up front, and only used about 1 yr. on it. Hopefully, Mike will be able to get the plates and registration form in order for me to go online and apply for the balance. So we're back to getting rides from friends. Thankfully, Mike's daughter's boyfriend is back and forth every weekend, so he was able to bring Mike over to visit this past week. But that doesn't help me get over there unless I ride alone with him. I'm not sure how to feel about that as yet. I mean, he's nice enough, from what I know, but he also smokes cigarettes, and I'm deathly allergic. He would have to go the entire ride (1 1/2) hrs. without smoking. He may or may not be up for that. At the same time, our friend who lives in Mike's building still comes over now and again, but recent contact with her hasn't accomplished anything. But we have to give grace. We know she battles with Depression and Anxiety, so plans can change without notice. The biggest thing that gets to me about that is that she doesn't even let us know when changes DO happen. Anyway, prayers appreciated for the future of Mike's and my transportation... again.

The latest news from Andrea and Matt is that both Matt and their son, Tavis, have been "off kilter" recently. While Matt's issues have been ongoing for nearly 3 yrs. now; Andrea had posted the other day that Tavis had "a weird fainting spell". No update on that, as of this morning, anyway. Hopefully, she'll have me over sometime this week and fill me in. Prayers for Tavis' episode, as well as continued prayers for Matt's full recovery from stroke.

My daughter Carissa found out last week that her husband's nephew has cancer. They're not sure yet what it is, exactly. He has a lump on his neck that could either mean Lymphoma or Leukemia. He's early-mid teens. As worrisome as that is, my father also has a lump on his neck. I don't believe it's been examined as yet, but from what Carissa's sister-in-law said, it can strike anyone, at any age. Prayers for both.

Meanwhile, my mother strained her back within the past week or 2. Which, now that I think about it, seems a little odd. She appeared fine when I went over a week ago this past Wednesday to visit and tell them about Mike's accident. My mother is in denial about numerous things, though, so I shouldn't really be so surprised that she hadn't mentioned it. She has, however, agreed to an in-home sleep study and Visiting Nurse who will check on the safety of the duplex apartment they live in. As to the "guests", they are still there. And I haven't heard anything further about the eviction, so maybe it's not even happening. IDK... Continued prayers for their future, both physically and locationally.

Concerning my ex-boyfriend, Jeremy, he's having an AMAZING time in the Philippines!! He FINALLY got to meet his girlfriend of about 5 yrs. now in person!! She and her family have embraced him as one of their own, showing that she is honest and sincere. That was a major concern for a while, especially earlier on. There are a lot of scammers over there who will take people for everything they have if you're not careful. But Sharon and her family are wonderful Christian people. They attend the Seventh Day Adventist Church, most of which is filled with her family.* He comes home to Omaha later this week, I believe. So for once, we have a PRAISE on here!! Thank you, LORD!!

Oh, and my granddaughter, Brandi, is in the process of getting braces. I never had them, although I should have. They don't look fun to me... but prayers that her teeth will be straightened properly by the time she's done, and that the process isn't terribly painful.

Pheeew!! Right?? So who's ready to move on??

Well, sort of... the theme of today's message is about Jesus Calming the Storm, as evidenced by the title above. I'm not going to repeat Mike's accident report here, but in reviewing my notes ahead of this post this RAINY!! afternoon*, that story came to mind. Even though it's hard not to have the independence of scheduling our own rides right now, based on what we would prefer, we trust that God has our best interests at heart. As we lean on Him, we have peace that everything will be for the best in the long run. Meanwhile, Mike and I will be saving money on gas, oil changes, insurance, etc... With the Holidays looming, that means more money for presents, so that's a good thing. What the future holds for our transportation, we don't know right now. But that's okay. As my friend Louise says, "God's got this!!". Amen??

Okay, so now we're getting to the good stuff --

First of all, back on July 20th, when this message was given, there was a brief story shared during the announcement time. It was from the Leader of His Mansion, the faith-based recovery program I've mentioned here before. It was about a "chance" meeting of either himself or one of the other Group Leaders. They were visiting a small church in VT, and it was this young woman's first time being in ANY Church. She was seeking help, and decided to show up that Sunday. This leader from His Mansion ended up in conversation with her after the service, and invited her to join the program. The point was that you never know where you might meet someone who needs what you have to offer. Be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In his initial remarks, Pastor Matt shared that it is the desire of the Elders and Staff of CenterPoint NH to be a Church that, like the encounter spoken of above, can only be explained by God. We want to participate, as a community, in what God is doing. Not only here in Concord, NH, but regionally and globally.

Among the images you will see at the end of this post, there is a picture of a painting. It depicts the theme of our message today. Before digging into the Scripture, Pastor Matt related to us that this painting had been among those stolen in the biggest art heist the USA had even seen. I don't personally remember hearing about it, but it happened in Boston back in 1990!!* To my knowledge, it was never recovered.

So now, turn with me, if you will, to Mark 4 --

Mark 4:35-41

New International Version

Jesus Calms the Storm

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

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This passage may not be incredibly long, but it is nevertheless powerful.

So, the first bit of contextual information we need here is the fact that the Sea of Galilee was always known for sudden squalls. As we know, several of the Apostles were fishermen. They knew about the unpredictable nature of that lake, and knew how to navigate safely thought these moments. From what we read here, this one was clearly beyond the "normal range" of what they generally dealt with. From this, we get our major "takeaway" thought --

Jesus rules over chaos and give us peace.

As we see both here and in Genesis1:1-2, the Scripture speaks to us about "chaos waters"*, and how Jesus was present on both occasions. This begs the question, "What does Jesus want us to know about Who He is??"*. People generally struggle with an imagination for nothingness, or "chaos waters", as seen in Genesis.

In our humanity, chaos tends to bring fear, which leads to taking (or accusing others for our problems), which then may incite violence (both emotional and relational), ending, potentially, in death. (Either of the relationship or the person themselves)

Reading our passage above, we find that the Disciples accused Jesus for not being concerned about the storm. (vs.38) What they were failing to see was that Jesus understood the bigger picture and His role in it.

After Jesus has calmed the storm, they are still afraid due to the power He had displayed. (vs. 41) They asked each other, and themselves, "Who is this!!??"

As evidenced by our prior observation that Jesus had also played a part in Creation, they were riding with the Creator Himself. Only the one who creates something has the power to control it (or to authorize others to control it), which means that He HAD the power IN HIMSELF to command the wind and waves. Pastor Matt pointed out here that the word "Created" literally means that Nature is controlled by His Word. (See John 1:1)

The next thing we are going to explore in this passage is the phrase "Be still". The Greek word at play here is "phimoo". The definition goes beyond just being vocally quiet. The image is literally that of putting a muzzle on a wild beast.* The indication for us is both a physical as well as a spiritual sense of calm.

It's stories like this one, and others throughout the Gospels, that show us Who Jesus IS. Much like Mike's and my day in my account above, our day started out perfectly fine. Suddenly, he had a blackout coughing fit and things no longer fit that description. As Pastor Matt said, the day may start out well, but then chaos rises up to ruin it. This could apply to marriages, jobs, internal struggles, (car accidents due to medical conditions)*, the list goes on...

Sadly, it's in our nature to want to hide our chaos or even ignore it.* What we need to understand is that Jesus isn't bothered by our storms. He sees it all. Sometimes, we may feel like He should be as upset as we are about our situation. We accuse Him like the Disciples did. When we do this, fear can build up and feel even bigger than the problem itself. We may even react in "violent" (or rash) ways to make it worse. Rather than accuse, we should be eager to rest with Him . We need to see the opportunity to seek peace. In John 14:27 and 16:33, Jesus encourages us to remember that Jesus gives us peace. We have only to trust Him with everything.*

In closing Pastor Matt shared a story that was particularly relevant to this message. Some of you may be familiar with the name Kayla Montgomery. (I hadn't been until this time) But she is a long distance runner from North Carolina. Three years ago, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.* She has continued to run in spite of this "chaos" that has come up in her life. Among the images below is a picture of her coach catching her at the finish line of a race, as well as a quote from her. When she was first diagnosed, she tried to hide it and deny anything was wrong. Finally, she decided to trust her coach.

So then the question is turned to us. What will we choose to do when chaos comes in to challenge us?? Will we accuse, or hide, or deny?? Or will we be vulnerable in our honesty?? Our best option is to relinquish our fear and need for control in order to just sit with God and be at peace. Amen??

-- God Bless!!

Footnotes:

1. The updates on both the pole damage and the cash back are from a brief disruption during my typing here. Mike had called to ask me to call the garage again about the money, and he told me about the pole at the same time. He should be able to get the cash back tomorrow. As to whether the other sources get their checks back, I have no idea, neither am I particularly concerned. At the same time, I told Mike about needing the registration and plates off the car in order to (hopefully) get the balance on that returned. He said that's fine because he hasn't had a chance to go back and clean out the rest of our stuff and sign the van over yet anyway.

2. While I personally understand that Jesus is our Sabbath, and so I don't agree with the SDAs on either worship timing or their obsession with Eschatology, I give them a pass for being genuine and not taking Jeremy for a rube.

3. I emphasized the word "rainy" because it's been a rather novel idea of late. All over the northeastern United States this Fall, it's been particularly dry. Thankfully, the storm off shore from Massachusetts is providing some MUCH NEEDED water to the area. Another praise!!

4. Although I've never been much of a "news person" in the first place, I was in Job Corps from mid-June of 1990 until the end of February of 1992. (Meeting Jeremy, Mike, AND my ex-husband, Rich) This makes it even less likely that I would have heard anything about the Art Heist.

5. In relation to the idea of "chaos waters", there's a conversation I've been engaged with on Quora until last night. It's been about Baptism. As any of you Catholics will know, the belief in your church is that this is the means by which the Believer becomes Saved. After I sent this man a link to read my article here on Baptism, he sent me the one Early Christian author, Tertullian, had written on the subject. Upon finishing all that was relevant about it, I replied that Tertullian was missing the point that, in the majority of Scriptures concerning water, it is indicative of either chaos or judgement. I maintained that any "typifying" of Salvation is the exception rather than the rule, and therefore should not be used to support a major point of Dogma.

6. In speaking of Who Jesus is, I had neglected to mention above that another reason for my delay in posting another Sermon Summary was that I was working on another article. It's on the Trinity. You can find it on the Reflections page on the blog side of my site.

7. The overview of the Greek word for "be still" includes a note about the same concept being at work when Jesus exorcized demons.

8. As per usual, all parenthetical bits are mine.

9. The idea of wanting to hide or deny our chaos reminded me of something I saw on FB this morning. It was a short video (about 2 or 3 minutes) where a woman, around my age, was talking about "Gen Z" parenting. Her point was that our generation was brought up to push our feelings aside and "chin up" rather than to allow us to process them properly. This has led to our parenting our kids to feel every single thing without holding back, because that's what you're SUPPOSED to do. Although, in her words, we "overcompensated" by doing this as much as we have. For me, this brings my relationships with men into the spotlight. I haven't always spoken up when I needed to. I've been afraid to share my feelings due to the way I was raised, both at home and in the Private Baptist School I attended throughout my youth. Our generation was largely repressed when it came to emotions. It has had a profoundly damaging affect on us. I just hope our kids can learn to find an effective balance to their own emotional states and come out the better for it so that the next generation can thrive. Honestly, the idea of all these "safe spaces" is a good one. The danger lies in it creating a slippery slope of censorship wherein NOTHING will be safe to say. This is the problem with being "politically correct". We're not conveying the messages clearly in favor of not offending anyone. Final word on this, one of my former pastors was fond of saying, "Just because you feel like someone is offering offense doesn't mean you have to take it." We can choose not to be offended, people!! (Sorry, I know this was long, but I just felt a need to flow with it for a little)

10. Another thing I saw on Quora the other day, but didn't respond to was this question about what kinds of things do you do or say in order to strengthen your faith in times of trouble. As much as I try to present the truth in love to the Catholics around me because of my Protestant perspective, I do admit to admiring some of their older mystics. At my most recent former church, the pastor was fond of using quotes from them. The best one I heard during that time is one I still use on a regular basis. "All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things shall be well." - Julian of Norwich (who, btw, was actually a woman!! Her name was changed so the "patriarchy" would take her seriously)

11. The story of Kayla Montgomery actually brings to mind a movie Mike and I watched last week on Netflix. It's a similar story of a Mexican man. I think it's called "Mile". I don't generally like foreign films due to the mismatched sound and mouth motions, but this one is definitely worth it!!

Music -- No rights, ever, I promise!!