Born in a Barn

     In the south if someone does not shut a door all the way,  we would yell at them to "Shut the door!" and then add, "Were you born in a barn?" The idiom probably started on the farm where barn doors are often left open. But it is funny to think that someone, even from the south, might actually be born in a barn. But we know the truth, Jesus was. Not only was he born in a barn, his first cradle was a feeding trough. The Greek word for "feeding trough" is phatne. It is used two times in Luke the 2 chapter to describe Jesus' baby crib ("crib" has a similar derivation or morphology as feeding trough). But we see that today Christianity covers the globe and has millions of dedicated followers. A more humble beginning would be hard to imagine. Even being born in a taxi is a step up from where animals eat and well, live. 

     I was looking yesterday over the fence at the construction of Centers of Learning's (COL) new school building. The workers were on top of the roof putting on flashing and getting it ready to nail down the composition shingles.  COL has had a confirmed word of direction from the Lord to "finish the  High School". So it was awesome for me to stand there and gaze at our work of faith. What part are they building first?  They are building the barn! The stable! The crib! You know where they are going to keep the animals! That's right our multi-million dollar project is starting with a manger. Hmmm. 

      When you think about it, it is perfect. God's work often starts with humble beginnings. Our lives are examples of that. And our Lord when he did show up on earth, He humbled himself (Phil.2). Because of that humble obedience to the word, the world received its savior and its salvation.
      Now we are not trying to save the world by building this school, but our faith does say we can make a difference with a generation of young people. It may not be everything. Compared to what Christ did it may be small, but God warns us by asking "for who dares make light of small beginnings"(Zach. 4:10)? 
       So as I watch the nails being driven and hear the echo of the hammers, I take faith that a new day is being birth at COL, created by obedient faith to the word among us.  It may be a manger now, but someday soon it will be the point of destination for those students wanting to change the world.

Sunday Morning - a picture to hang on a peg.

Sunday Morning by A.B. Durand

    I was raised in a Southern Baptist minister's family. My dad was a pastor, what we might now call a "senior pastor".  Sunday mornings as you might understand, were very important to my family. Mom would put on a vinyl of George Beverly Shea, Dad would be standing, shaving at the mirror, reciting his sermon and Steve and I would be hiding under the covers waiting until the last possible threat from our mom before getting up. No one was allowed to be emotional or loud on Sunday morning. Dad wanted a certain atmosphere so he would be ready for the "Sunday show". It was Sunday morning, after all, the Lord's Day.
     All my years growing up in our home we had a picture on our living room wall entitled, "Sunday Morning". It was a colonial era picture of a family walking out of their home going to church. The artist was A. B. Durand. After I married and I had a family of my own, I told my natural family I wanted this picture for myself. That was a mistake. Suddenly the value of that painting skyrocketed and everybody including some visiting ministers wanted that picture! It has since "disappeared" into the dark recesses of my family.
       Thinking about that picture made me decide that I would just get a copy and have it framed and be done with it. So I began, not knowing the painter's name, to google "Sunday Morning" and I clicked "image". How difficult could it be? Sunday morning as it turned out was a popular name for nearly everything imaginable.  Let's see there were; tranquil pastoral scenes, busy streets, gross looking breakfasts of eggs and bacon, alluring men and women, well I could go on but you take a look. The page looked like every thought I'd ever had of anything, except, you guessed it, A.B. Durand's idealized Sunday Morning.
         Sunday Mornings in our day has taken on different meaning from those days of Durand or even mother's tranquil mornings with George Beverly Shea. Sunday used to be the Lord's day! Whatever happened to that concept? Come to think of it,  it was probably Jesus' fault. Wasn't it Jesus who said "Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath"(Mark 2:27 KJV)? One look at that page and we can see what man did with the Sabbath. One in about every 10-12 pictures was a church or something family, everything else was snap shots of man's mind, cluttered and crazy. This was certainly man's Sabbath.
      The Sabbath may be made for man but wasn't man made to honor God? It made me question myself on how much am I honoring the Sabbath or the Lord's day or the Lord on any of His days. I know we do not celebrate Saturdays, but worship on Sunday. Somewhere, it seems, in the shuffle something got lost. If I find a copy of that picture I want to hang it prominently on our wall.  It should symbolize my placing the Lord first in my life. Like the peg, a nail driven into the wall prophesied by Isaiah as a hanger for what the Lord wants (The Peg in a Firm Place, This Week, Volume IX (1978)p 160). To be obedient to what He wants is what the picture now means to me. Sure, I probably have the freedom to do otherwise but the freedom I want is to do His will. I will count myself lucky if I am able to do his will with the time I have. Maybe I am still facing the day with Lord like I did those Sunday mornings hiding under the sheets. Maybe I 'll go get a vinyl, well a mp3, of GB Shea and start facing my day with more of an atmosphere for God, like the painting has been saying all along, "Step out, motion gently to your wife, show her the way down the road to the house of God. Hurry up that son of yours to get that shoe tied. Don't  be late. Get out there behind your father. He's been walking that way for a long time."
  Sunday Morning, an oil on canvas, by Asher Brown Durand.

Faithful Preaching

Foolishness to those that are perishing.

But unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 

1Corinthians 1:18.

       What is Paul talking about here? Do you ever long to go and have the pastor, elder, imam, preach to you? Probably not your favorite thing. But it might be. Maybe you have learned the need for sitting under a living word.  It is the power of God to those being saved. It is the form and substance of God being spoken to us, the listeners.  It is the mechanics and substance that can change our lives. It cleanses us. It keeps us. It imparts life to us. The Greek uses a present participle for the word "saved". The word is sw/zome√noiß.  It can be translated being saved. This of course has theological undertones but can simply mean that God uses this method to save people. If you are under the more Holiness teaching then you  it can mean those in the process of being purified. Either way preaching is necessary tool for salvation.          
         After reading how Luther and the reform brothers thought about preaching I went and looked up kerusso in the Greek Bible. It is used more times in the gospels than salvation! Jesus continually was described as preaching here and there. He commanded the disciples to preach to the ends of the earth. That is a lot of preaching!
       I have a new appreciation of the simple act of going with a community of believers and sitting under the anointed word being preached. It creates the obedience, the love, the community of service to God. Luther thought just listening to the word of God being preached was service to God! Just listening was service! Wow! Worship and service to God. "Hear O Israel", wait for it, here comes the sermon,"The Lord your God is one"(Deuteronomy 6:3).  The famous omv  begins with just listening. Who knew it could be so simple? Who knew that God was so gracious. Who knew that he was that powerful. Well I guess we all should have.
Paul exhortation to Timothy, preach the word. Be instant in season and out of season. Rebuke, exhort and correct.
        Application of this word is simple. Find some faithful scripture teaching/preaching community and go sit in their mist, especially when the word is being preached. That is all. It has the power of God.
In my tradition, we have a father to us in the word, John Robert Stevens. John would often tell us to make sure the kids were in service. Train them to be in service. Let the little ones sit on the floor and color or draw, but let them be there. I see his wisdom now. It is the preaching of the word that is the power of God. Let the word be preached over them as they lay there squirming. It will be power in their lives. I work with youth as a teacher and minister and I am just now realizing that maybe we have missed the mark some what. There will come a time when they will not endure sound doctrine. I hope that is not about our young generation. Can they hear? Do they listen? Can they follow a thought  through  a sermon? Maybe we should realize it is foolishness to those who are perishing. Make them sit there and listen. It is the power of God, it will create faith in the hearer. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by a word form God" (Romans 10:17). If that is true then we need to put ourselves in a place of hearing the word.

You can learn more about faith, preaching and the word in The First Principles.