thursdaytalkstory

Thursday Talk Story for July 2, 2009

2009-07-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

#20 Thursday Talk Story July 2, 2009 “Hope”

“Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.” Psalm 72: 1-2

Scott Johnson had no hope in God. He had no hope at all, so he took a gun and killed three teens up north last summer to vent his anger and despair. He said, “I have no hope. I have no future…It’s just been buildin’ up, buildin’ up, building up…when a man loses everything he is free to do anything.” (Northwestern A7,March 18, 2009)

Psalm 72 is a prayer for the King. The Hebrew says it is “By Solomon.” The poet prays that God will give the King the ability to rule with God’s justice. The King was to be the channel of God’s justice and mercy to others. He prayed God to empower him to rule like God. The King ruled his life and people best with hope in God. The King and all human governments exist to do God’s will by ruling their people by justice and mercy. When we put our trust and hope in God’s Word and see that Word enacted by government we feel hope grow in our hearts. But when rulers ignore what is right and just, the people can see their hope fade away.

Hope comes from hearing and believing God’s Word to us. Easter, for example gives hope to Christians as we believe the Good News that Jesus was raised from the dead. When we read the Gospel where Jesus says, “Trust in God always, trust also in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house, if it were not so I would have told you for I go there on purpose to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself.” (John 14) we are offered hope.

As Peter puts it “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (I Peter 1: 3ff. NRSV)

So as we hear and believe God’s Word to us in Scripture, we can always have hope no matter what losses we experience in life. Tragically, Scott Johnson didn’t hear and believe God’s Word yet. If he had heard and believed he could have had hope in the face of his losses. Perhaps if he believed God’s Word he could have ruled his own life with greater righteousness and mercy. Perhaps if he had faith in God’s justice he could have ruled his own life with greater godly fear and reverence for all life.

#18 Thursday Talk Story June 18, 2009

2009-06-18T08:37:00.001-07:00

#18 Thursday Talk Story June 18, 2009 www.omropres.com

“I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer. O Lord, do not delay!” Psalm 70: 5

Deliverance is still a common theme in human life. The world waits and hopes for deliverance from economic recession. Sports teams want deliverance from winning slumps. Individuals pray and wait for deliverance from diseases like cancer, accidents, war and trouble. We hope and pray to be delivered from evil.

The Good News is that God has sent the deliverer! Jesus of Nazareth is God’s deliverance in the flesh. He has come to save us from sin and death. Instead of fear, He gives peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives

do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

Then He sends the Holy Spirit to empower us to live His peace, justice and mercy into the present today. We live His values into the world by what we say and do now. The Omro Presbyterian Church promotes His peace.

· We supported One Great Hour of Sharing Offering in its fiftieth year of showing God’s mercy to neighbors in need.

· We spread peace to families by sponsoring 9 children through Compassion International—“Liberando a los niños de la pobreza in el nombre de Jeśus.”

· Through our Presbytery of Winnebago, we enjoy a partnership with Presbyterian Churches in Colombia, South America. Members from there have visited us and we have visited them.

· Closer to home, we are building peace and partnership with Casa Esther Ministry in Omro by providing space for our Community Garden project.

Jesus gives peace and calls us to live peace into our daily lives.

Thank you Lord for sending Jesus to be our deliverer from sin and death. Thank you for inviting us to live His peace into our daily lives.

Thursday Talk Story for June 11, 2009

2009-06-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

#17 Thursday Talk Story for June 11, 2009

Psalm 68: 20 “Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord belongs escape from death.”

What idols do we fashion and follow today? The choices are endless. We can turn any thing into an idol by making it more important than God. Fun, money, sex, family, sports, or anything else we can think of can take God’s rightful first place in our hearts and minds. John Calvin the great 16th century reformer (whose 500th birthday is July 10th, 2009) said the human heart is an idol factory. An idol is anything that takes God’s rightful first place in our hearts and lives. What do we put first in our lives?

Leanne Van Dyk professor of reformed theology at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI has written that, “A key insight of the Reformed tradition is that we are all, at heart, idolaters. The gods we hunger and thirst for include status, money, security, recognition and power. Calvin’s great precursor, Augustine, knew about these competing gods as well. In a prayer that includes all of us, he said, ‘Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee. ….The remarkably big claim of the Christian faith is that in Jesus Christ we find our rest in God.” (Presbyterians Today p. 4 June 4, 2009, www.pusa.org/today)

The Psalmist proclaims that the God of Israel is the God of salvation who helps us escape death. Life without God is death. Jesus is God’s secret salvation plan that gives us life and peace because He defeated death. Peter explained more fully when he sang, “Thank God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that we have been born into a life filled with hope because of Christ’s rising from the dead…” (I Peter1:3)

This hope is what our Christian faith is all about. Our hope in Christ for life now and eternity changes everything. Now everyday is our chance to live in gratitude to God for the hope we have in Christ. He is God with us. As Calvin said, “God shows us his righteousness, goodness, wisdom, power, in short his ENTIRE SELF in Jesus Christ.” (Ibid. p. 4) Idols are useless.

Thank you God for revealing yourself completely in Jesus Christ and for the assurance of eternal life Your Word and Spirit give us. May we rejoice in that hope and live grateful lives of joyful service to you forever.
Visit us at www.omropres.com and learn more at www.pcusa.org

Responsiblity

2009-06-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

Thursday Talk Story #16 for June 4^th

Psalm 67: 1 “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon the earth, your saving power among all nations.”

With great blessings comes great responsibility. Israel is blessed to know God and God’s gifts of law and ordinances. By accepting those gifts and practicing them in daily life, Israel reveals God to the world in their worship and behavior.

We Christians are blessed to know God through our faith in Jesus Christ. Through Him we have forgiveness of our sins, new life in the Spirit, and the promise of eternal life. With these great spiritual gifts comes great responsibility. God wants us, the church, to make Christ’s Word and Way known through our worship and daily living. But to ignore the 10 commandments, for example, is to deny our faith. To skip Sabbath worship and behave like the world around us is a denial of God’s goodness and blessings to us. We forget our responsibility to be witnesses for Christ if we forget His blessings and benefits.

If this economic recession teaches nothing else, it reminds us that sin is real. We have learned greed is not good and has consequences for the future, our neighbors and society at large. But gratitude to God for life’s blessings expressed in weekly worship can lead us to live grateful lives of peace, contentment, and responsible stewardship. The Psalmist concludes by saying,

“May God continue to bless us,

let all the ends of the earth revere him.” Vs. 6

God continues to bless those who remain faithful and responsible in their stewardship of God’s never ending goodness.

Lord, in these difficult economic times, we rejoice that you continue to be gracious and merciful, generous and kind in all your ways. Help us to respond to your steadfast love with faithful worship and stewardship of all you have entrusted to us.

Come and See!

2009-05-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday Talk Story #15 “Come and See”

“Come and see what God has done…” Psalm 6:5

Here are the words of invitation that are the basis of our faith, worship, discipleship and hope. “Come and see what God has done!” Then the poet makes a list of God’s great and gracious activities: He turned the sea into dry land in the Exodus from Egypt. Israel passed through the river on foot when they entered Canaan. He rules in might forever as evidenced by the creation continuing. He watches the nations and sees what they do. He keeps Israel alive and does not let their feet slip. Even though Israel was tested, weighted down with burdens, and went through fire and water---“Yet God brought them out to a spacious land.”

When Jesus began his public ministry, two of John’s disciples followed him and asked where he was staying. Jesus said to them, “Come and see.” The next day Philip found Nathanael and said, “We have found him…about whom Moses…and the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” When Nathanael scoffed, Philip said to him, “Come and see.” (John 1)

When the angel appeared to the two Mary’s at Jesus’ tomb, he said, “Come, see the place where he lay.” Matt. 28:54. After
“Come and see” he said “Go and tell…He is going ahead of you.

The church is in the world to invite us all to “come and see” what we think about Jesus. As we hear his Word and the Spirit gives us faith we will conclude with Nathanael, “Rabbai, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” So now we have no fear. The Risen Christ still goes ahead of us to meet us in worship and send us out to continue His ministry today.

Come and See!

Thank you Risen Christ for being with us. As we come and see what you say and do, you give us greater confidence to follow you.

satisfied

2009-05-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Thursday Talk Story for May 21, 2009 #14 Satisfied

Psalm 65:4b “We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.”

What if we could be satisfied? Our economy is based on dissatisfaction. Consumer spending drives our economy. Dissatisfaction drives us to shop and buy. We always want more. So we buy new homes, new cars, new clothes, new toys when the old ones are probably still good. Our children want the latest gadgets as soon as they come out. They’ve learned dissatisfaction well. Our culture teaches it nonstop with constant commercials.

The economy hums when we buy. It slumps when we stop. If we become satisfied with what we have and stop wanting “new and more” will we have more slowdown and recession? Will we die of boredom…be unpatriotic? Would our well-being be at risk?

How different it is in God’s economy. The poet is satisfied and happy just to remember the goodness of being in God’s temple sanctuary. Thinking of worship there is enough to satisfy him. God answers prayer so he’s content, fulfilled, and happy to think of God’s goodness. He finds God’s power in the creation and rejoices in God’s providential care. He sees God’s love and grace in the spring rain, summer crops, and fall harvest. He recognizes God’s power behind the mountains and ocean waves. He thinks of God’s peacemaking power when uprising peoples fall silent.

Amid the ebb and flow of life’s currents and storms the poet sees that worshipping God is the way to be satisfied and content in life. It’s almost as if he is counseling us, “Remember God, worship God, and you will be satisfied and happy and blessed.”

“Thank you God for satisfying us spiritually in worship. Help us find our way to your sanctuary and learn contentment there.”

Thursday Talk Story for May 14, 2009 "Listening"

2009-05-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday Talk Story for May 14, 2009

Psalm 64: 1 “Hear my voice, O God,…”

Listening is hard work. When I was in seminary, I took several counseling courses. Back in the 70’s Client Centered Therapy by Carl Rogers was one school of counseling. In that method, “active listening” was a central practice. One of our repeated assignments was to write ‘verbatims’ of conversations we had in our fieldwork experiences that included identifying theological themes, scriptural connections, and therapeutic goals we identified in the encounter. We practiced active listening by role-playing various situations in our class. Two students would sit in front of the rest of the class and one would present an issue seen in a conversation as the other actively listened. Then we would discuss what we saw and heard happening in the interaction. Active listening was a discipline we studied, practiced and learned. It is a way of communicating understanding.

Next Thursday is Ascension Day on the Christian calendar. One great image from the Apostles Creed says, “I believe in Jesus Christ…he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” What does he do there? What do you think? He listens to our prayers and serves as our high priest and mediator with God. He listens to us. He prays for us. How comforting it is to know that the Risen Christ listens actively to our prayers!

The Study Catechism says we affirm the following in saying this portion of the creed: “First, that Christ has gone to be with the Father, hidden except to the eyes of faith. Second, however, that Christ is not cut off from us in the remote past, or in some place from which he cannot reach us, but is present to us, here and now by grace. He reigns with divine authority, protecting us, guiding us, and interceding for us until he returns in glory.” (Q.47 The Study Catechism of 1998 see also Acts 1: 6-11, Colossians 3:1)

Read John 17: 20-25 to find what he prayed for us before his own death on the cross and his glorious resurrection. It’s good news to know that Christ is always actively listening to everyone who prays to Him in faith. “Thank you Lord, for welcoming, hearing and answering all our prayers. Thank you for listening.”

(For more about Presbyterian Christians visit 1stpresomro@sbcglobal.net and www.pcusa.org) My blog is: http://thursdaytalkstory.blogspot.com/

Living Water for may 7, 2009

2009-05-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

Thursday Talk Story #12 http://thursdaytalkstory.blogspot.com
Psalm 63:1 “My Soul thirsts for you…”

Psalm 63 is captioned: “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.” There are many other wilderness experiences in life in which we can find ourselves besides a physical desert. There’s the wilderness of illness, economic recession, job loss, divorce, warfare, and grief to name just a few. It was in the wilderness of Judah that David discovered his need for God, remembered God’s past faithfulness, and rejoiced at God’s presence in worship and the sanctuary.

Augustine said we humans are restless until we find our rest in God. Could it be that God has created us this way—we hunger and thirst for a relationship with God that cannot be satisfied by any other substitute? If that is the case, then our trust in God is most important. We need to tend it. Just as our physical health depends on drinking water to be hydrated, so our spiritual health depends on being rightly related to God. How can this health happen? Jesus told the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well the answer.

“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink’, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water…. Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give him or her will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4)

What a Word of promise! Let the beautiful spring showers, flowing rivers, and teeming lakes fill us with joy. Then let those life-giving waters remind us to drink deep from the living water of Christ’s Word so we will be able to make it across every wilderness time and place in life! That living water is available for free at every church oasis on Sunday mornings. There’s plenty for everyone. Don’t forget to bring your canteen!

Thank you Lord for slaking our thirst for God. We will drink deep from the reservoir of your living Word Jesus Christ this week. Amen.
(Visit www.omropres.com or www.pcusa.org to learn about Presbyterians)

Silence

2009-04-30T09:09:00.001-07:00

Thursday Talk Story 4-30-09 #11 Silence "For God alone my soul waits in silence..." Psalm 62:1 Silence is a vanishing commodity. Where can we find a moment of peace and quiet today? In our cars? In bed at night? In a library, monastary, cabin in the woods? Silence is the room where we can meet God. God comes to us in all the time, but we don’t know it because we are preoccupied. My mom often said she needed to have her "quiet time" in the morning. Before everyone else was at the table for breakfast or late in the evening she would read her devotions and her Bible. When we kids were in junior high and high school, she tried to have a "family quiet time" after dinner, but often we three would distract her silence, readings and prayer with our antics. But her example had its effect. She made room for a Word from God each day. Like the Psalmist, mom knew that an intentional time of silence allows God’s Word to meet us. As we let His Word and Spirit in, God speaks to our hearts. That encounter is spiritually powerful and strengthening. The disciples learned that truth after the Resurrection. The risen Christ met them as they were silently hiding behind locked doors of fear. He said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Jn 20:21 They were transformed! His Word and Spirit made them new people. As we read Christ's Word in silence He empowers us to be his people today.

Then as we go into our day, everything becomes new. His forgiving Word launches us into a new way of life marked by peace, friendship and service to God and others. The past is dead and gone…the new life has begun. A moment of quiet with the Risen Word can change everything.

Risen One, thank you for giving us your peace today as we open ourselves to your Word in silence. Thank you for redeeming, equipping and sending us forth into the world as your people. Amen.

Thursday Talk Story April 23, 2009

2009-04-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I…” Psalm 61:26

Life often leads us to lower levels than we want. An accident, an illness, a bad choice, a great loss can take us down a road to harsh places of fear, anxiety, regret, even despair. What can we do? How can we respond when such troubles come? How can we get back on higher ground?

Some would say, “When tough things happen in life the tough get going”. Others think, “What’s the use, I quit…I’m just a failure.” Still others muse, “I can’t take it anymore…I’m getting out of here as fast as I can.”
We can feel like fighting, quitting, fleeing or giving up when hardship hits us. Those are our natural responses. Or we can ask for God’s help.

God always wants to lead us to a higher place than we presently inhabit. Jesus’ resurrection certainly lifts us to a higher place of hope than we ever knew before. Peter had it right when he wrote,

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials…” (I Peter 1:3-6 NRSV)

Now we stand on the higher rock of hope where we see that we will enter eternal life with God when we die. We will know a glad reunion with family, friends and neighbors there. We will see God face to face. This hope changes how we live in the present. As we trust that God will always lead us to higher places now, we try to live by Christ’s higher values in the present. In heaven our Lord will rule with justice, mercy and love and wipe every tear from our eyes. In anticipation and hope of that day, we choose to live in ways that show God’s compassion, justice and mercy to others here.

Many of you give food and clothing to local food pantries and thrift stores. We visit the sick. We pray for the troubled. We worship together. We visit with neighbors to show God’s love by listening and caring. In these ways we point others to the Risen Lord who leads us to the Higher Rock of Himself.
Thank you God for sharing the hope of Christ’s Resurrection blessings with the world. (More about the Presbyterian Church visit: www.omropres.com)