We remember, Lord, that Jesus told one of the Seven Churches that they appeared to be rich but that they were actually poor. They needed his wealth so they wouldn’t be poor; they needed his clothes so they wouldn’t be naked; they needed his salve so they wouldn’t be blind.
We also remember that he told another of the churches that while they appeared to be impoverished they were actually rich. Their wealth wasn’t financial; it was much more valuable.
In these uncertain economic times, help us proclaim again through our words and our lives:
- that some trust in chariots, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God;
- that some trust in nations, governments, and politicians, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God;
- that some trust in retirement funds, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
And so, O Lord, we join our voices with those of our brothers and sisters from many nations and many languages:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and glory forever.
Amen.
Amen
And amen
and again! great thoughts…may we keep them foremost in our minds.
Your prayer’s words this morning had even more impact having been prefaced in music worship of Jesus.
This is truly a time that can test the depth of our trust in our LORD and His promises to care for us. He said, “Do NOT worry…” and it wasn’t a suggestion for a stress-free life. It was a commandment from the voice of our Savior….”Do Not Worry…”
Once we seek His help and guidance in the sticky wickets of our lives, we truly CAN turn from worry right into the face of Him, the One we trust. I’m so thankful for His words of promise - I have no need to worry. Pray? You betcha!! Worry? No way!!
Thanks so much for this post. This last month has just brought to light in such a severe and in your face way that we can not put our trust in our money, homes or retirement. God is our sustainer.
This is good…
This morning was good…
God is good…
Thank you for these reminders!
If only we had the faith to give as God asks us to test him. I robbed God for years. I would test the waters, then retreat when it was tough. I was too rational in my thinking. As my wife and I have stepped out in faith, we’ve been blessed much more than we ever have in the past, including our personal relationships. He is faithful to supply our needs!!!!
Amen
Mike you spoke to my heart yesterday. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more wonderful sermon.
You can have all this world, Give me Jesus.
Thank you, Mike–and amen.
Thanks Mike - beautiful prayer.
SIGH…It’s not really that I’m worried…I’ve lived most of my life either in poverty or on the edge of poverty and I KNOW God is my Provider.
But my greater anxiety is not for myself as much as for society around me. When what is called the Depression occurred, in the midst of their struggle, the individuals did what they could to help their families and friends, and for the most part did not resort to crime. However, as we have seen in some of the localized disasters, the response has been much different. Multiply what we have seen in localized disasters by nationwide economic devastation and I can easily see a total breakdown in our society.
However, God Most High is sovereign, and as occurred in Israel during the time of the Judges, when times were the most difficult was when God’s people returned to Him.
“Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven”
Mike, thanks for the reminder. Atchley spoke a sermon here at RHCC a couple of weeks ago about “Control” and I’m glad not in control of my money… oops… HIS money.
I confessed to our Life Group on Sunday that the one line in this prayer that challenges me most is to pray for DAILY bread. I want my ANNUAL bread… I have too much “security” wrapped up in this temporal and temporary dimension.
Amen.
I feel the same way. I was woried that it would be a pray to relief the stress of not having as much. But it has a biblical outlook on money.
http://www.matthewsblog.waynesborochurchofchrist.org
Add my AMEN to the list, Mike. Well said. Our recently started home Bible study group is studying Ecclesiastes. Very timely!!!
Mike-
I’m a long-time non-participant in this blog community, and I thought now might be a good time for me to pose a question, so you (and everyone) might help me sort through some psychological baggage:
I am 28 years old, raised in a small, west-texas church of Christ (that could have been anybody’s small-town CofC in the 80’s). My parents were almost always straight-ticket Republicans, but certainly not active in party politics…for the sake of this discussion: “regular people.”
My wife wasn’t raised in a CofC…and on separate occasions when we’ve attended her church, there’s always an American flag (alone– not a set of flags where the church sends missionaries), there may be political comments made from the pulpit, we’ve even said the pledge of allegiance (once), we’ve honored those who have served in the military even on holidays like Independence Day, patriotic videos have been played regarding our religious freedom and our brave soldiers, etc…
I make comments to her about how strange all of this is to me—I think I’m patriotic, and yet I bristle at any display of patriotism in a church setting. (Sometimes I’m not even sure exactly why.) It kind of came to a head for me when I was telling her how I might not even vote in the upcoming election– how I’m not sure I could vote for either candidate in good conscience. (For several reasons– but especially regarding the war in Iraq.) (She came unglued.)
I feel like I’m wired differently than most people in that church (and most others in this regard). I wonder if a lot of it has to do with my spiritual upbringing– I was never TOLD in Bible Class that being patriotic was wrong, and yet I wonder if there’s not some undercurrent in CofC culture that might explain this feeling of contradiction I have. I cannot imagine an American flag at the front of the auditorium of my home church. (Maybe it would be allowed if we called it a sanctuary! Ha!)
I could ramble forever. The point is this: It seems like there’s more than meets the eye, but I have such a limited scope here– Is this a Stone-Campbell thing? A common church of Christ attitude towards politics? I feel like I’m a remnant of some theology/philosophy that’s far older than myself…Or is it just me? Without the discussion getting overly political, I’m wondering why the church of Christ is not more…political/patriotic. (I think I’m hoping for a history lesson here, or maybe personal anecdotes.)
Anyway, I thought this group might have some insight. It seems like I’m able to trace my intellectual roots easily, but sometimes things get murky when exploring matters of the heart. Thanks for your thoughts. Sorry for the sprawling post.
Top 3.5 Patriotic/Political things I recall in a church of Christ:
1. Praying for our leaders– specifically the president
2. Praying for protection of church members in the military.
3. Singing “God Bless America” on July 4 (this was weird)
4. One of our elders wore an American Flag tie.
You list the patriotic/political things you recall in a church of Christ. In theory, these ae good but they become bad when–1. We pray for OUR leaders only 2. We pray for protection of CHURCH MEMBRS only 3. We want God to bless AMERICA only 4. We bring American Flag to “church” but do not take the “cross” to America
Amen Brother Mike! As the mountains surround Jerusalem so the LORD surrounds His people!
Amen Brother Mike! As the mountains surround Jerusalem so the LORD surrounds His people!
West Texas Youngster said “I feel like I’m wired differently than most people in that church (and most others in this regard). I wonder if a lot of it has to do with my spiritual upbringing– I was never TOLD in Bible Class that being patriotic was wrong, and yet I wonder if there’s not some undercurrent in CofC culture that might explain this feeling of contradiction I have.”
I think that is rather interesting that you may have picked up on what was once an important issue in the CofC - probably more so in Tennessee than Texas. In the Stone - Lipscomb - Harding side (not the Campbell side) of the Stone Campbell Movement (SCM) there was a strong emphasis on it being improper for a Christian to participate in civil government. Lipscomb wrote book titled On Civil Government in which he suggests that a Christian should not vote and that human civil government is in opposition to the government of God - (boy, I hope I got that right as it has been a long while since I read the book).
Much more recently John Mark Hicks (and Bobby Valentine) has written on the Lipscomb - Harding tradition and his books are easy to read. I recommend them to you. John Mark also has a blog that is quite good so you might want to check it out - just google him. I imagine there are some old posts on the Lipscomb harding tradition. It seems to me that very few in the CofC are aware of very much about our history/tradition except for the notion of having restored the NT church.
Also, Richard Hughes, formerly of ACU (I think) and Pepperdine but now at Messiah College has written a history of the CofC. Dr. Hughes says the CofC was once the largest “peace church” in the USA and I am sure you would find his work interesting. He writes of the division between the Texas and Tennessee sides of the SCM. Of interest to me was his discussion of the “hard style” in our preaching/attitude on the Texas side and contrasts it with the gentler preaching found elsewhere. Hughes also says the Firm Foundation was started to combat the Gospel Advocate. Lipscomb was the editor of the Advocate and the FF was started to combat Lipscomb’s habit of “shaking in” the Baptists - i.e. extending to them the right hand of fellowship without requiring them to be re-baptized if they chose to move from the Baptist Church to the CofC.
Wish you well if you choose to investigate your theological roots.
I grew up in Texas, moved to Arkansas, have lived in NJ, NY, and now make Arkansas home…and I’ve traveled abroad…patriotism was something we were taught at home and school. My dad was in WW2, stayed in the reserve and retired as a Lt. Col. I have worshipped in congregations that displayed an American (and sometimes state) flag…and because the building is just a building, that doesn’t matter to me…but I go to the building and meet with other Christians to worship God, to pledge my allegiance to Him…as I also do in my daily life. To me…my opinion, the worship assembly is not the place for the pledge (or even to sing patriotic songs), although Scripture commands us to pray for those in authority, for rulers.
West Texas Youngster,
My guess is you would feel uncomfortable in a church service with a Christmas tree on display for much the same dynamic. In my CoC background (the whole of my 34 years until the last six months or so), I experienced many powerful messages that were often sent on a subtle level by what DIDN’T happen, and how people reacted if it did. I do not say this in any way to demean my brothers and sisters in the CoC. And, of course, my experiences in churches in AR, TX, AL, LA and elsewhere cannot encapsulate a whole church movement. And, furthermore, I must say my experience at the church in Abilene where PreacherMike preaches was refreshingly unique in this respect. However, in general, my experiences in CoC seemed often to be defined more by what was unacceptable or out of bounds than what should emerge from our life of freedom in Christ. Many heartfelt thanks to Mike and others in the CoC fellowship who are willing to ask tough questions, share biblical truths, and sometimes take stands that may send out ripples of emotional backlash through our shared community of Christian faith.
Amen. And we should all remamber that the greatest importance is our families and health. As far as the economic situation, lets pray that our president and the new president-elect will do the right thing and put the morals of what we put first (family&health) into a strategic move in the insolvance of this crisis.
I pray that even though a bailout of the big 3 will mostly benifit the corporate exec’s. of these companies. There are many of thousands that will suffer in the collapse. I encourage the bailout for the thousands of familys that would ultamatly suffer the consequenses and I will let the few that created this be judged later.
As our heavenly father and all of the saints watch over us. Let us not only pray for a brighter today but a prosperious tomorrow.
My views and prayers are not political but to protect your families.
God Bless!!