Sunday Rewind for Oct 2: Changing Me

  Mind your own business!  Ever had someone poke their nose into your business?  These meddlers always know what is right or best for us.  We want to decide about ourselves for ourselves.  “No one’s changing me!”  No one likes their faults or mistakes exposed, especially by someone you or I haven’t authorized to do so.  It rubs us wrong.  It hurts.  It stirs up anger when someone tells us what we’re doing wrong.  I once had someone tell me, “Pastor, be careful!  You’ve gone from preaching to meddling.”  What they meant was that I had spoken to a very sore subject or point in their lives.  We’re comfortable hearing general statements about good or bad.  When the topic gets a little too specific or[…]

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Sunday Rewind for Sept 25: Changing My Good Intentions

  “I really hope to make a mess of my life!”  No healthy person every thinks this way.  We all hope for the best and we fear the worst.  Healthy people approach each day and each decision trying to make the best of their circumstances.  Think back to some really bad decision you made in the past.  Did you hope it would blow up in your face?  Rarely do we purposely chose what we know is bad.  We only know our bad decisions by the benefit of hindsight.  Even the really stupid decisions we’ve made, we’ve chosen them thinking we would be okay or no harm would come.  Our problem is perspective.  Either we don’t see ourselves or our circumstances correctly.  With the best of[…]

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Sunday Rewind for Sept 18: Changing Where I Start

  Where do we start?  Our world sure seems messed up!  I think all of us hope to see change happen soon.  We awoke this morning to new reports of bombing and terrorist attacks.  Our presidential campaign scares many of us.  Our economy offers little reassurance.  We really wonder what kind of world I will pass along to our children and grandchildren.  We want to change the world for the better.  But were do we start? Many of us might recall the days before digital cameras when every picture produced a film negative we took to get developed.  Those negatives presented a warped view of reality.  Black was white, up was down, and left was right.  The film needed processed, developed, in order to truly[…]

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Sunday Rewind for Sept 11: Changing Who We Love

  Can we change who we love?  Everything changed on Sept 11, 2001!  I vividly remember wondering if my city, my area was next.  Our collective sense of security crumbled along with the Twin Towers.  Everything changed, including the face of our enemy.  For a brief moment in time, the entire nation united to declare war on a new enemy.  As we remember the events of of 9/11, I invite you to wonder along with me what it means when Jesus gives us the crazy statement “love your enemies.”  I’m not suggesting we change a national policy…only that we consider changing who we love. How would you respond if I told you that the sky was green?  You might gently pat me on the head,[…]

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Sunday Rewind: Where Are the Burning Bushes Today?

  I love a great fire.  A burning bush would grab my attention.  There is something mesmerizing about the flicker of a flame.  Imagine life prior to electricity.  The only lights available were combustable.  Street lamps and night lights were nothing more than candle light.  Only fire broke open the darkness.  I guess then that it shouldn’t surprise me that God chose a burning bush to grab the attention of Moses. Even with all our bright modern technology, our world can still feel dark.  In the midst of life’s struggles where we feel like we are groping in the black, many of often wish God would show up in a burning bush.  We wish God would break open our darkness and give us a clear[…]

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Sunday Rewind for August 7: What Does God Really Want?

  What does God really want?  We like knowing the bottom line.  When I buy a car, I want to see the final “out the door” price before I agree to anything.  No one likes fine print, those hidden details requiring a magnifying glass to read.   The same goes for God and the church.  What is the bottom line for Jesus?  How much time, how many prayers, how much money do I “have to” give to know I’ve arrived?  In the end, what does it really take to make God satisfied? Throughout the summer at Christ United Methodist Church in Gastonia, NC, we’re asking some BIG questions!  Here is our Sunday Rewind for August 7, 2016.  We ask the big question, “What Does God[…]

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Sunday Rewind for August 7: How Can She Be a Pastor?

  How can she be a pastor?  For many, this question betrays common sense.  We live in a new day.  Hillary Clinton officially became the first female candidate for President of the United States represented by a major political part.  Whether you support her policies or not, her nomination represents enormous progress towards gender equality in our country.  Why would anyone ask about female pastors?  Aren’t we past, way past, this question? How can she be a pastor?  Many others ask this question with an honest desire to tailor their lives to the words of Scripture.  Scripture provides a few very direct passages that forbid female leadership in churches.  Several denominations restrict female leadership.  Historically, the church significantly limited female leadership.  Yet, in many other[…]

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Sunday Rewind for July 24: What About Other Religions?

  What about all the other religions?  The world population fast approaches 8 billion people.  That’s a lot of men, women, and children calling planet earth home.  Of that nearly 8 billion, 2.3 billion identify as Christian.  That’s about one quarter of all humanity.  What about everyone else?  Is it the height of arrogance to question the eternal destination of nearly 6 billion people simply because they don’t call a crucified first century Jewish carpenter their “Lord”?  What happens to all of them? Throughout the summer at Christ United Methodist Church in Gastonia, NC, we’re asking some BIG questions!  Here is our Sunday Rewind for July 24, 2016.  We ask the big question, “What about all the other religions?” As a pastor and Christ-follower, I offer[…]

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Sunday Rewind for July 17: Is the Church Judgmental & Hypocritical?

  Judgmental and Hypocritical, two words no one likes being called.  We ask big questions this summer at Christ UMC in Gastonia, NC.  This is a fair question, one we must address.  Here is our Sunday Rewind for July 17, 2016.  We ask the big question, “Why is the church so judgmental and full of hypocrites?” Okay…I confess that no one at my church asked this question.  Chances are that no one actively attending a church thinks their church is judgmental.   Few people actively attending a church thinks their church is full of hypocrites.  No, we’d leave and attend churches we considered more loving and authentic.  Few people at any church would say such things.  No, this question comes from outside the church. Many[…]

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Sunday Rewind for July 10: Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

  Why do bad things happen?  We all have questions, big God questions.  Throughout the summer at Christ United Methodist Church in Gastonia, NC, we’re asking some big questions!  Here is our Sunday Rewind for July 10, 2016.  We ask the big question, “How Can a Loving God Let Bad Things Happen to Good People?” Is there a bigger question?  We ask it a number of different ways.  “Why, God?”  How Could God…?”  “I don’t deserve______.  What do I do now?”  This question robs our sleep and haunts our dreams.  It makes us angry and even bitter.  We cry out to God.  Some even give up on God.  We beg for justice, for fairness, and wonder why _______ happened to us.  We try our best to[…]

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