Lasker Baptist thoughts from Rev Ricky

"It is God's Spirit and only God's Spirit that can rightly interpret the words of life to our spirits. That's why I pray that God will help me to stick to the text when preaching, not doing so much of what I used to do, showing off my cross referencing skills and making things fit my world view, but presenting texts in a way that will encourage thought and promote personal seeking of God, Then trust the Holy Spirit ti interpret the material to the heart of individuals, who knows, he may have a different message for each of us all from the same passage. One thing is for sure, we all have a different ministry." Reverend Ricky Barnes




About Lasker Baptist church in Lasker NC: "We seek to act as a moral force in the world, believing that ethical living is the supreme witness of religion. Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. What we do here and now and the effects our actions will have on future generations deeply concern us. We know that our relationships with one another, with other peoples, races and nations, should be governed by justice, equity, compassion. It is our conviction that, as the Body of Christ, we are to bring the healing, saving, life giving power of God wherever needs exist in the world. Come and Celebrate life with us tomorrow. Breathe in the fresh air of freedom."


This is my wish for Open Door at HRBC,  seeking, studying, serving in action, not just seeing others serve and supporting..  -- Jeff

Remains to be seen... "it depends" on you

Open Door jumped into James and practical application today with a review of James 1:22-27

What I want you to remember..

• You can't earn your way up to more love, or blessing from God...
• You can earn the respect of your fellow man with your actions. 
• People come to church because of other people. People don't come to church because of other people. God is their for each of us, despite our actions. The big question is whether we will be there for our fellow man "as directed by God" Will we actually be doers, or just listeners? 
• We are the Pharisees in the Gospel story. 

From Lesson Book: 

" When we lead genuine lives of faith, people more readily believe our testimony. Our actions earn us a hearing with those we wish to reach."

From Commentary: on REAL RELIGION by Brett Younger

• Real religion is a Sunday School class mentoring families transitioning out of welfare into self-sufficiency, helping these families plan a budget, look for jobs, and parent their children. 
• Real religion is the growing number of churches who make a place during the coldest months of the year so that homeless people can spend the night in their buildings. 
• Real religion is the many Christians who care for children and the elderly through their time, their presence, and the sharing of their gifts. 
• Real religion is following Christ by defending the oppressed, refusing to stereotype, and building friendships across dividing lines. 
• Real religion is talking about faith to people who snicker, inviting friends to church, and praying for those who are lost. 

Each week at church we can learn how to live our faith. We read the Bible and hear something new. We learn that the best teachers are Christians who serve. We learn that being kind is more important than being right. We learn that those moments of recognizing God's presence in the needy make life spectacular. We learn that love, not time, heals all wounds. We learn that life is tough, but God is always with us. We learn that when we follow Christ, Christ walks beside us. 

Imagine James after Sunday school, shaking hands with a woman who says, "James, that was a fine lesson."

His reply, "That remains to be seen"

Was Open Door worth our time today?  well, you know my answer. ;-)

Gathering community - great way to define "organic church"

A dear friend at Lasker Baptist church recently published this statement about his church and it seemed more than worthy of sharing.  This eloquently expresses my feelings as the leader/facilitator of OpenDoor. We are a "life community within our larger HRBC", but we are certainly doing many of these things.

Reading this? you are welcome in open door.. any time. We meet in the gym at HRBC, from ~10am - 11am every Sunday morning..  Consider gathering in a "life" community with us.. as we all think about what we think, learn, and worship our loving Father.. question, struggle, rejoice, and journey together!


"Lasker Baptist Church is approaching church as a Gathering Community, a ministry somewhat different from the old outdated Southern Baptist model. As a matter of fact it is our goal to minister to and communicate with people who have been hurt by institutional religion and who seek an organic relationship with God. 

We want this community to be a mosaic of people from many different walks of life, races, ages, and classes all journeying toward a better Christian life through life-long friendships, the celebration of the arts, and intentional social action- helping the poor and the disenfranchised. This is a Church for people seeking spiritual direction without out the pressure to conform to any particular practice. You can participate at whatever level is comfortable for you. This could very well be the church for you." - Reverend Ricky Barnes

New day

1 Peter 1:13-25 Message
So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy."


You call out to God for help and he helps—he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living.


Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.


 Now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God's living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That's why the prophet said, 


The old life is a grass life, its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers; Grass dries up, flowers droop, God's Word goes on and on forever. This is the Word that conceived the new life in you. 


==========
2010 has come and gone. 2011 presents each of us with specific opportunities. As members of Huguenot Road Baptist Church we endeavor to Be, Love, and Serve in a world sorely in need of just those services. No need for us to travel to Narnia, or even another place.. We can serve in our own homes, in our own lives, in our places.  The choice is ours...

Lewis created Aslan for the purpose of touching the love already in us. And you know, you do love that Lion as you read about him. With each new Chronicle the love and appreciation increase. You love him for his dignity, his wisdom, his pure goodness, his gentleness. Perhaps most of all you love him because he wants us to receive his love and to know him and to share his happiness.

In the last chapter, the children are afraid that it is going to be quite a while before they can come back into Narnia. They wish that return to be soon. In their final conversation with Aslan they hear distressing news. Lucy says, "Will you tell us how to get into your country from our world?"

"I shall be telling you all the time," said Aslan. "But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder. And now come; I will open the door in the sky and send you to your own land."

"'Please, Aslan,' said Lucy. 'Before we go, will you tell us when we can come back to Narnia again? Please. And oh, do, do, do make it soon.' 'Dearest,' said Aslan very gently, 'you and your brother will never come back to Narnia.' 'Oh, Aslan!' said Edmund and Lucy both together in despairing voices. 'You are too old, children,' said Aslan, 'and you must begin to come close to your own world now.' 'It isn't Narnia, you know,' sobbed Lucy. 'It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?' 'But you shall meet me, dear one,' said Aslan. 'Are — are you there too, Sir?' said Edmund. 'I am,' said Aslan, 'But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.'" - Author: S. Michael Wilcox , What can we learn from a lion? Lessons about Christ from Lewis' Aslan

Choose your perspective and your path.

Few more weeks until Christmas..  Open door explores choices, actions, consequences this week...

(MSG)Matthew 1: 18-25  -- The Birth of Jesus   The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.
   While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—'God saves'—because he will save his people from their sins." This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us").
Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.

• Every day life is made up of decisions.. expected and often unexpected... Choices...  
• Choices have consequences... acceptance, scorn, money, change, inclusion, exclusion.
• Choose to embrace your faith as the guiding principle for your actions... Faith is a choice, not an emotion, or a whim...

Joseph's model for use?
Discern, Debate, Decide, Do, and Don't look back!


Obeying God's will mean participating in something bigger than you, more significant than you, usually more than you can possibly do on your own.

Join in the journey!  your love story with your family, your neighbors, your God provides you opportunities to  BE LOVE SERVE and REPEAT.. every day...

To Christmas and beyond...

Stuff Jesus never said... DANGER!

http://www.religiousherald.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4627&Itemid=9

EXCELLENT ARTICLE in RELIGIOUS HERALD

EXCERPTS:

Try this: read the Bible regularly without anyone telling you what it says and means.

Invite the Holy Spirit to guide you, and see what emerges. 

If you need a place to start, try Matthew 5-7, the finest and most famous sermon ever preached. 

Warning: this is dangerous and will change your life.

-------------------

Jesus never said that the end justifies the means. To see how some of us go about doing church, you would be hard pressed not to believe this. The tendency for congregational leaders to try just about anything to get people in the pews or money in the plate is toxic. The effect is either to water down the scandal of the gospel in order to make it more palatable to the public or to use unethical or dubious methods to insure our success. What Jesus did do (John 6) was to present a demanding call to discipleship and not back off, even when it proved unpopular.

Jesus never said that the first would be first, the last would be last, so look out for number one. 21st century Christianity seems to have lost its way with regard to our place in the world. To hear some, the church’s appropriate role is at the head of every line in culture. We want acclaim, political power, recognition, and status. The same goes for our parishioners and clergy. We easily overlook those in need and on the fringes of our society. Our practices belie an insatiable appetite for the limelight that seems incongruent with the one to “came to serve, not to be served.”
Jesus never said we are to live by the rule of an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. In fact, that ancient code of retribution and retaliation was overtly overturned when he offered a radical alternative in Matthew 6:39-42. Our calling is to be unreasonably gracious and generous. Watching us nurture our grudges, wounds and prejudices while allowing them to cripple our witness must be heartbreaking to him.
Jesus never said that when we come and follow him, we will find success, fame and fortune. In fact, the biblical and historical witness is directly contrary to that silly folk wisdom. The cross most people bear in order to be faithful is real and significant. Some of God’s most faithful servants seem to have suffered the most. The benefit of biblical faith is most often internal, not external. Our most meaningful rewards cannot be deposited, driven, or worn, for they are eternal not temporal.

ACT like a Christian! Do you "resemble" that remark?

TOPIC: WAR & PEACE
yep,  that is the topic of the day and just the idea of have a true "open" discussion rooted in when and how violence might be "justified" in the world around us scared me more than a little.  As always, God was AWESOME, and a great discussion ensued.

My personal guiding principles/notes as shared:

• Do the ends really justify the means?
• My thought: The method of change should be rooted in and resemble the targeted end state. 
• Killing as % of population of world is an interesting metric to focus on. Assertion in class was that world killing has decreased as a result of the US dropping the atomic bomb on Japan and starting the nuclear age.  -- this would seem to disprove my idea... hmmmm,  need to learn more about this. would love to hear comments or facts to prove/disprove.
• We must use the "exact likeness of God" shown to us in Jesus Christ as a guiding principle to ACTing in our world.  
• We are called to action in a world in need of our service.
• Service and leadership are very different. 
• Leaders have to make choices that others have the luxury of only talking about.  Those actions speak for the rest of us. It is in appropriate to judge and indict so harshly unless we are willing to carry the burden.
• Shifting from a individual ideology to a collective "imposed" dictate for others is dangerous and must always be rooted in love, tolerance, inclusion, respect... 
• Violence should be the last resort as it damages all parties.
• Judgement delivered by men on and to other men is at the root of a very bad cycle of events.
• (GameTheory) comes into play in judging and acting in these cases.
• Self confidence and self respect are critical in evaluating and deciding on action towards others. We cannot build ourselves up by destroying or diminishing others. In fact the opposite is true. As we build each other up, we are all "increased".
• Remember that your enemy is a "specific, beloved, first born, child of Christ"!!! just like you...
• Actions are personal and should remain that way.
• Acting like a Christian requires the discipline of a plan.. specific tasks, with measurable goals and milestones... The problem is that our plan won't ever be finished...

Scripture: 1 Samuel 30 1-4; 11-20

The final paragraphs of the Smith & Helwys commentary(written by Brett Younger of McAfee School of theology in Atlanta) summed it up for me perfectly.. and I read these words aloud to close the class and then closed in prayer.  I hope they resonate with you no matter which God you worship and that you will consider what story your ACTIONS tell those around you. use of money, use of time... Do you act, or do you talk.. if so how.. What do you worship and how? war, peace, love, power...

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a short story titled "The Great Stone Face." It is the story of a young man named Earnest who is enamored with a face carved on the side of a mountain. Day after day, Ernest stares at the stone face. Bye the end of the story, his human face has started to resemble the one on the mountain. Remarkably, has has been transformed into the image of the face at which he has gazed.

The truth in the story is irrefutable: "What captures our attention shapes us. Focus day after day on a particular person or thing, and it will transform you. Nowhere is that more true than in our concept of God. We become like the God we worship. We are each transformed in the face of the God at which we gaze. Certainly, our concept of God will affect our view of war and peace. 

If our God is a warring God, the God of the Old Testament who regularly issues declarations of war on Israel's enemies, that God will shape us. We will have no problem with any "holy war" that endeavors to stamp out evil and bring in God's kingdom. 

If our God is a God who favors war over tyranny and oppression and can use war to bring about good, that God will shape us. We will have no problem with a "just war" that protects the innocent and seeks to alleviate atrocities.

If our God is a God who hates war and really means we are to love our enemies and turn the other cheek when someone attacks us, that God will shape us, too. We will have a problem with any war and will see it as an inadequate, un-Christian response to evil.

As always happens, our view of God affects the rest of our lives. In this case, it determines our view of war and peace. And our view of war and peace lets everyone know what kind of God we serve. 

If nothing else, these lessons on war and peace will give us occasion to consider again our own concept of God.