How do you plan for this?

Like most Americans (I'm sure), the assassination attempt on Donald Trump has been swirling around my head nonstop for the past few days. I didn't say anything to the church Sunday, because frankly, I wasn't prepared. How do you plan for that?

Maybe that's a question more relevant for the event at the Butler Farm Show Grounds last weekend. How do you plan for that?

I mean, if you squared up and challenged me to a fight, I can prepare myself. But if you sucker-punch me... there's just no way I can prepare for that.

Terrorism is a lethal sucker-punch – and even with all the preventative measures taken at the rally, there's no way to anticipate such a horrible sucker-punch in a crowd of 25k people.

We must pray for those who attended and witnessed this horrible attack, especially our own people who are in law enforcement that have to now carry an incredible weight – on top of the weight they already carry just by virtue of the nature of their job.

I want to caution you on your media intake. We have all been glued to the TV, awaiting updates, wanting more information as to what happened, and why. And as the media often leads the charge: everyone is playing the blame game.

If a plane goes down, who is blamed? The pilot. If there are problems in the church, who is blamed? The pastor.

In a situation like this, it is often law enforcement that is blamed – the same people who daily put their lives on the line to protect the public - and did a tremendous job of that on July 13.

Guns are also blamed, despite the fact that the murderer was taken down by a gun.

So who is to blame? Let's put responsibility where it belongs: on the murderer. And those who know their Bibles will know that the underlying problem is ultimately sin, which we all inherit and is only remedied by the work of Jesus Christ that forgives us and changes us.

Real peace is coming soon - when the Prince of Peace returns and rules over His creation.

In the meantime, even in the face of tragedy, we have so much to be thankful for. Yes, there was a casualty, and even one is way too many. But it could have been a massacre.

Thanks to our law enforcement, the threat was neutralized, preventing countless other deaths, including preventing the death of Donald Trump.

We must pray for our law enforcement, as the trauma and fallout will go on. And if you know someone that was there, reach out. Ask them if they are ok and if you can get together. To talk. To pray. Even for you to just listen to them.

We will be meeting for prayer at HBC Sunday afternoon at 5pm. Please come and lift up our nation, or leaders, and all those affected by Saturday's events.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Get Prepared for the March Sermon Series: The Cross in the Old Testament.

Our “Easter Series” * this year is The Cross in the Old Testament.

Sometimes we may look at the crucifixion of our Lord as if terrible circumstances spiraled out of control. As if (as one woman said to me once) “Jesus was going along doing so much good, and they got Him.” As if Jesus was merely a victim who was helplessly murdered.

That's not true.

The death of the Messiah was clearly promised throughout the Old Testament – how it would happen and what it would mean.

Reading the Old Testament, we see how the death of God's Christ would defeat the enemy, save His people from death, take away guilt, and so much more.

With all of the glorious promises, we have to ask “DID Jesus fulfill all of these?”

And the answer is a resounding YES.

Don't miss a Sunday in March (OR Good Friday!), as we examine some beautiful theology together.

* Personally, I don't care for the term “Easter”. It's just not a Biblical term. So where did the term come from? According to the internet (FWIW): The naming of the celebration as “Easter” seems to go back to the name of a pre-Christian goddess in England, Eostre, who was celebrated at beginning of spring. The only reference to this goddess comes from the writings of the Venerable Bede, a British monk who lived in the late seventh and early eighth century.

I prefer to call it “Resurrection Sunday”.

Monday - April 3rd

Prayer: Ask the Lord to give you a heart to love what He loves and hate what He hates. 

Read: Matthew 21:12-17, Isaiah 56:1-8, and Jeremiah 7:11

What angers you? What instantly raises your hackles and tempts you to use words that wouldn't go in a sermon? I was thinking about this in my own life. And sadly, too many things came to mind way too fast. When the fitted sheet pops off the corner of the bed while I am lying in it (>Pfft! < “The sheet came off! My life is ruined.”). Getting stuck in traffic (“That light isn't getting any greener!”).

Matthew 21:12-17 has two quick accounts. One (v12-13) sees Jesus driving out those who turned God's Temple into a Wal-Mart. “Let's use God's place as a way to make a buck! “And the other, v14-17, tells us that the chief priests and scribes saw people coming to Jesus, and Jesus helping those people, then those people praising our Lord, then the chief priests and scribes being indignant over that whole scene. 

Each story is full of lessons in their own way. We can talk about how Jesus placed a premium on prayer and reverence, and examine His zeal for the holiness of God being sustained. We can talk about the power of Jesus to heal, the way He draws those who recognize that He can meet their need. We can even do a little homily on the appropriateness of worship as a result of encountering the work of God. And this would all be good and apply.

But I want us to take one giant step back and look at something these two stories have in common: both feature a response of anger. One from our Lord, one from the chief priests and scribes. Jesus displayed a righteous anger over the flagrant disregard for the things of God. The chief priests and scribes displayed a sinful anger over people drawing close to Jesus. I know when I read the Bible, I want to think that I am one of the good guys, one who gets it. But you and I may be more scribe and less Jesus in our anger than we would want to admit. 

How often do we see God's name blasphemed, His character misrepresented, His glory ignored for the sake of human selfishness – and we are just indifferent? We are like those crowds plowing through the Temple that day, “I guess this is just how it is. Oh, well, what can you do?” Would any of us care enough to start flipping tables with Jesus? “But I wasn't there that day, Jeff!” No, but you are there today when people have elevated self over God's glory. You've sat in churches when a man-centered gospel was preached instead of God's Gospel in Jesus Christ. When immorality of all kinds is normalized in our culture, sewage piped into our homes through the internet and TV. WHERE'S the anger? 

And we've been that other passage, too. The verses 14-17 one. When someone comes out of addiction to receive Christ, and we shake our heads. When someone is truly born again through prison ministry and are upset that “those people” are coming to my church. When someone tearfully and passionately gives their testimony and we roll our eyes, “Oh, puh-lease! I can't believe he would get up there looking like that and talking like that.” WHY the anger?

Jesus showed anger over the sin the chief priests and scribes allowed. The chief priests and scribes showed anger over the worship Jesus allowed. Have we been too often guilty of getting this all backwards: tolerating the sin, but being indignant over the true work of God?

Reflection Questions:

• What instantly makes you angry? Is this something that would anger God? Why does it anger you?

• Is there anything in your life that you are tolerating that our Lord certainly wouldn't tolerate?

• Do you sometimes get indignant and annoyed at the things that maybe, just maybe, God is doing in (or through) people?

Cutting Room Floor: Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

On Sunday (9/18), we saw Solomon's call in Ecclesiastes to live on purpose: be a good citizen, be generous, enjoy life! His charge ended with a picturesque description of getting old.

I was going to give a little explanation of these phrases / pictures during the sermon, but decided instead to share it here on the blog. Some of these seem pretty obvious, some maybe not as much!

1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

As we learned – this is the point. Seek the Lord while you are young. Don't wait until you are old and bitter – it may be too late then!

What follows is the list of the things that go with old age:

2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain,

This verse refers to mental faculties. Brain fog, being a little fuzzy upstairs.

3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed,

The keepers of the house = the arms. Weakening, trembling.

The strong men = the legs. Bent, stooped over.

The grinders… are few = your teeth falling out!

Those who look… dimmed = eyesight failing.

4 and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low—

Doors shut, grinding low = this refers to your hearing failing.

Rises up… sound of a bird = somehow our hearing is failing but we can't sleep. The slightest little noise can keep us up!

Daughters of song = I believe this is speaking of the spark. That zest for life that we have as kids that we lose as we get older.

5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal fhome, and the mourners go about the streets—

Afraid of what is high = somehow age makes us less brave. I remember jumping off bridges as a kid. Now I'm not as fond of heights. I don't even like being this tall.

Terrors in the way = again, afraid. More and more – afraid to leave the house. What if there's an accident? What if someone comes after me to rob me? What if the weather is bad?

Almond tree blossoms = hair turning white.

Grasshopper drags itself = you will understand this when you are 40. Trying to get out of bed, everything hurts, you just pull your broke down body along.

Desire fails = many people are glad that, as last thing on the list, it's likely Solomon is saying: this is the last thing to go.

6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

These are all parts of the human physiology, that, if suddenly injured, can lead to instant death:

Silver cord = spinal cord.

Golden bowl = skull.

Pitcher = heart.

Wheel = blood circulation (bleeding out).

7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.

Beautiful and sad. Solomon's point is clear: you are getting old, wearing out, heading to your death. Seek the Lord before all of this!

Pastor Jeff

-I'm older than I've ever been