Anticipation and Excitement About The Events of This Day

I am sitting in my office doing some final preparation and I feel a sense of anticipation and excitement about the events of this day.

There will be 12 people making a public profession of their faith in Christ, this morning through baptism. It is a day of celebration and a day of spiritual victory! The truth of Jesus is alive in these folks and the hearts of the people in this congregation rejoice!

These words will be reverberating through our sanctuary…

Amazing grace how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me,

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind but now I see.

“…And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." [Jesus] Matthew 28:20

E-Flash From Dan, February 26, 2016

Dear E-Flash Friends;

One of the most wonderful and important truths of Christianity is the truth of victory. We are overcomers in Christ Jesus.

“…Because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1John4:4

I have been reminded of the inspiring truth of victory in Jesus as I have been reading, studying and preparing this week. We have some terrific services coming this Sunday. We are starting a new series on Spiritual Warfare. It is going to be interesting, challenging and encouraging!

Also, we will be celebrating baptisms this Sunday. Our baptism services are always some of our most exciting times together in the course of the year. Watching our brothers and sisters in Christ make a public profession of their faith will be a great time of celebration and spiritual victory.

“…[F]or everyone born of God overcomes the world.” 1John 5:4

This is definitely going to be a Sunday you won’t want to miss!

Looking forward to seeing you!

Love and blessings

Dan

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

Service times: 9am and 11am

Well Played Grandma Quincy

My mom’s mother, Grace Quincy, was a soft-spoken woman who was a deeply devoted Christian.

When I was a young boy she said, on several occasions, “I think Danny will be a minister someday.”

For some reason that bothered me. I think part of what bothered me was the idea that someone could in some way predict the direction of my life to that degree. In fact, there was a part of me that thought: “Just because she predicts I will be a minister I definitely will make sure that I will not be a minister.”

I was not against God. I was not against ministers. I just did not like the idea of someone making that type of prediction regarding my life.

Another reason this bothered me was—I hate to say it, but this was my opinion way back then—I thought of being a minister as something very bland. As a young boy I did not know what I would do when I grew up but I dreamed it would be something exciting. Something fun. Even something full of action packed adventure. Like… say… being a ninja… or something along those lines.

Hey, what can I tell you? That’s probably what lots of little boys hope and dream will happen.

And, in my thinking, being a minister was not a life of action packed adventure.

I never told Grandma Quincy I would not be a minister. In my mind, that would have been disrespectful and I never would have done such a thing. But I determined that I would not be a minister.

In the meantime, Grandma Quincy just took the matter to God in prayer.

You already see where this is going… don’t you?

At the age of 35, after working in the business world for a number of years, I became a pastor of a church. For a number of reasons I won’t go into in this post, this was a somewhat unlikely scenario. (Some would say I’m not really “minister material.”)

The little boy, now grown up, who said he would definitely make sure he would not be a minister is a pastor of church.

Every now and then when I’m sitting in my office, here at the church, I think about the story I’ve written here for your reading enjoyment and I think, “Well played, Grandma Quincy. Well played.”

Scalia, Ginsburg and the Virtue of Tolerance

In the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia’s passing we are, of course, hearing lots of nice things about him. This is good and proper. One of the qualities I am reading and hearing about most frequently is his ability to get along well with people with whom he disagreed on matters of politics and jurisprudence. For example, he had a fairly close friendship with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Justice Scalia and Justice Ginsburg had very different political points of view and significant disagreements regarding rulings of the court. However, they were friends and their families even spent social time together.

When I read about this willingness to disagree regarding these types of issues and yet remain friends I find myself thinking: It’s too bad this is such a difficult reality. It’s too bad this quality is so rare that it consistently merits a special mention.

Many people and various organizations and sources of influence speak of the great value of tolerance in our culture. It is lauded as an incredibly important virtue. Tolerance is the quality—even if the specific word is not used—which is being spoken of in such admirable ways in Justice Scalia’s life.

So many people seem to recognize this value. It would be even more wonderful if lots of us would incorporate it into our lives.

Let The Truth of Jesus' Life Speak For Itself

One of the challenges for those who teach about Jesus is to tell the whole truth about His life—to attempt to give a fair and complete account regarding what He said and what He did.

There is, sometimes, a tendency to want to over-emphasize certain truths about Jesus and His life; and to de-emphasize or maybe even ignore other truths about Jesus and His life. For example, when we look at Jesus’ life in the gospels we find He was loving, gracious, tender, patient and kind. I find myself wanting to emphasize these truths about Jesus. I want Jesus to be likeable. My experience is that people like hearing about these characteristics of Jesus.

However, in those same gospels we also find that Jesus was firm and uncompromising in His teaching, never afraid to present unpopular truths. He was boldly confrontational with the religious leaders of His day, referring to them as “whitewashed tombs” and “a brood of vipers.” That’s not the type of approach that wins popularity contests.

We even find Jesus exhibiting righteous anger when He threw the money changers out of the temple.

Occasionally, it is helpful for me to remind myself that I do not need to manage Jesus’ image. He does not need me to handle His PR. The best thing to do is present His life and teachings as honestly and accurately as possible and let the truth of who He is speak for itself.

When Giving Counsel Listen, Don't Speak Too Soon

When giving counsel there is a basic mistake I have witnessed on a number of occasions in myself and in others. The mistake is—in our admirable desire to help—we often have a tendency to speak too soon.

We will be more helpful to those who seek our help if we will listen more. Allow the person who is seeking assistance to speak. Resist the urge to jump in right away with advice or opinions. Ask questions and listen to the responses.

One of the most fundamental gifts we provide to those who seek our advice is the willingness to let the person be heard by someone who genuinely cares about him/her.

“To answer before listening-- that is folly and shame.” Proverbs 18:13

I'm Much Older When I'm At Chuck E. Cheese's

One of the helpful workers at Chuck E. Cheese’s smiled, pointed at my receipt and said, “If you fill out the survey on there, sir, you can win additional tickets for your granddaughter.”

The GRAND-daughter to whom he was referring is my DAUGHTER, Rachel.

(Okay I agree, it was sort of nice that he did not call me “gramps.”)

I was going to correct him and then I thought, “Ah… let it go. What’s the difference?”

But I did shake my cane at him and I told him in no uncertain terms he was not allowed on my lawn!

Jesus Is Always Talking About Real Life

It is helpful to know that Jesus is always talking about real life. When we read or hear about the ideas He expressed; the challenges He issued; the truths He spoke understand that He means for these things to be lived. He is never, ever, talking about empty religious theories. He is always talking about being alive in God’s kingdom right here and right now!

E-Flash From Dan, February 5, 2016 - Super Bowl 50 Edition

Dear E-Flash Friends;

I just saw the results of a large nationwide survey which indicated that a significant majority of Americans said the best way to start the day, on Super Bowl Sunday, was to go to church. In fact, many of them expressed a strong desire to hear a sermon in order to really get the day rolling properly.

What a fantastic finding, huh? That information makes me feel terrific!

Um…

Hold on…

Wait a minute…

…Okay, I admit I just made up those survey results. I’m sorry. There was no such study conducted. This is just another example of my wishful thinking hard at work. But hey, can you blame a guy for trying to be optimistic and hopeful?

The truth is I’m hoping you will be at church this Sunday, Feb. 7^th, because we are going to have some terrific services. I have been preparing diligently and am excited to be talking about the truth that God provides for us. Our awareness of this important reality can genuinely make a difference in our lives.

And the worship team has some wonderful music planned.

I was talking with a friend today who told me that when the worship team leads us in the services it is a time of joy! I agree.

You won’t want to miss this great chance to be joyful!

By the way, in all seriousness, the Super Bowl has a later start time this year. It starts at 5:30 p.m., Central time. So you could come to either the 9am or 11am service and still watch the game; the pre-game programming; the pre-pre game programing; and have plenty of time to eat tons of chicken wings. (Just trying to offer some helpful info.)

Hope to see you this Sunday!

Love and blessings

Dan

P.S. Coming to the services this Sunday will not result in any conflict if you are planning to watch Downton Abbey either.

It Is Interesting To See How God Provides

A few months ago someone shook my hand after one of our church services and I felt something other than her hand in my hand. When I looked down at my palm I saw that the paper substance which she had transferred to my hand was money. The amount of money was more than just 20 or 30 dollars. In fact, it was more than just 100 dollars.

The person who shook my hand said, “Give this to someone who is in need.”

I said, “Alright. Thank you, I will do that.”

This kind person was not looking for applause. She wasn’t looking to have her name mentioned in a service or an online post. In fact, it is clear her desire was to remain invisible. She was responding to God’s leading in her heart.

About a week later I became aware of a need and I gave this money to the person in need.

This person was extremely grateful for the help. She was simply telling me about some struggles, she was not expecting this form of assistance.

At first she said, “Oh no Dan, I couldn’t accept this much money from you.”

I said, “It’s not from me. I’m not the source of this money, someone else is.”

The woman said, “Who? Who is giving me this money?”

I thought about it for a moment and then I told her the truth: “God is.”

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Growing In Our Ability To Love

It is possible to grow in love. In other words, we can grow in our ability to give and receive love. We can grow in our ability to express love honestly, graciously and practically.

Because God is love, growing in love would mean an increasing manifestation of the truth of God in our lives.