All around the world you’ll find Christians who are engaged in ministries that help the poor. There are local examples that we know well: the Hope Center, the Oroville Rescue Mission, the Kingdom Table, the Salvation Army, etc. And these are supported by churches who each have their own slate of ministries – e.g. the Good Samaritan Fund at First Congregational Church, and the Deacons ministry at Trinity Presbyterian Church. And then there’s the missions giving from both churches that supports outreach work in Kenya, in Mexico, and other places.
I think of these things when I run into critics who are hostile towards churches. They often say they’re against “organized religion” (as if being more disorganized would help things). Sometimes I’ll bring up these ministries that help the poor, and I’ll ask the critics what they’d be willing to do fill the gap if the churches go away. I’ve never heard a good response. Sometimes I’ve found they’re leaning on assumptions of a more ideal world where the government would take care of these needs. But of course we live in the real world, not the ideal one, and the churches are out doing the work. Relief ministries come up in Mark 14:1-9, but not in a good way. Jesus was at the home of a man identified as Simon the leper. He was sitting at the table; lots of other people were present, and it was two days before the Passover holiday. All kinds of conspiratorial things were going on, with plans to arrest Jesus – but not in midst of all the people. There were fears of instigating a riot, and His critics were waiting for the right moment to spring their violence upon Him. And a woman was there who opened an alabaster jar of expensive nard and poured it over Jesus’ head. Look closely at what the text says about this in verses 4-5: “…some were there who said to one another in anger, ‘Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor. And they scolded her.’” Note the details here:
Maybe she did this because she knew that Jesus understood her? Think to yourself: Jesus understands me. Jesus can see into our situations more easily than the people who are angry with us. Look at the details of Jesus’ response:
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Martin Luther King Jr. once preached a memorable sermon on being “tough minded and tender hearted”. He drew his inspiration from Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:16 – “Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.”
King encouraged a good balance of compassion mixed with thoughtfulness. His cautions against the dangers of ignorance are just as relevant today as they were back in 1963 when his sermons were published. King wrote these words: “One of the great needs of mankind is to be lifted above the morass of false propaganda… There is little hope for us until we become tough minded enough to break loose from the shackles of prejudice, half-truths, and downright ignorance. The shape of the world today does not permit us the luxury of soft mindedness. A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on an installment plan.” In its context Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:16 are part of His discourse on missionary outreach that was given to His twelve disciples, who are identified by name (in 10:1-4). Some of these instructions can seem strange by contemporary standards. Jesus had an exclusively Jewish focus at that stage (10:5-6). He emphasized both preaching and works of deliverance. He felt confident that His disciples’ ministry would offer a blessing to the people who received them (10:7-8). He also gave some specific instructions on the details of their provision for daily needs – both in terms of what not to rely on, and what to take (10:8b-10). This part includes the promise of the blessing of peace to those who receive them (10:13a), as well as confidence in eventual divine judgment for those who don’t (10:13b-15). The experience of rejection can come in many forms – including being shunned, getting the silent treatment, or even outright contempt and violence. Hence in anticipating it, Jesus warned that He was sending out His disciples as like sheep among wolves. Four animals are mentioned in Matthew 10:16 – sheep, wolves, serpents, and doves.
The verses that follow Matthew 10:16 warn of possible dangers for His disciples (e.g. floggings, court trials, family betrayals, etc.). The list can make our lives seem easy by comparison. But even with these kinds of trials, there are manifestations of God’s grace mixed in: a powerful testimony (10:18), the Holy Spirit’s guidance for facing tough questions (10:20), and new opportunities in other places (10:23). Hence the popular expression that says that when God closes one door, He opens another. All this lends itself to Jesus’ larger exhortation for endurance (in 10:22). God is good. He equips us for challenging times. Our hope for the task ahead of us is not hinged on expectations for some particular kind of result, but in the promise that ultimately God’s grace will have the final word. Knowing that much, we can be faithful to His leading. God is good, and He has the end in store. God bless you. Andrew McHenry - Pastor First Congregational Church Trinity Presbyterian Church I spent two of my high school years living in Monmouth, Illinois. We moved there in 1985 when my mom became a Spanish professor at Monmouth College – something she did for over 25 years. It’s a school of Presbyterian affiliation in a county-seat town in west-central Illinois. Monmouth’s population was close to 11,000 at the time; it’s a bit smaller now.
One part of Monmouth in the 1980s was the local paper, the Monmouth Review-Atlas. It was a typical small-town newspaper. We used to joke that you could read it all in five minutes – and the most interesting part was the police blotter on the back. Since everyone knew everyone else, you could see which of your friends got in trouble. One positive thing I drew from that paper though was the advice column: Ann Landers. Lots of people of my generation and older will remember her. She took in correspondence from all over the country and gave out home-spun advice that was helpful, practical, and sometimes memorable. This was good for me. When you’re in adolescence your identity is being formed and anything you take in that’s positive stands to be helpful. I benefitted a lot from reading her advice. I can think of ways that I’m a better person today because of what she wrote back then. But there was one drawback in how it impacted my initial ministry. When I was younger I thought that as a pastor I’d be giving people really good advice. People come to pastors with their problems, and you’re supposed to know the Bible – so you can give great advice, right? Wrong! Sometimes giving people unsolicited advice is the worst thing you can do. The pastor’s job is not to solve other people’s problems. God knows the solutions to all our problems. If the pastor can listen with empathy and help people connect with God, that may help them with their problems. But sometimes you just have to walk with people during their struggles – ridding yourself of the notion that you can straighten them out. God is the only one who can do that. I thought of all this as I was studying Galatians 4:19-20. Paul writes: “My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, I wish I were present with you now and could change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.” Paul was trying to help a troubled congregation that was at risk of drifting into a false gospel (1:6-7). He worried that all his work with them was for nought (4:11). Paul came from a background of violent religious legalism (e.g. Galatians 1:13, Acts 8:1-3; 9:1) and he was very averse to this kind of toxic religiosity. Along those lines, ideological shifts can sometimes make for strained and/or destroyed personal relations. (Maybe some of you know this from your own experience.) Paul reflected fondly on his time in Galatia and his relationship with these Christians, fearing that it had all turned sour (Galatians 4:13-16). But what allowed Paul to give his advice was the depth of his relationships with these people. You can tell he really loved them. If people know that you love them, they’ll be a lot more apt to listen to you. I think of Jesus’ famous command to love one another (in John 13:34-35). If someone undergoes a Christ-like transformation, it won’t happen because of nagging and arm-twisting. It’ll come with persistent love – just as Jesus has love for us. Part of loving other people means suffering with them – even if the suffering comes from their own bad decisions. Paul relays this when he speaks of his anxiety as being like childbirth. Jesus once taught about the new birth in His famous conversation with Nicodemus (in John 3:1-15). It’s a stripe of teaching that’s commonly associated with salvation – but really it’s a slightly different articulation of what He said about becoming like children (in Matthew 18:3-4, Mark 9:35, and Luke 9:48). Paul pointed to this kind of transformation in Galatians 4:19, speaking of his confidence that Christ will be “formed in you” – that is, in the group he is writing to. Somehow, some way, we trust that God will have His way. We can’t change other people, but God knows what they need. We can pray; we can be faithful; and we can trust in Him – and then God will do His work. God bless you. Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church Trinity Presbyterian Church I remember learning how focal the kingdom of God was for Jesus. It was a central element of His teaching – and that caused me to hone in on kingdom sayings whenever I found them. One of them is in I Corinthians 4:20 – “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”
Paul was writing to a troubled Corinthian church, and it’s important to remember that God uses troubled churches. If not for this troubled church we wouldn’t have so many of Paul’s great Bible teachings. In this case the church was divided into factions, with ego-driven cohorts lining up behind individual leaders. Paul responded with three images…
That whole section revealed Paul’s frustrations, leading to his charge of arrogance in 3:18. This is an even bigger problem today. Even though there are specialists who have been studying things for years, today any person can watch a two-minute online video and feel like a genius. So then as now it’s good for us to remember Paul’s kingdom saying in 4:20. It has two parts… A. The kingdom of God isn’t just talk. The Greek word is logos, which is used positively elsewhere (e.g. John 1:1-14). But here it is used negatively – like the popular expression that says “Talk is cheap.” I think of the politicians who make religious noises to get votes. A lot of it is just verbiage which lacks substance. B. The kingdom of God consists of power. The Greek word is dunamis, which is related to the English word “dynamite” – something that is powerful to effect change. It’s the same way with the power of the Holy Spirit changing a person’s life (I Thessalonians 1:4-5). Paul teaches us a couple more things about this power in the surrounding verses…
God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry First Congregational Church & Trinity Presbyterian Church The psalmist sang the praises of a man named Phineas who brought an end to a plague in Psalm 106:30. We can appreciate this in aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of hard work went into developing and administering the vaccines, as well as taking other measures so it could recede. It was a great joy for us to reassemble on Palm Sunday of 2021 after having not gathered for worship for over a year.
But the details in Phineas’ case are more troubling. The psalmist sang about an event recorded in narrative form in Numbers 25:1-18, which looks back on something that seemingly originated in Moabite and Midianite trickery (25:18). If you’ve ever been the victim of a scam, you can relate to this feeling. Where someone takes advantage of your good intentions it feels like a form of betrayal. The Israelites were not entirely innocent in this case though. It began with their sexual relations with Moabite women (25:1-2), and escalated from there into forbidden religious practices. Think of how compromises have come into your life. Often it’s something that develops incrementally. One small decision doesn’t seem all that big at the time, but then it leads to another and yet another – and before long you’ve made some major compromises in your life. Some kinds of compromise are necessary. Our system governance is based on it, where there are different representatives from different people groups. They need to come together around a common philosophy of governance in order for any kind of social order to ensue. It’s the same thing when you have different people living in a single household; we all have to agree on some things in order to have a good life together. But there’s another kind of compromise that’s bad – and that’s when it makes you less that what you should be, and/or less than what God would have you to be. This is what happened with Israelites before Phineas’ intervention, and it’s something we need to be careful of as well. Phineas was credited with making the difference. Numbers 25:11-13 says he turned back God’s wrath from the people, and that God therefore gave him a “covenant of peace” – and that he and his lineage would then have a perpetual priesthood. Psalm 106:31 says that it would be a righteous legacy forever. The troubling thing is that his intervention was very violent. Numbers 25:7-8 describes him violently killing a newlywed couple. There’s too much violence done in the name of religion today; I don’t want to be one who commends it. But anytime I’m troubled by a selection of scripture, it’s in my discipline to force myself to learn from it. Why did God include this? Why was this resonant for the people at the time? And here the situation is clear: A line needed to be drawn, and it took a strong-willed person to do it. Sometimes this is necessary when people are taking advantage of you. Think of your experiences in being around people who brought unhealthy compromises into your life. What did it take for it to stop? Ultimately, the good news of gospel is that God is uncompromisingly gracious. He was not content to leave us rotting in the brokenness of this world. Out of His goodness, He sent His son Jesus to be our ultimate high priest. He intervened aggressively on our behalf, not by taking anybody else’s life, but by giving His own. Jesus’ resurrection from the grave demonstrates His power over death and all the other compromising powers of this world. Psalm 106 begins and ends with an emphasis on this kind of grace. It is the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever (106:1). God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry First Congregational Church – Trinity Presbyterian Church “Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
- Psalm 106:1 This line of scripture has been internalized for me by influence of my wife’s family. It’s recited as part of their family prayers before every meal. The inspiration is partially drawn from the Lutheran Book of Concord – though this line is often repeated in scripture. One example is in II Chronicles 5:13 (and later in 7:3 and 7:6), where portions of it were sung as a chorus at the dedication of new Jerusalem temple in 958 BC. Then as now, it reflects a view of God and life that is hopeful in a countercultural way. Think about each part of it…
That temple was beautiful in its day, but its long gone. It was destroyed twice – first by the Babylonians (coming out of modern-day Iraq) in 587 BC, and then by the Romans for the final time in 70 AD. It has never been rebuilt. Buildings come and go, as do people and trends and troubles. Lots of things change in this world, but God’s love is constant and perpetual. This is the anchor of our hope. God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry First Congregational Church Trinity Presbyterian Church The Westminster catechism is a classic piece of teaching for the whole reformed branch of Christianity. Formulated in England in 1647, it has been influential in both Presbyterian and Congregational circles. I’ve known of churches in both traditions that were named for it.
The first one I heard of was in Topeka, Kansas. My grandparents were members of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Topeka for many years. I remember it came up when we were traveling. I asked my grandmother what the name of her church was, and she told me but the name “Westminster” was hard for my 11 year-old mind to hold on to. And my grandparents were taking me and my brother on a cross-country trip. Along the way we would sometimes stay at Best Western Hotels. So when a friend asked me later what my grandparents church was, I told them it was “Best Western Presbyterian”. That wasn’t quite right. But in the years since then I’ve come to appreciate some of the Westminster catechism’s most famous teaching. It’s given in a question & answer format that is great for learning church doctrine. The most famous part is at the beginning:
This teaching format is also employed in the Bible. God sent a night vision to King Solomon (in II Chronicles 7:12-22) after he had dedicated the new temple in Jerusalem around 970 B.C. The vision concludes by anticipating the destruction of the temple and the exile of the people (in 7:20, which later happened in 587 B.C.). It also emphasized the educational value of seeing the ruins of the temple. An abandoned church building is a sad thing to look at. For many of us it naturally leads to questions: What on earth happened here? What happened to the congregation that used to worship here? What was this place like in its hey-day? In the case of the Jerusalem temple, the answers would be instructive. When God spoke to Solomon, He emphasized that for Israelites it would go back to two things…
For the Israelites, there was the danger of forsaking divine teaching and taking up the idols of the ancient near-eastern world (7:21-22). This observation was paired with a historical reference to the exodus, which was Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt centuries before. This had been God’s manifestation of grace to them. Think of how this applies to each of us: If God has ever taken you out of a bad situation and put you into something better, you can relate. Think of the “Egypt” that God brought you out of. Think of your experiences of grace, and whatever they were, hold on to them. There may be other things you can let go of, but not these. God bless you. Pastor Andrew McHenry First Congregational Church – Oroville, California Trinity Presbyterian Church – Oroville, California Sometimes people compliment me by saying, “Oh pastor, you pray such wonderful prayers!” I appreciate compliments, but it’s a mistake to treat prayer as if it were a special athletic or oratorical ability. Prayer is something for all of us – just like eating and drinking and going to the bathroom.
Ever since I read Bruce Wilkinson’s little book, The Prayer of Jabez, I’ve found it helpful to model off of biblical prayers. The most preeminent one, of course, is the Lord’s Prayer (given by Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4). But Jesus was building on a tradition of prayers that goes back to the Bible that He used – which today we call the Old Testament. Since I’m beginning a new chapter these days, I was drawn to a prayer given by Solomon at the beginning of his reign as King (around 970 BC). One version of it is in II Chronicles 1:8-10, though the content of what precedes it is significant in a couple ways… First, it’s built on a foundation of worship. II Chronicles 1:1-6 tells of his devotional trip up north from Jerusalem to Gibeon, to begin with worship. If your prayer life is a struggle, maybe you need to connect more with God in worship. It’s good to do this with your Christian brethren; we do it each Sunday morning when we get together in the church sanctuary. Second, God’s invitation for petition (in 1:7) shows us how prayer is an opportunity. Jesus said (in Matthew 7:11) that God is pleased to give good gifts to His children. Here it comes as a test. Some people never get anything out of their prayer life because they pray selfishly. God was fully aware of this danger (as seen in II Chronicles 1:11). Prayer, then, serves to bring out what’s in our heart – whether it’s good or bad… whether we’re filled with greed or malice or rage; or with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Solomon seized this opportunity, and three components emerged from his prayer which can be utilized in our prayer-life as well…
Sometimes God doesn’t remove the burden that we’re praying about. Instead, He equips us to face whatever it is. That’s how it was with Jesus. God didn’t take the cross away from Him, but glory came to Jesus as He went through its awful agony – which, in turn, led to His resurrection. There is we find hope! God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry Watson v. Jones was an 1871 Supreme Court case that deliberated a church property dispute in Louisville, Kentucky. Both groups wanted control of a church building. One had control of the church authority structure; the other claimed to have the more historical doctrine. The latter group also had the majority of people in the church, and they wanted the court to give them the building.
The Supreme Court’s verdict, in essence, lines up with some popular cliches: “Not my circus; not my clowns.” Or, “I don’t have a dog in this fight.” To sum it up, it’s not the job of the federal (or state or municipal) courts to decide doctrinal disputes. That’s the domain of the church, not the state. There are lots of things the government can do well, but doctrine is not one of them. So the court deferred to the authority structure in the church. This precedent became known as the Watson rule. I first learned about it in a college class on the Supreme Court and religious issues – and it still holds today. There is diversity in our court system – but everyone (from Clarence Thomas to Sonia Sotomayor) would go along with the Watson rule. This came to mind while I was studying Acts 18:12-17 recently. Paul was taken to court before Gallio, the newly-appointed Roman governor of Achaia (southern Greece) who was also brother of the famous philosopher Seneca. The charge against Paul was essentially one of defection from Judaism (18:13). The Jewish religion was recognized and protected under Roman law. But Paul had led a split from the synagogue in Corinth, and had set up his base of operations next door – even drawing one of the synagogue leaders and his family into the Christian movement (18: 5-8). No doubt Paul was angering the religious locals. Institutional splits can lead to a lot of acrimony, even when you’re just trying to be faithful to what’s God called you to do. The Lord encouraged Paul in the midst of this hostility with a night vision (18: 9-10), so he persisted. Think about the hostility you’ve faced and how you’ve responded. Sometimes it happens when you make a mistake – and we all make mistakes. Learn from it; try to apologize and mend up things where you can, but move on. Sometimes it’s not because of your mistakes though; sometimes other people are bent on conflict. Whatever the case, it’s good to remember: You can’t always control other people’s dispositions, but you can control how you respond. I know I haven’t always responded well when I’ve faced hostility. It’s easy to get dragged into all the negativity instead of providing a Christ-like alternative. So I studied the Bible with this in mind, and two things stood out from the narrative of Gallio’s court…
God bless you, Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church In our church we have monthly trustees’ meetings where we look at two columns: the budget, and the actuals. The budget is just a plan, and some of you may be familiar with the expression that says, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.” But we all know that budgeting is still a prudent practice. Anytime you have limited resources and fixed expenses, you need to plan.
For contrast, the actuals show the reality you end up with. There are good and bad surprises with these. Someone who practices tithing may have a windfall year, which brings a bigger intake. Or there can be unexpected mechanical issues and the accompanying unplanned expenses. That’s just with money, but we can apply this to our prayer experience as well. Even when our prayers are answered, there’s always some unknown variable. There are always things that we can’t plan for or expect – because life is like that. No one knows the future, and none of us can craft it exactly to our liking. What can we do? At least two things: 1) We can trust in God, and 2) we can pray. These two things go together, but the second is specifically addressed in John 15:7 – where Jesus said, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Some have mistakenly lined up this teaching with popular consumerism. One pastor described it as vending machine theology: insert prayer, receive product. But we have to remember that God knows our needs better than we do ourselves – which is why we pray with a spirit of trust. Notice also that Jesus spoke in conditional language. We should pay close attention to this…
When these things are in place, the combination is potent and powerful. God has all the resources in the world! If you’re facing big problems, understand that we have a bigger God. There are all kinds of fruit-bearing goals can come into fruition by the power of God. And that, my friends, is a wonderful thing. God bless you, Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church |
Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
March 2024
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