"Refocusing the Lens;" Sermon for August 30th, 2015 by Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins

The International Federation of Social Workers’ global working definition of social work and the social worker is as quoted: “Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work.”

This is a very noble concept indeed especially in the sense that it is the secular answer to serving and caring for neighbor.  I thought about this concept a lot after I was spending an entire morning doing one of the many wonderful ministries I enjoy as a pastor which is visitation.

I was visiting an individual in the hospital the other day for over four hours.  This visit in particular was critically important since the individual was borderline suicidal and not in his right place emotionally.  I was grateful to be a comforting presence of prayer and an open heart to hear and aid in spiritually healing this person.  One of the additional tasks I had to do on their behalf the other day was sit down with his doctors, nurses and social workers to give my impressions of the individual and to offer myself to be of any assistance they may need in helping to find him a rehabilitation facility and mental health counseling.

As a person of tradition and a “woman” minister, going into hospitals always reveals a mixed response of people wondering what you are and where are you going.  In fact the other minister assisting me in helping this individual also came by herself later in the day to visit.  She said that someone asked her jokingly if she was wearing a Halloween costume.  Pretty sad, if you ask me but that is still the sad fact of how some people outwardly view women in ministry! 

During the extended time of ministering to this individual, I was greatly looking forward to speaking with the hospital’s social worker in dialoguing my assessment and offering myself to her disposal if she needed more information.  Well as the saying goes, the balloon of excitement and hopeful dialogue was greatly deflated upon the entrance and initial exchange between the social worker and myself.  Not only was she very curt and frankly rather rude and disrespectful but said point blank to me in front of the patient—why don’t you just take him in and care for him yourself…

Not only was this social worker violating the Hippa laws to a degree but the indifference and passionless sense of her un-informed perspective was just plain awful to experience and see!  Not even asking how he was doing, she asked for his insurance cards and completely ignored that the person was in a fragile emotional state. As a pastor and a disciple of Jesus commanded by an inner obedience to Love God and neighbor; this behavior both greatly saddened me and made me angry!

We can create great statements of goals, ideals and quote “job descriptions” for things we do in this world… But if they are not truly, inwardly transforming the heart to serve—then why are you doing it?  After a very brief uncomfortable time both in the patient’s room and then begrudgingly in the hallway with this social worker…  I couldn’t help but see someone who only was interested in money and “it’s just a job” mentality, especially since she asked as if I was not listening, why don’t you and your church give them money to move into an assisted facility. She continued begrudgingly and somewhat annoyed to take down my phone number and look into Medicare covered facilities for this person who has no family and nowhere to go!

If this social worker even remotely held herself accountable to the statement I quoted at the beginning of this sermon; she would be compassionately listening and discerning all details of the sad story of this patient’s life now desperately needing her help! Thinking even further about this, what if I wasn’t there, what if the other minister wasn’t there as well trying to aid this person to receive proper care and concern… He would fall through the cracks.  Perhaps even left out and made homeless by a system that claims to offer itself as quote: “an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people.”

Whatever titles, descriptions and outward definitions we give ourselves in creating that abstract “Jacob’s Ladder” of righteousness to God—if it is not inwardly realized truthfully in the heart… it is ego, plain and simple.  It is vanity and lip service bearing the ugly fruits of indifference, greed and despair.  This hospital employee was just that, an employee and not someone who truly and truthfully cared for the individuals they’re supposed to care for! 

Taking those baby steps with joy into ministry has been nothing but wonderful and humbling, speaking for myself, on so many levels.  For everything I do and say through Christ Jesus who is my Lord and Savior; I try to continue to grow inwardly.  Teach me O Lord is the song of my heart as His dedicated disciple, committed to serve Him and my neighbor!  I have recently been blessed to be involved in many different ministries, one being in addition to serving 2 church plants is caring for seniors through “Visiting Angels.”

I am currently caring for an elderly couple of sisters near to my home.  One is 96 and the other is 88.  They really only truly want my company.  Which on one level I love to be there for them on the other, it is rather sad that I am “paid” to be their company.  The few tasks I do in aiding the 88 year old, I always find it sweet that she tells me over and over I’m terribly sorry to be such trouble today.  She has polio in her legs and has good and bad days walking and functioning.  Her spry 96 year old sister can’t help her walk anymore due to arthritis and a variety of other health issues. 

Some on the outside of this kind of service would perhaps see this as only half ministry, half healthcare.  I don’t see it as half and half whether it is technically or outwardly seen as such to me it is ministry period.  For why would this be different if I was their pastor coming to purely visit them from their church?  Is there some unspoken rule or “job” description that says I’m not supposed to help carry her?  Or aid her in putting on her jacket?  Or helping her to walk into the kitchen?

We spend, as a society, an inordinate amount of time judging and correcting one another to what role we are supposed to “fit” into.  Yes, I am a pastor.  I love to vest, I love wearing blue jeans & I am a woman minister! So what difference does that truly make?  If I wanted to heartily live into the “ego” aspect of ministry I would be concerned about staying upon that unrealistic pedestal of representing an office… BUT If I am not representing Christ Jesus profoundly in my heart; I am only a hypocrite and another ugly addition to a fallen humanity that can’t even practice what they preach!

Some may only see me as someone not building the “right ladder” to what they configure a pastor to be… but then perhaps they’re not looking behind them seeing the domino of closing church doors, fading congregations and empty ritualism that doesn’t feed the soul yet alone is obedient to Christ & His Gospel! It is more than convenient to put on those blinders, as the priesthood of all believers, we are all guilty of this at some time or another, when we don’t want to be truly accountable yet alone humble to a new kind of spiritual discipline… BUT Christ Jesus is calling us to inward obedience, transformation and service!

The other minister and myself will most likely have to meet again with this social worker to make sure that our parishioner is truly being cared for.  It’s not something I am necessarily looking forward to but as Paul says in today’s letter, I must don that armor. I must take up that shield of faith that my heart has shaped by and for Christ as well as I must carry that sword of the spirit—God’s Word and use it! I could be a prisoner to this culture or merely a chaplain to culture and its Jacob’s ladder ego-built climb to righteousness BUT I willingly choose to be a bold witness, ambassador for that unpopular, radical obedience to Christ Jesus and His Gospel of Grace!

Being a prisoner to this culture is purely working a job, listing office hours...  Paying lip service to human idealism as purely burgeoning empty promises…  For the devil can and does work in both places…  What you are on the inside and what you return outwardly to the world quote, for the world.  Prayer is lived when the heart, that 1^st church connects with the head and then the hands and feet to produce the beautiful fruits of living Grace.  As God is my witness, those words I took deeply into my heart and confessed the day I was ordained; I WILL make good upon for the rest of my earthly life!

AMEN

August 30th, 2015; 14th Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 17; Year B; SOLA Lectionary

Sermon by Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins

Psalm 119:129-136; Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9; Ephesians 6:10-20; Mark 7:14-23

This sermon link below was delivered at the Grace Hub Discipleship Ministries' house church at 8am
https://youtu.be/BgXkxikqkmA

"Discerning True Faith;" Sermon for August 23rd, 2015 by: Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins

The Psalmist definitely rings out with a negative rant against humanity, he says: “¹Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good. ²The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God. ³They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one. ⁴Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord?”

We are in a world of fools but not all of the fools are bereft of hope…  There are some who are fools for Christ, I am one of them, I know you are too, to one degree or another… this is the Christian journey.  Why do we gather if we don’t hold hope in that one thing that brings us all together?  That one thing is Christ Jesus who set us free from sin, death and the power of evil with His cross.  This is what we confess.  Some may have clean hands while their hearts are nowhere near truly proclaiming, teaching and living into God’s Grace.

It is sad when we get to that place of not only not trusting each other but judging each other especially when we are brought together under the guise of serving His Gospel imperative!  Welcome to the ugly world of church politics…. As freely responsible servants of the Gospel, we are called to willingly and authentically live into our true faith—Christ Jesus, the Lord. Most often than not we find our response as the Body in the world for God being and becoming thinly veiled works-righteousness or politically charged social agendas.

In fact, more often than not, we have grounded a new cherry-picked understanding of God based not on His Living and authoritative Word but around the world of the self and its’ imperatives.  This convenience has slowly created doctrine as well as now has divided us amongst ourselves in “discerning” what God wishes for us to DO and BE in this world.  We stop at this world and never venture truly and truthfully into living beyond it—the lifestyle of Grace.

The moment when we become a club where we discern who is to share in the Gospel, we are no better than the scribes and Pharisees.  Relationships are difficult, they do need authentic chemistry if they are to grow and flourish…  However if relationships are defined by man-made rules, politics and self-righteousness; we are no longer living as children of Grace and promise but become graceless, ugly judges who only continue to divide and dissolve God’s Will for our own will.

There was a young man I knew almost near the beginning of my journey to serving God.  He was in the pre-seminary program I was in as well as he was “allowed” to take a few classes at the 1^st school I studied at.  He was a character.  We were in an awful preaching class where the pastor teaching was in essence an ogre and he still decided to play the class clown. There were many an occasion in that class, where I nearly felt like hiding under the table when he would start with his comedic “sermons.” We grew to be friends sharing our discord in surviving that place…

Only a year or two later, I was blessed to transfer and finish at a much more Biblically concerned school.  We kept in touch via social media only occasionally engaging in verbal battles over our seemingly differing theological perspectives.  I was still very supportive and encouraging to this person because of all the politically oriented abuse he suffered through the hands of that school and that synod.  I was still supportive of him even after his candidacy is dumped and he decides to waste more of his money on a doctorate since then they decided to “allow” him to attend their school.

Over the past few years, his posts on social media became more politically charged, more angry and judgmental and less open to others to engage with him in meaningful conversation…  But as an aspiring a child of grace and promise, I still tried to remain in touch with him. Until one morning this past week I noticed he “unfriended” me.  I dashed off an email and asked why.  All he could awkwardly say is because “we’re too different.”  I let it go from there but had to wonder, what made us different?  We were both followers of Jesus living as we thought, His Gospel imperative…

Then it dawned on me what the real difference was, it was a matter of faith but a faith that was lived externally and not really internally at all.  Works righteousness is easy for us to fall prey to especially when we don’t hear the TRUTH of Grace, the Living Word is beckoning us to CHANGE inwardly in order to outwardly bear the fruit of the Gospel.  He is all too wound up in the trappings of works righteousness as quote “social-progress” in the world, for the world… and all too often not truthfully beyond the world for Christ Jesus’ sake.

Again, it comes down to owning up to our relationship in, with and through Christ as a fully accountable, humble, authentic servant of the Gospel.  We are called to change from within in that first church of the heart.  The heart needs to be prepared to take on the challenge of service with integrity to Christ Jesus’ Gospel.  Once our hearts are truly prepared can we faithfully and genuinely accomplish the will of God through then our hands and feet.

St. Paul’s passage this morning to the Ephesians tells us that spiritually growing into Grace to be able to take on the challenge of service and integrity begins with family. It goes beyond obedience—willingness to adhere to the Living Word of God.  It is commitment to each other to believe in God’s saving Grace, incorporate that and authentically LIVE into it.  We can’t live into the Gospel as judge and jurors, we must live into it as a binding relationship of faith through Grace.  This binding relationship is what brings us all together who profess Christ Jesus is Lord.

We live in paradox however, in the sense that yes, we are individuals… BUT we are in one great family.  As the Body, we confess that Jesus is the head and source of life we shape our lives to.  Individually, there is much more work we need to do within ourselves to be united to one another for God’s Will and precepts. This is an accountability internally, that we cannot avoid. In order to realize the Body as the family of Christ, we must shape our hearts through Grace to not divide but join together for a much greater purpose!

As mentioned, I did let go of whatever kind of hurt I felt about this person I am no longer in touch with… but take this example into where we are as the church in the world today? How can we spread the Gospel Truth in the world without further division if we are still working towards a “man-made progress” for the Kingdom of God built upon judgmentalism, politics and works-righteousness?  It doesn’t work for it makes us hypocritical to what God’s Will is for us all.  The city of God, land of Grace is found through living reconciling lives in Grace incorporating all Good gifts the Good Lord has given us to realize this.

I’ll leave you with one last story of someone I counseled a while back. She has lead an amazing life of someone who has cheated death more than once.  Nearly being killed several years back in an accident that nearly destroyed her body, she managed to continue to survive.  One misfortune after the next, from losing contact with her children to nearly dying from a diabetic coma alongside her common law husband who did die from sepsis.

After several weeks of recovery in the hospital, a parishioner took her in since she had nowhere to go. After a couple of months, against the concerns of the parishioner who took her in, she moved in with another parishioner she said she thought she could help. She really didn’t go there to help this other parishioner, she simply didn’t like living underneath someone’s requests or house rules.  Little did she realize that once this person she moved in with really did need her to be there and care for her, she was unable to truly and truthfully reciprocate at all.  In fact, she joined in the other person’s addiction and started smoking, drinking and living recklessly to where they now have both lost their shared home.

As a pastoral counselor I could “label” this as purely being an example of sociopathic behavior or I could instead step back and pray for her heart to turn back to God and take up the reigns of being accountable for her actions.  All the doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and whatnot counseling her are not going to help her spiritually grow.  They may only shed a light onto her problems or inadvertently enable a self-concerned vacuum that cannot see anyone else but the self and its needs alone.

We must willingly accept and incorporate change.  The same can be said in regards to Grace and all the Good Gifts the Good Lord has given us.  The Gospel’s “Progress” in the world, must begin in the heart first, for how can we claim wisdom and discernment if as Isaiah and Jesus quoting Isaiah say: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; ⁷in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’  Jesus continues to say to the Pharisees in today’s Gospel: “⁸You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

In a nutshell with both stories I’ve shared here—We cannot claim to be living into the lifestyle of Grace, if our hearts are only concerned with our own agendas and “progress.”  We are only living into further dividing ourselves from God and from our neighbor.  Amen

August 23rd, 2015; 13th Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 16; Year B; SOLA Lectionary

Sermon By Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins

Psalm 14; Isaiah 29:11-19; Ephesians 5:22-33 & Mark 7:1-13

Below is a link to the sermon delivered at the Grace Hub Discipleship's house church service 8am:

https://youtu.be/EqKHQ1P_VnQ

"Disjointed or Disciplined?" Sermon for August 16th, 2015 by Rev. Nicole A.M.Collins

There was a really strange special on the History channel the other evening that talked about ancient aliens…  It included of course a lot of post-modern skepticism and quote “progressive” commentaries on the origin of the Spirit and the misunderstandings of faith.  It included its usual statements of that we’re created from nothingness, who we thought was God is actually perhaps an alien… And last but not least, evil of course is not Satan but the twist here was that there are evil and good spirits that are extra-terrestrial… OOOoookay~

Outside of the ears and heart wringing from the heresies and related being quote “scientifically” laid out for all to see…  The one clear thought that came through for me was that indeed they did at least affirm the reality of the spirit.  They claimed the spirit was trapped by the flesh perhaps by an alien experiment. Sound familiar? The Gnostics who failed to really understand John’s metaphysical, mystical Gospel assumed or concluded that Jesus could not be truthfully, fully human and fully divine; He must only be divine and appearing to us as a “phantom.”  The Gnostics took this a notch further in claiming that the flesh is bad, evil and that the Spirit is good alone.  The History channel’s special talked about cells and subatomic particles being shaped by and for either good or evil…

Well, all these theories, contemplations and whatnot could give you a really good headache just like Jesus did to His disciples in today’s Gospel… BUT there’s much more to consider here and open our hearts to HEAR.  Basically in today’s Gospel, we’re nearly seeing Jesus yelling at His disciples in deep metaphor about owning up to being obedient to the task of discipleship.  We must remember that the word disciple share the same root with the word discipline.  Remember though what I’ve said many a time before, we don’t like abstraction, we definitely don’t like obedience… We’re like little children who refuse to listen to what God needs us to hear.  Why did Jesus feel he needed to relay this to His disciples at this point in time? Simple really, we have or hold a disjointed view of what the reality of living into the lifestyle of Grace entails. It goes much further than bearing the cross and following Him.

If we can’t allow Jesus to be Lord of our lives and central to our purpose as a free-willed disciple; how can we understand taking in, ingesting the sacrifice which needs to be done in order to bear the fruit of Gracious response, the fruits God is hoping we reap?  I can tell you now, that the health-wealth Gospel people wouldn’t touch these texts with a ten-foot pole! But neither would the other lectionary touch most of these texts—too complicated, too metaphoric… too much about obedience, eating Brussel Sprouts and other things we really don’t like hear yet alone contemplate doing…  Since when did we conclude that we need to redesign God to suit our needs?  That’s my question!

In an existential understanding, being and purpose on one level seem disjointed but they must go together to create the ebb and flow of life—this IS reality.  In some ways the scientists and secular theorists in that History Channel special, found a convenient gap-filler with saying that the reality of the Spirit must be alien to our world.  It is just as easy to dismiss 98% of the Biblical intention of these texts we have this morning as just being about the Eucharist, Holy Communion…  BUT, life is so much more!  Christ Jesus’ Gospel is so much more than what happened 2,000 something years ago in ancient Israel.  Jesus is Lord, and He is the Living Bread we need, in order to realize our potential as His disciples!  Our logic, our ethics, our minds however seem to enjoy staying disjointed or disconnected from the Truth of God’s New Covenant, relationship, which calls upon our lives to align to that spiritual plumb line of Grace!

Well, I’ve done a lot of talking about the externals, what about internally?  What about my own journey as a willingly obedient disciple of Jesus—artist, Pastor, writer and all hats I have worn? If we can’t even GO there within ourselves and struggle with what God is inviting us to DO and BE for His Gospel imperative… We have a disconnected, disjointed view of what being a freely responsible servant of Christ is all about. We can start to form our own idols out of our doubts and creativity.  Let me tell you that, that special on the History Channel was super creative…  Almost like a good-sci-fi you wanna break out the popcorn for! 

We have to GO there with ourselves even the preachers, teachers and leaders of discipling others. All members of the Priesthood of all believers have to GO there. It’s truly a matter of owning up to being a person of integrity, humility and faithfulness! Do we have the cobbles to do it however?  Sometimes its easier to hide, dodge the responsibility needed in the tasks of discipleship… this is what Jesus’ wonderful speech of incorporating Himself INTO them was all about.  St. Paul in today’s snippet from his letter to the Ephesians basically lays down how this whole process is effective in your life.  The very first verse proclaims—let no one deceive you with empty words! I would add a step further in saying to not let anyone deceive you with empty actions as well. We also have to realize that the ruler of this world, Satan has built a mighty kingdom upon empty words and actions…

To have Gospel in the sense of living into the reality of the lifestyle of Grace, we must be faithfully shaped, obediently shaped by a New Law written upon the heart of the believer and lived through the hands and feet in response with humility and authenticity. In order to Love God and neighbor requires our discipline in doing the do’s of the Gospel and defeating the don’ts of the world of the self and it’s needs.  St. Paul basically is telling the Ephesians to wake up and smell the coffee of the reality of the challenge they have to take on if they take their relationship with Christ seriously.

Taking that commitment to Christ seriously has been a six year plus journey, full of battling others’ disbelief and acceptance of me to have the cobbles, the right stuff to serve Jesus Christ and His flocks!  It’s been more than disparaging at times … fishing and filtering through the alphabet soup of Lutheran groups to find someone to take me seriously enough to DO, accomplish the tasks at hand. But we are all guilty of it… Exclusion is the ugly fruit we dump on others when we feel it necessary to want to control God’s fully inclusive call upon us all to serve Him and neighbor! To whom are you obedient to? I listen to Him period!

The Spirit is willing and indeed the flesh may be weak at times, but we are called, commissioned, loved and encouraged to sojourn onward, complete the tasks!  Thanks Be to God for Jesus’ invitation to my heart some twelve years back! From that very beginning conversion experience, to the breaking of the Bread and the Blessing of the wine which I now have the delight to be able to consecrate for our spirits to renew to, I am living, owning up to the challenge! A means of Grace on one level here but an even greater reality of Grace lived in the world, but not of it!

I’ll leave you with a story of someone I knew from my days in the art-n-poetry world. He was an avid alcoholic.  In fact his drinking was so out of control most of the time the art galleries he would frequent for the free opening reception wine would have to call him a cab because he’d be fading out.  I drove him home once and waited for him to stagger and sway to open his front door.  It was sad to see how much the “spirits” controlled him and how I never really ever saw him sober.  It was like he was living in a dream of lights, colors and a complete delusion, disjointedness to reality.  I haven’t seen this person in a number of years but I can only hope that he’s ok, sought help, etcetera.

See how easy it is to stray?  It’s not just the recklessness of this man’s situation but how easy it can be when we fall away from realizing our potential, to living fully ALIVE! Being fully alive as a disciple of Jesus is taking it ALL in, building upon those tears, doubts and fears with HOPE, prayer, love and most importantly FAITH! Living into the lifestyle of Grace takes us to task.  Jesus is not a Pez dispenser of cheap grace… in fact, quite the opposite!  Being filled with the Spirit is tapping into that eternal fount of Grace planted into our hearts—the New Nature. The New Nature is a covenantal creation made by the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus at the cross, and the cross-roads of our salvation to be fully and intentionally LIVED into as we are children of Grace and promise set free!  We have been set free from the bondage of sin to obediently and prayerfully be shaped to Love and serve both God and neighbor.

AMEN

August 16th, 2015; 12th Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 15; Year B; SOLA Lectionary

Sermon by Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins

Psalm 34:12-22; Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18; Ephesians 5:6-21 & John 6:51-69

Below is the Youtube link to the sermon being preached at the Grace Hub Discipleship Ministries' house church service at 8am
https://youtu.be/uoaqNDXhzwM

"A Work in Progress;" Sermon for Sunday August 9th, 2015 by Rev. Nicole A.M. Collins

“No pain, No gain,” is definitely not the staple statement for the health-wealth gospel people to use in reference to the Christian journey, but truth be told, it defines it.  Moving onward and developing spiritually into the role, vocation God is truly calling you to is not an easy journey at all.  There may be as well, little understanding from others just where you are & what God is saying to you to DO and BE!

No pain, No gain is the voice of God that speaks into your heart over and above the voice of the world which makes that journey into your vocation seem even more top-heavy in the pain aspect, over and above the idea of “Progress” in the world. Being at a cross roads in both spiritually healing, growing as well as defining oneself through God’s calling has been a growing challenge for myself.  We will always have moments like this however throughout our life-time; this is what growing as a disciple of Jesus means.

This is what living into your baptism means as well. The Old Nature aspect of ourselves is something we have to deal with.  We can and can’t live without it.  What does that mean?  Everything we have experienced and grown up into shapes us, and some of this shaping isn’t all that bad.  It is a part of yourself, that is of the past, but has added to how you see yourself in the world but eventually grow to see yourself not living “of it.” 

Life is like a work of art. It is temporal and material for the most part but God calls us to live into those abstract areas being the fruits of the spirit shaped by and for Christ Jesus mission and plan.  Bearing fruit is living the idea of “no pain, no gain.” The spiritual manna Christ offers the human soul to grow in discipleship, grow as adopted children of Grace and promise and grow truly into full citizenship of the Kingdom of God takes humility, integrity and authenticity to create a reality of Grace.

From abstraction to reality or as an equation: Being led and fed (spiritually) plus the calling inscribed and commissioned upon you by God equals Grace in action—the Gospel lived through our ever-growing, ever-transforming selves as disciples of Jesus!  No pain, no gain can seem like a tightrope, a fine line we have to trust upon as well as persevere to walk on.  Elijah struggled with it, so did John the Baptist.  They both were prophets, whether challenged at times to feel the reality of their call—this is who they were.

There was a post the other day on social media in a group dedicated to sharing joys and concerns with fellow pastors.  In this one post, the woman pastor talked about the challenge of being “free” in the pulpit.  To truly feel encouraged that she needed to speak the truth with love always even in the face of potential condemnation by those she felt wanted to suppress her preaching and teaching of the Gospel…

“No Pain, No Gain,” should’ve been the extra-large poster or plaque on this pastor’s desk. I know I had this mentally in my mind when I was struggling to finish seminary, survive candidacy processes and finally move forward! I am now currently blessed to be serving as an associate pastor in the most difficult kind of ministry: Church planting. Finding peace in the moment or taking a breath between every mountain or valley is a gift from God.  It is an encouragement from God that should illumine the heart with a fire that is that spiritual manna Christ has to offer—our New self.

Church planting is an amazing experience, I think all pastors at some point of their journey in serving God’s people should experience.  Starting from nothing but spiritual aspirations and everything and anything that God has blessed you with as a gift IS what it takes to plant a community.  We’re talking about the physical “church” here however…. Working and developing that spiritual church plant, planted by God in your heart through Grace by faith is a whole other story!

An exciting analogy I thought about the other day was in thinking about the new discoveries that the planet Pluto may have once had or possibly still is holding “life.”  Here’s a nearly frozen small planet or as some scientists have called it, “an escaped moon from Neptune,” some 4.67 billion miles from the earth… possibly holding life! What once was or seemed “dead” may actually be alive or coming to life as we grow to learn more about it.  Sound familiar to our spiritual journey? 

In today’s Gospel, the Message has Jesus saying to His disciples and towards those who doubted Him: ^39-40 “This, in a nutshell, is that will: that everything handed over to me by the Father be completed—not a single detail missed—and at the wrap-up of time I have everything and everyone put together, upright and whole. This is what my Father wants: that anyone who sees the Son and trusts who he is and what he does and then aligns with him will enter real life, eternal life. My part is to put them on their feet alive and whole at the completion of time.”

Building upon that foundation of the New Self planted by God and reaped by gracious response—humility, accountability, integrity and authenticity is real life for the disciple of Christ. Being fully alive may seemingly come in moments when during those “breathes” we take in, in order to assess where we are on the road, actually does bring peace and resolve to the soul…  I have been truly blessed to be serving in counseling others on their faith journey as a part of my call to be the Spiritual Formation pastor for the Gathering North church plant.

I once again was counseling someone who regularly feels that they are never at peace in where they are, whose they are and truly about themselves… They had told me that just for a moment this past week, they actually felt quote “normal.”  They felt normal about their accomplishments, they felt encouraged and enlightened by God to take a good look back upon their life and not lament or grieve anymore.  Truth be told, they are still grieving their past.  It is literally living that motto of “no pain, no gain,” for they will probably always struggle with who they were and where they are now.  I told them that they experienced an epiphany, it will always be only in the moment but how wonderful if now you see your path from God in a powerfully positive and affirming light!

Realizing the gifts God has given us requires us to utilize the past as good soil for your New life in Christ to truly develop.  As a bi-vocationally gifted person, I have taken my former life as an artist and infused it most profoundly into my New life through my Lord and Savior to whom I am indebted to, renewed through!  Those baptismal tears at my conversion, at my ordination and at other occasions during this journey have been building upon that solid foundation deep in the place of that 1^st church—my heart.

We need to taste those tears as affirmations of Joy from a loving and gracious God to whom our humbled hearts bend an ear to.  Let us take refuge in God’s Living, Renewing Word that no human can tear down but only grow under.  In whatever we DO may we continue to place God first as the One who has given us life in so many ways…  “Real life,” lived in, with, and under the mighty power of Grace!

I’ll close with the story of another colleague who has just started a whole new journey. They have not only moved to a completely different state but even moved into being a pastor for a non-denominational church! On one level I am very happy to see them move on from where they felt they were not faithfully growing in serving the Lord… On another level, leaving the Lutheran church, the place of my conversion, is something I personally would greatly grieve, this must still be a very painful transition for them. Where the Good Lord takes us, we must remember, we really aren’t in charge of the final destination.  That either small voice or loudly proclaiming voice from God will shape you and lead you to where He needs you to be!

God is constantly speaking, always as the Holy Spirit to guide and shape our hearts to be at that painful cross roads and take that bold step forward.  That bold step forward, incorporating all of what God has blessed you with to DO and BE for a greater purpose, greater goal! As St. Paul says to the Ephesians via the Message: “³⁰ Don’t grieve God. Don’t break His heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for Himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.”

May you find New life and Strength in that spiritual manna you have to trust, hope, and persevere upon.  The days, hours and moments of our lives will continue to move forward.  Allow your heart to be carried by Christ Jesus.  May the Holy Gospel, Living Word continue to assist you in building upon that foundation of the New Creation, New self.  Use the past as that burnt offering towards the lifestyle to Grace you are reflecting upon, repenting through, confessing to God and Renewing through as you continue to grow as a disciple of Jesus.  Growing as children of Grace and promise for the glory of God!

Amen.

August 9th, 2015; 11th Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 14; Year B; SOLA Lectionary;

Sermon By Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins

Psalm 34:1-8; 1 Kings 19:1-8; Ephesians 4:17-5:2; John 6:35-51

This first link below was preached at 8am at the Grace Hub Discipleship Ministries' House church service. https://youtu.be/j_DpTYknQqA

This second link below was preached at the Gathering North church plant at 6pm
https://youtu.be/QR7dAdtM6_Q

The Soul's Manna; Sermon for August 2nd, 2015 by Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins

Truth be told, I’ve yet to read or see the film around C.S. Lewis’’ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.’  The main character or creator of Narnia is the lion Aslan who many have speculated is an allegory for Jesus Christ and His Gospel role in the world but not of it.

Truth be told again, what indeed is Living about the Word of God is what you come to experience from it day to day, week to week on the journey of your life lived in faith.  With this past week, I have found myself reflecting with some deep sadness about the story of Cecil, the Lion.  Truth be told, we kill all the time as well as judge others, as well as become amateur politicians supposedly preaching and reaching out on behalf of Christ… BUT again, truth be told, we are not.

Speaking the truth in love is one of those gifts God bestows to those who align their hearts to His mission.  Those who find the True sustenance in the wilderness of this world are those who seek and know the sovereignty of Grace active in their lives.  Sovereignty is one of those words like the word dominion that is very lost to the soul when we allow ourselves to spiritually starve to death.

We become hunters in the wilderness, murdering and plundering for sport, no rhyme or reason just to satiate the self alone.  Truth be told, I am an animal lover, I’ve signed hundreds of online petitions to help stop evil things and cruelty taking place in the world we feel we have “dominion” over…  I have had a dynasty of cats, smaller cats not lions : ) …  I love many animals. Truth be told, I could get carried away with the concept and condemnation against this person who murdered this lion but that’s not what God wants us to do.

The seat of the Soul is the essence of life, the genesis of who we are created by our one sovereign Lord, Our Father of all that we see existing….  All creatures great and small, the Lord God has created them all, we’ve heard this song but are we spiritually fed and led by it?  The Israelites in today’s Old Testament lesson were actually given a break again by God even when they were wandering in this wilderness complaining and nearly blaspheming God because they felt that they were being neglected…

Centuries later, truth be told, we are still wandering that wilderness, perhaps even persecuted and diminished the Role of Christ Jesus in our lives to near godlessness BUT God still provides! We don’t know how to go back there and realize the enduring suffering our Lord Jesus took at that cross which poured Grace all over the world… but this is the reality of the journey of figuring out what is “faith justified by Grace?” What do we DO with “faith?”  Is it becoming a doctrinal police officer to a human understanding we have developed to comprehend God?  Is it becoming a make-shift politician operating solely from self-righteousness to enact justice? Or is it, again, using those Words in echo: Truth be Told in Love—allowing Christ Jesus dominion over your soul to live faithfully, TRUTHFULLY aligned to the Will of God by transforming the heart/ soul to being and becoming a New Natured, child of Grace?! I would say that this is the mission and vocation God has for those who Love and Learn from Him.

Leading a life worthy of the calling of which we have all been called to as the Priesthood of All Believers is realizing with all humility that our soul needs to be fed and led by the Lord.  Jesus is the bread of life, His gospel should be that common meal we drive and shape our lives to align to in order to be “bread” to others.  Discipleship is the fruit of our service together for a greater good.  There may be no physical resources such as money, or other tangible things to motivate our response in Grace towards others but we can example a great abundance when we allow being fed and led to help us “grow up” together in Christ.

Satan is going to try to deride and derail us from pursuing and developing the gifts of Grace seen and unseen in that wilderness we are still wandering in.  He will try to get us to see everything externally as divisive battles to be won or conquered through self-righteousness’ shallow glory or political conquest along with its destructive impact.  Truth be told to the Heart of the believer really being fed and led by the Gospel, dominion of Jesus Christ(!); these things should repulse us as living into the graceless wilderness Satan wants us to die in bondage to!!

Decapitation is not only a horrible way to die but it is the most humiliating way to die as well.  We have seen the destructive forces of evil in the world operating currently through ISIS condemning and murdering many Christians this way…  They claim to operate on behalf of their radical ideology or “faith” perspective of “Islam.”  In essence they claim to have a “purpose” or point to their activities of horror abroad.  The novice hunter for “sport” claimed to be simply pursuing recreation.  The trophy of the decapitated Cecil, the lion has provoked outrage where people are once again saying “an eye for an eye.”

My question there is, what would the dentist death truly satisfy? This is no solution, this is definitely not where Christ wants us to go in regards to enacting “justice.”  For we have at times in our journey been swayed far too often by our Old Nature and its worldly understandings of things. In a sense, we have been just like that hunter and have par-took in beheading the Voice, witness of Christ Jesus and His Grace active in our own lives! Instead of the True bread from Heaven, we feast on the junk food the Evil One offers as a quick-fix justification for our actions!

All of us, who profess, confess, repent and renew in, with and under the mighty sovereignty of Christ Jesus, the Lord are living the Truth in Love as spiritually transformed New Creatures.  We are now wandering a wilderness that will always be wild, and full of pits, valleys, darkness and light… but we have the Lord and Hope indeed DOES PROVIDE!

The waters of chaos we were born from at our mother’s womb, we then experienced a second expulsion from the waters of our Baptism to a New Life, a New Hope for the world to come—the Kingdom of Grace and its glory to reign…

Just the other day, I was counseling a fellow believer who shared a very deep witness about her experience of the Holy Spirit in her life.  “Truth be Told,” she has a very unique perspective of God’s role in her life and is more or less doctrinally concerned with certain elements of the “faith,” that would cast her into a league of her own.  Being a pastor for Christ and not caving into be a chaplain to the worldly culture, means that you need to focus on what really brings us together as disciples.  Sure, I could have gasped at some of the seemingly “blasphemous” legalism and misinterpretations of the Holy Scriptures…  but I decided to be a listening and compassionate presence for this person instead.

Sometimes, speaking the truth in love is living it through our presence.  Grace, we must remember is that strange, abstract mystery, miracle of God that IS most definitely WITH us… but unlike that moss-dust, Manna in the Israelite wilderness provided by God…  This sustenance is Christ Jesus planted in our lives to be reaped by prayer, hope, peace, selflessness, compassion and care.  The meal that feeds the soul is a faith that can spiritually move mountains, can universally end death and destruction in the world and enact a “dominion” built solely by Grace over the world also known as the Kingdom of God!

Let us pray,

Heavenly Father

May we allow Your sovereignty, dominion over our hearts

Help us to be creatures of Grace

Help us to live in missional pursuit of Your Will

As a vocation of Love, peace and mercy in this world

Help us not to be hunted down and claimed for Satan’s victory

Help us to develop a land of promise, instead of a wilderness of despair

Through Jesus Christ our daily bread

Through whom, we are truthfully led and fed—

Amen.

August 2nd, 2015; 10th Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 13; Year B; SOLA Lectionary

Sermon by Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins

Psalm 145:10-21; Exodus 16:2-15; Ephesians 4:1-16 & John 6:22-35

https://youtu.be/o1BRwcAYVyg