Spiritual Strength

SPIRITUAL - PART 2

Spiritual Strength
Sunday, April 23, 2023
Acts 9:1-31

Ananias countered, “Lord, I have heard many reports about this man. People say he has done horrible things to your holy people in Jerusalem. He’s here with authority from the chief priests to arrest everyone who calls on your name.”

The Lord replied, “Go! This man is the agent I have chosen to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.

Acts 9:13-15

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

Craig J. Sefa Spiritual Strength

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Our culture greatly values strength. We put a lot of stock in power, control, and victory. The weak often find themselves on the margins and if someone finds themselves in a low place, the most common advice people will give is to toughen up or grow a thicker skin.

Spirituality, for many people, is a source of strength. There is something empowering when we tap into sources of power and strength beyond our own understanding. The first few steps of any 12 Step recovery program involve admitting that we are powerless and that we need rely on a higher power for the strength to overcome whatever addiction we may be trying to break through.

Yet in our text today, we find two very strong individuals brought to their knees by an encounter with the Holy Spirit. A genuine “spiritual experience” with God may indeed give us strength, but that spiritual strength comes first through vulnerability and humility.

Saul is a great religious leader feared by anyone who would challenge his authority or teach against his understanding of God. He stood over Stephen with approval as the people stoned him for blasphemy because of his faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. He was on his way to Damascus to destroy the Jesus movement in that community. He was indeed a strong and powerful man.

Ananias was also a strong man. In spite of such great persecution from people like Saul, he continued faithfully proclaiming the Gospel and following the way of Christ. His understanding of the Spirit’s voice indicates a strong prayer life and a strong faith.

Two strong men with completely opposite beliefs about God and about the nature of Jesus and neither are willing to back down. An unlikely pairing to say the least. The thought of a friendly meeting between Saul and Ananias so soon after the stoning of Stephen might be comparable to Osama Bin Laden and George W. Bush sitting down for tea the week after 9/11.

Yet when each encountered the Holy Spirit, they were humbled. Saul was blinded before the Lord and became physically weak and dependent on his servants and even on his Jesus-following enemies. Ananias was challenged in his desire for self-preservation and in his understanding of who could truly be saved by God’s grace. Could there be mercy and forgiveness for one as evil and opposed to Christ as Saul, who even now was on his way to Damascus to kill Ananias and all of the believers?

Both had to admit that they were wrong about Jesus and about God’s will. Both had to admit that they had something to learn from each other and that God’s love was far greater than the hatred and fear that stood as an unbreakable barrier between religious leaders like Saul and the followers of “the Way” of Jesus.

The spiritual strength granted to both Saul and Ananias to humble themselves, set aside their fear and animosity, and sit down at the table together resulted in unprecedented church growth among the Gentiles across the known world along with the writing of nearly half of our New Testament Scriptures. This simple act of spiritual strength, of listening to God and listening to one another’s stories, quite literally changed the history of the world.

Spiritual strength is always about the strength to love… especially the unimaginable strength of loving our enemies. This kind of love demands the strength of humility, vulnerability and risk. At the bottom of this post, you will find a link to one of my favorite books, “Tea with Hezbollah.” While none of the stories in this tale involve the kind of radical conversion that Saul experienced, they do teach us a lot about what it means to sit at the table with our enemies, to humble ourselves and to risk everything just to listen to each other. And out of these humble and vulnerable conversations, the strength of the Holy Spirit shines through.

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A modern day reflection on sitting at the table with our enemies…

Click to purchase from Amazon.com

Spiritual Direction

SPIRITUAL - PART 1

Spiritual Direction
Sunday, April 16, 2023
Acts 5:27-41, Luke 12:11-12

God has exalted Jesus to his right side as leader and savior so that he could enable Israel to change its heart and life and to find forgiveness for sins. We are witnesses of such things, as is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Acts 5:31-32

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

Craig J. Sefa Spiritual Direction

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“Spiritual but not religious.”

While many Christians balk at such a label, accusing this ever increasing group of abandoning the church and their faith, it is nevertheless a label that speaks volumes about the religious landscape of our nation and much of the Western world. For those who fear the decline of the institutional church as we know it, it is easy to blame such “religious vagabonds” for our plight, but perhaps it would be more prudent to examine their motives, the nature of their faith, and their critiques of what we call “Christianity” in an effort to better understand where we have gone wrong.

On one hand, we might say that “Spiritual but not religious” is an easy way out because it requires no commitment or loyalty to any particular organization, religious practices or even beliefs. On the other hand, the fact that there exists such a deep longing for spirituality in the human heart, even among those outside of organized religion, should tell us a great deal about the power and work of the Holy Spirit in our world.

“Spiritual” simply means “of or relating to the spirit” or “sacred matters”, which could of course refer only to the human spirit or soul. From a Biblical worldview, however, the human spirit is given life through the breath or Spirit of God. Few will question that at some level, we are spiritual beings, yet an entirely natural source cannot give birth to a spiritual being anymore than a freshwater spring can produce a saltwater stream. If there is indeed something supernatural or “spiritual” within us, we must explore what it means to connect with this “Divine Spirit” whom the scriptures say hovered over the waters when everything began.

Spiritual Direction as a discipline involves two or more people listening for the promptings of this Divine or “Holy Spirit” in the context of conversation, meditation, memories, and other reflective practices in an effort to seek wisdom or direction from the Spirit of God. In this way, it is not the spiritual director who actually does the directing, but rather the Holy Spirit’s own whisper. Thus, one of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is to guide and direct our path.

Throughout the book of Acts, we see this kind of Holy Spirit Direction in almost every chapter. It is the Spirit who directs Peter, John and the other apostles how to preach to the crowds, how to respond to various needs through miraculous interventions, and ultimately directs them in how to respond when they are questioned by the authorities. In Acts 5:27-41 as Peter stands before the religious leaders, the Spirit does exactly what Jesus says the Spirit will do.

“When they bring you before the synagogues, rulers, and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what you should say. The Holy Spirit will tell you at that very moment what you must say.”

— Luke 12:11-12

Rather than resisting the move in our culture toward spirituality and digging our heals deeper into man-made religious rules and traditions, perhaps it is time we religious people seek to live into our own spiritual natures by connecting with the Spirit of God and learning to become more attentive to Holy Spirit’s Direction in every part of our lives.

Extended clips from Francis Chan on the Holy Spirit

Scattered

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Scattered
Church - Part 4
Sunday, June 5, 2022
Acts 8:1-5, 26-40; Acts 1:6-11

At that time, the church in Jerusalem began to be subjected to vicious harassment. Everyone except the apostles was scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria…

…Those who had been scattered moved on, preaching the good news along the way.

Acts 8:1, 4 (CEB)

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

Craig J. Sefa Scattered

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In Acts 8:1, following the death of Stephen, we find that most of the church, except for the apostles, began to scatter throughout the regions of Judea and even into Samaria.  This was the catalyst they needed to fulfill Jesus’ final command: “Go!”

It’s interesting that they never actually intended to do this.  They seemed comfortable in Jerusalem and so long as they were comfortable they had no reason to go elsewhere.  They never planned any mission trips to Samaria… they didn’t even send money to help the poor in starving towns around the world.  Their fulfillment of the Great Commission came not by planning and sending, but by persecution, fear, and running away. 

The Word Jesus proclaimed was finally on the move, even if it required fleeing for their lives, but to their credit these persecuted disciples did not flee by leaving their faith behind.  Instead they moved into new territories with the same boldness that led to their persecution in Jerusalem.

“The blood of the martyrs,” Tertullian wrote in the 2nd century, “is the seed of the church.”  And they scattered that seed everywhere they went, along the way, without a second thought.

Much more can be said of the apostles’ preaching in Samaria and of Phillip’s continued ministry, particularly as he meets a royal servant on the road and through him, ends up sending the gospel even to the far reaches of Ethiopia… in some ways, to the end of the earth.  But for now it is enough to understand that the struggles we face as Christians should not drive us further into our protective church shaped bubble, but rather should propel us out into the world to continue spreading the Good News of God’s grace in all the world.

We must also realize that we will not always get it right and that even when we do get it right, it may not always be interpreted or understood the right way.  Finally, we see in these early Samaritan encounters that we are not the first ones to take Christ into our world.  God is already at work and many people are already searching.  Our primary task in evangelism is to see where God is at work and help others realize God’s presence in their midst.

As Bishop Ken Carter often says:

“Go now in peace to serve God and your neighbor in all that you do.  Bear witness to the love of God in this world, so that those to whom love is a stranger will find in you generous friends.”

PPGSW - Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service & Witness

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PPGSW - The Meaning of Membership
(Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service & Witness)
Church - Part 3
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Acts 2:42-47

The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers. A sense of awe came over everyone. God performed many wonders and signs through the apostles. All the believers were united and shared everything. They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them. Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity. They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42-47 (CEB)

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

Craig J. Sefa PPGSW (The Meaning of Membership)

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These past few weeks we have looked at the vows our Confirmation Students took in our service last week, but there is one further question asked in our service of Baptism and Membership: 

As members of this congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness?

Essentially we are asked, “Will you live out your commitment to Christ through your participation in the local church as modeled by the Apostles in Acts 2?”  Each of these means by which we connect ourselves with the church are visibly present in the church of Acts.

They were clearly present, devoting themselves to DAILY teaching and fellowship.  They prayed for one another and the world.  They gave generously and sacrificially and served each other so that no one among them would be in need.  And the scripture tells us that they gained the favor of all the people and God added to their number those who were being saved.  In other words, their acts of service, generosity and prayer along with their commitment to regularly being present with one another did not go unnoticed in the community and their witness led many more to confess Christ as Lord.

• Prayers.

  Throughout the gospels, Jesus models and instructs his disciples about how to pray.  The New Testament offers many examples and instruction on prayer (see Matthew 6:5-13 and James 5:13-18).  By praying with and for our congregation we draw closer to our fellow believers and to Christ.

• Presence. 

  Being present at church is important, and “presence” can mean more than showing up regularly at the building.  Presence might mean visiting with someone who is unable to be part of worship.  Sometimes our presence is required to restore relationships.  When we feel pulled in many directions, we may need to be intentional about being fully “present” with the community of faith.  Psalm 139 shows the enduring presence, knowledge, and depth of care that God has for us.

• Gifts.

  1 Corinthians 12 reminds us that each of us have been given unique gifts from God, meant to be used for the good of the community of faith.  Each of us possesses talents, abilities, and personality traits that are important for the Body of Christ!  In community, we are meant to discover our gifts, affirm those gifts in each other, and find the best use for our gifts, as we offer them to God.

• Service.

  We put our gifts to work by living a life of Christian service.  We serve our congregation and together, we serve beyond our congregation.  Our service points to the example of Christ and bears testimony to God’s work in our lives.  Each of us, regardless of age or gift, can serve in some way.

• Witness.

  Our witness brings together all these expressions of faith.  When we use our prayers, presence, and gifts in service of God to others, we act as witnesses to God’s redeeming love through Christ and as examples of how to live a life of Christian discipleship. (Note: The 2008 General Conference added witness to the membership vows which is why it is not included in our hymnals)

As Christ’s living body on earth, we do not have the same leeway we might have in other clubs or organizations to grow slack in our participation.  A hand cannot say it is too tired to help someone when the head tells it to and a foot cannot say it is too busy to walk when the body needs to go out in the community to serve.  As members of the body, we do what the head instructs us to do, with no questions asked.  There are days when our body part may be sore or tired and not feel like moving, but we must continue to function regardless.  If not the whole body will become paralyzed.   

In order to function as Christ’s body, we must fully and actively participate in the life of the church and in His calling upon our lives beyond the church.

How are you participating in the Body of Christ through your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness?