Kindling the Flame of the Spirit

Have you ever witnessed the birth of a fire that suddenly grew out of control? I love to walk. Keep your free-weights, treadmills and fancy gyms, and give me a quiet stretch of road and some headphones! I took up walking many years ago in an effort to find a way to exercise and lose some weight. What I didn’t know was that in that process, I would come to crave time with my tennis shoes on the pavement.

Back in 1994, I did a summer internship in Youth Ministry at the Austin Street Church of Christ in Garland, TX (many of you will know exactly where that is). During the course of the summer, I would stay with different families for weeks at a time. One such weekend, I was staying at a person’s house that was out of town. Evening came, and I got bored with whatever was on television that night, so I decided to lace up my shoes and go for a walk. Keep in mind, it was about 11pm on a hot summer’s night and I was in a subdivision I was totally unfamiliar with as I set out. Cautiously, I would walk to a spot as far down the street I could see, and then make a decision whether or not to turn a different direction or backtrack my path. At one such point in my walk, I noticed a strange sight around the corner – intrigued, I had to follow. What I saw in the distance was a strange, bright-orange substance dripping on the pavement from underneath a car. As I got closer to the car and the car got closer to me, it became apparent that something was terribly wrong with the automobile. The driver pulled his ailing car into a driveway a few houses in front of where I was standing, popped the hood, and ran to the door of the house. At this point, I realized that the strange substance I was seeing was molten hot engine fluid and the car was beginning to spark into flame. In a moment, the homeowner rushed out of the house with the driver of the flickering car, and tried desperately to get a garden hose to reach the hood – but to no avail, because the flames had already consumed the engine compartment and made their way into the cab of the vehicle. About that time, I heard sirens in the distance, and in a matter of seconds, fire trucks and prepared to battle the blaze. By the time they had arrived, however, the car was completely destroyed and the power of the fire had robbed it of any value.

The amazing thing about a small fire is that it can grow so big, so fast – all it needs is fuel. Have you ever wondered why a candle burns and burns and does no damage – that’s because what the flame needs to grow and gain strength is simply too far out of reach to be of any concern. The first Church was born in such a manner. A small flame was lit in the hearts of eleven men. Given the proper fuel, the flame consumed them until such a point that extinguishing it was futile. The fire was started, and as a spark in dry stubble, the flame of the Spirit moved on God’s people to become a community of faith that would shape societies and transform world powers.

The very same Spirit that manifested itself at Pentecost still resides in the hearts of Christians today! The question we have to ask ourselves as worshippers is this: will we allow that flame the fuel it needs to grow and consume us and those we come in contact with, or will we, like a votive candle in a bowl, be content to have that fire smolder innocuously in the corner of the room of our hearts until it eventually flickers and is extinguished forever.

Resounding Themes:
Continued, Amazing Love of God
Jesus’ Story
Igniting A Fire In Our Hearts
Glory of the Community

Ready, Set, READ

Acts 2 – the whole chapter!

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- At first read, what do you find most intriguing about this chapter?

- What is Peter’s role at Pentecost? Why is that so significant, knowing just who Peter is?

- What does Acts 2 have to say about the Church and its role in the world? In each other’s lives?

- What is your role as a member of the body of Christ? If you are unsure, ask God to ignite a fire in your heart and a passion for ministry in the church.

Ready, Set, PRAY

Holy Father, You are revered among the nations. You sit enthroned above the flood and stoop down to consider even the lowliest. Your reign stretches from generation to generation. Your wisdom flows like an uninterrupted stream. Your promises continue to be fulfilled like the constant rising and setting of the sun. By your plan, we were rescued from eternal sin through the sending of Your son Jesus. And as the prophet predicted, we did not even recognize him or give him esteem. The truth of the matter is that we took Your precious gift and crucified him on a tree. Father, because of our crimes against You, we are cut to the heart! Your Son’s innocence has pierced our soul and convicted us of our sin. We are undone, O Lord! And yet, You love us and have saved us, and called us Your own. You have deposited Your own Spirit into our mortality, making us, ultimately, eternally immortal. You took the dry stubble of our hearts and ignited it to burn white hot for You. But You didn’t stop there – You anointed us with both power and purpose and called us to be a community of faith – Your Church - one in Spirit and one in example. O God, show us once again how we are treat one another. Remind us in this day what it is to have a common love and a common fire and a common Spirit with those who claim You as Lord. Move in Your Church once again to be Your envoys, Your ambassadors of light in a dark, dark world. And, Lord, let it begin with Highland Oaks. Through Jesus. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Blankypuppy and the Holy Ghost

My youngest daughter’s name is Ryleigh. She is two years old and quite good at it. Of my two daughters, she is the most easy-going, the most stubborn, the most emotional, the most precocious…in a nut shell, she is a lot like me! Although Ryleigh has few things in her life that are in need of ordering or being arranged, she cannot exist without her blanket and her stuffed Boxer pup. NOTE – we refer to the two items in a singular fashion, “blankypuppy,” for where one is, the other is not far behind.

“Blankypuppy” goes everywhere with Ryleigh. She takes them to the breakfast table, to the chair to watch her favorite movie, in the car for trips of all length (including down the street to the grocery store), to school in her backpack, everywhere around the house – and all points in between. Needless today, these items are well loved and show signs of Ryleigh’s devotion to them. But above all places they must be present throughout the course of a day is in her bed for naps and nighttime. Any sleeping ritual isn’t complete until it ends with Ryleigh lying down in her bed, her puppy being tucked under her arm, and her blanket being draped over her entire body like a painter’s tarp over a fine sofa.

Misfortune struck on evening when Ryleigh had a diaper that had met its water retention limit and leaked onto her bed. Startled by the state of things, she cried until we came up the stairs, only to discover that her pajamas, bedding, and “blankypuppy” needed to be washed. Ryleigh was devastated that her prize possession was gone; however, in her tired state, she settled back in and drifted off to sleep. Yet, not an hour later, she awoke my wife and I both with a repetitive cry of hysteria. “Blankypuppy! Blankypuppy!” You see, she had awoken, only to discover that the one thing that brought her security and comfort was missing. For Ryleigh, the physical presence of those two items was her assurance of safety. Only when they were retuned to her, could she lie back down and sleep in peace.

When Jesus talked to his disciples in his final hours, he talked about his leaving to be accompanied by an arrival. This arrival would be the marker and reminder of God on Jesus’ followers. Without the Holy Spirit, the disciples would be little more than helpless children crying for security. Yet, when the Spirit of God came in power fifty days later, these same men would speak and preach boldly about a new Kingdom. As the Book of Acts begins (and thus begins a new preaching series), we find the disciples in this in between time – in need of something or someone to become a reminder to them of their mission to the world.

In our worship this week, let’s focus on the sending of the Holy Spirit as both a comforting and empowering experience. As “blankypuppy” is to my daughter, so, too, the Holy Spirit should be to us – a promised presence in our lives that we can’t be happy without. Let us also be thankful for the spiritual baptism we enjoy in Christ Jesus, and the readiness of our hearts to receive his leading.

Resounding Themes:
Outpouring of God’s Spirit
Constant Presence
Readiness of the Called
Spiritual Baptism

Ready, Set, READ

Acts 1:1-11

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What did Jesus mean when he spoke about the Kingdom of God? What did his disciples think he meant?

- Why was it important for them to hang around Jerusalem as Jesus had asked them to do? What did happen for those who stayed?

- What should a church truly sold out to God and empowered by His Spirit really look like? Is Highland Oaks that reflection? Why or Why not?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O, Righteous Father, your presence in our lives can be traced throughout the history of humankind. Not one moment of our existence can be matched with your absence. Even in the darkest hours of history, you can be found – close by your people, leading them with your steady hand. God, even in times when we have run away scared like the prophet Elijah, you have found us, comforted us, and restored us in Your Name. Yes, our days are indelibly marked with your companionship, and we are blessed to have you in and directing our lives. Father, we also thank you for the Holy Spirit. He is to us as a blanket of security in a dark room. Our loneliness in sin was matched by your gift – your immeasurable gift of the Spirit. So Father, may we embrace the Spirit’s company with both a willingness to receive and a readiness to act as He directs. And might we always be assured of Christ’s promise never to leave or forsake us, as so fulfilled in the Holy Ghost. May He truly guide, guard, and direct our lives. In Christ. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Are You a Better Microphone or Mute?

Are you a better microphone or mute?

One of the highlights of growing up was getting into Jr. High. If you were in Jr. High, you were cool. You had arrived. You were a mature young person on your way to the top! Things were different in middle school than they were in elementary. For example, you ate in the cafeteria only with the big kids – no sharing a table with a lowly first grader! If you wanted pizza and nachos, you could help yourself. Sports were more competitive (so we thought). The girls were definitely better looking. And then there was band – ah yes, that first experience into a musical panoply that just couldn’t be had in 5^th grade music class.

Band was cool. All my life, I had wanted to play the trumpet. I had played Winthrop in our community’s production of Music Man when I was 6 years old. At the end of the play, Winthrop is given a brand new shiny coronet by the infamous Professor Hill – and since that moment, I wanted to play one! And so it was. On my 12^th birthday, I got an old, beat up coronet that I thought was amazing. In time I learned to play and began to excel beyond the skill of all my classmates. When I was in the 8^th grade, I finally made first chair, and I was so proud. However, there was a brand new 6^th grader in band that year who also wanted to play trumpet. In truth, he was horrible. Try as he may, he had very little musical ability – but he loved to hold up his horn and blow loudly. In time, his playing got so distracting that the director decided to give him a mute to stuff in the end of his horn to take the edge off of his wrongness. But that didn’t discourage Chuck in the least. He still showed up everyday and played his heart out - out of tune, out of sync, and out of his mind!

What we didn’t know is that behind the scenes, the director had committed to work with Chuck to improve any amount of skill that might be hidden within him. When our end of the year concert came, we all showed up to the performance in great expectation of showing off to our family and friends. Every year, the director would give out awards to individual members who had various achievements. One such reward was the “most improved” award given to the member who had show the biggest turn around that year. When the time came to give that award, it was given to none other than Chuck. We were all astonished that he was given any award; afterall, what we heard each week was a muted version of a bad trumpeter. He then called Chuck to the stage, make a few remarks and had him play a few notes with the mute in. Everyone grimaced (even more so than usual at a Jr. High band concert). Then he had Chuck take his mute out and play a simple song into the microphone. The transformation was amazing! The notes were clear and precise. The crowd erupted in applause, and we all sat in awe of what he had done.

I’ll ask it again. Are you a better microphone or mute? The reign of God is breaking in all around us. He is doing incredible things and has poured out blessing upon blessing. When God works an amazing thing in your life, are you a better mute or microphone? Are you quick to put a stopper in the end of your praises, or do you step up to the microphone and shout out what God has done for you. When others experience great things, are you quick to stifle their happiness with sarcasm and negativity, or do you rejoice with them in praising God? In our worship this Sunday, we are going to look at the great ways God worked in the life of HO in 2005. Just as Jesus took what was little and made a lot, so too has he taken what would have been meager in our hands and turned it into a feast of his abundance. We are also going to face our hopes forward for 2006 and ask for a continued blessing for HO. Come to worship this Sunday ready to shout out your praises to God, not with a mute but with a microphone!

Resounding Themes:
God’s Resounding Faithfulness
Magnificence and Might of God
Thankfulness and Gratitude
Voicing our Praises

Ready, Set, READ

Matthew 14:13-20

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- How are Jesus’ and the disciples’ reaction to the crowd different?

- What does Jesus do before the blessing is received? Does this have anything to say to us about reviving a blessing from God?

- In 2005, how did God bless your life through Highland Oaks? Did you thank him?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Most magnificent Father, I praise your glorious name. Your faithfulness to me began before I was born and will continue past the edges of my existence. Not only have You been faithful, but You have poured out Your generous blessings upon Your body at Highland Oaks! Time and time again in 2005, You lavished Your love upon us, and we say “thank you.” What was meager in our hands, O Father, You turned into an innumerable bounty. What could have only achieved a small affect by our own efforts was given great power by Your blessing and, in turn, affected many. Even so Father, give me the ability to also look forward to the amazing bounty that You have in store for Highland Oaks in 2006. We are hungry for spiritual food that does not spoil, but that endures unto eternal life, which comes from Your hands. And most holy Lord, we will forever give the praise, glory, and honor due Your name for the great things You have done! In Christ. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Where Your Treasure Is

What is your most treasured possession? Is it a vehicle – be it very old or very new? Is it a family heirloom that was handed down from generation to generation? Maybe it’s a salary that exceeds what both your parents combined ever made in their careers. Is it a diploma or degree you achieved after years of intensive study? Maybe it’s a picture of your family where everybody was present and not arguing! Or maybe that treasure is something less tangible, like the love of a spouse or a child. The fact is, we all have things in this life that we cherish and treasure.

I confess, I’m not an overly sentimental guy. I don’t have a bunch of things that I am totally attached to, like an old trophy or a pair of socks from the 6^th grade. I don’t tend to keep thoughtful cards at the holidays – in fact, I’m very quick to delete old emails! Yet, I do have a few treasures that I prize above others. My grandmother on my mother’s side was an avid ceramics maker. Her fondest hobby was the construction and distribution of her art forms to those she loved. Mammaw Louise set out in her lifetime to make a complete set of holiday (Easter and Christmas) decorations for each of the grandkids. I don’t know that she ever totally achieved that feat, but we all did receive some piece(s) of her work while she was alive and after her death. Christmas has just passed by, and last weekend was spent putting away all of our decorations. Some of the treasures I have of hers include four gorgeous reindeer with 18k antlers, a jovial Santa on his sleigh, and a 35 piece nativity set – complete with camels, barn, wise men, and a backup baby Jesus in case one gets lost! These items are quite precious to me and I love to display them every year in our home. As we rewrap those treasures in 30 year old newspaper sections that display headlines about what are now historical events, I’m reminded of a dear woman who made an impact on me beyond words or comprehension.

But what if those items were taken away from me in an instant? How would I react? Still yet, what if one of those things I mentioned earlier was taken away from you and you were left without them forever? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talked to the people about true treasures. These weren’t earthly things like money, possessions, or memorabilia; rather, they included things such as a relationship with Father God and an overwhelming sense of joy in giving to others. There have been plenty of people in this world that have lost something they treasured too much in this world, only to let it drive them to destruction. Jesus tells us today to not get too acquainted and comfortable with the “now,” be it tangible or otherwise. Yet, its when we can begin to treat everything with a touch of separation (including or wealth) that we begin to understand what it means to become a citizen of heaven and not of this world.

Resounding Themes:
Goodness of God
Richness of the Spiritual Life
Sovereignty of God’s Blessings
Heavenly Home vs. Worldly Home