Brown's Daily Word: 5/13/12

Friday, May 18, 2012

Brown's Daily Word 5-18-12

Praise the Lord for this new day. It is going to be one of the glorious days. The trees in the fields and and around the hills are now full of luxuriant new leaves. They look a luscious green. Praise the Lord of the creation who decorates His earth with so much beauty. When I gaze at the trees I am reminded of the song:

You shall go out with joy
And be let forth with peace,
The mountains and the hills
Will break forth before you
There will be shouts of joy
And all the trees of the fields
Will clap, will clap their hands

And all the trees of the fields
Will clap their hands
The trees of the fields will clap their hands
The trees of the fields will clap their hands
While you go out with joy.

The Christian Gospel is an invitation a great and very deep joy. We rejoice in times of blessings, when all is well. Jesus, the Lord of Joy, pours upon us His joy even in the times trials and tragedies.

I recently read the following story. “On November 19, 1991, Cathe Chermesino was running down South Street, trying to make it to Calvary Baptist School before the late bell rang. On the surface she had it all. She was a beautiful, talented thirteen-year-old who possessed YMCA swimming medals, not to mention a beautiful singing voice. When she ran across the street, she was hit by a fast-moving car and thrown into the air. Immediately Cathe became totally paralyzed. Cathe now goes to school sitting rigid and upright in a bulky wheelchair. She breathes through a ventilator and has to carefully mouth her words so others can lip-read. On the first anniversary of her accident, she gave her testimony at her church. ‘I’m like the potter’s clay,’ she said. ‘I’m being reshaped into something that I believe will be far better. What looks harmful for me will actually turn out to be good. Before the accident I was an awful snob, but now God has given me an inner peace. I’m giving my voice a rest until I get to heaven.’ Her mother looked lovingly at her daughter and added, ‘Cathe needs just two things to make it through. A lot of prayer and a little bit of oxygen.’ Recently [a friend] wrote Cathe and gave her a verse from Deuteronomy 31:8, ‘The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.’ He said, ‘Lord, if You can help Cathe to rise above her circumstances, I know that with Your grace I will rise above mine.’”
What happened to Cathe is unfair. Why should she have to live her life as a paralytic? Yet, she continues to love Jesus and serve him in her wheelchair. She even sees God’s grace at work in her disabilities. Like her, we should continue to love and serve the Risen Lord wherever He has placed us, and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. We should raise our hands in joyful praise and thanksgiving.

Swiss theologian Karl Barth wrote: “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.”
The Old Testament prophet Malachai dealt with a group of grumbling believers. He wrote, “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape’” (Malachi 3:14-15). But Malachi continued the story: “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. ‘They will be mine,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.’” (Malachi 3:16-18).
The final chapter has not yet been written, but, in the end, if our hearts are right, we will become his “treasured possession”. He will have compassion on us, and we will finally see the distinction “between those who serve the Risen Lord and those who do not." For those who love Jesus and serve Him , the best is yet to be. Blessed be His Name.

In Christ,

Brown

http://youtu.be/JhbxoM-bCI4

Friday May18., 2012

Television Outreach

Time Warner Cable Channel 4

Time 7:00 PM

Saturday evening worship service.

Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott

53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.

Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott

Saturday May 19, 2012

6 PM Gathering: Coffee Fellowship

6:30 PM Worship Service

Worship Music by Laureen Naik, Emma Brunson

Speaker: Rev. Bill Turner

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Brown's Daily Word 5-17-12

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. The Lord blessed us with a joyful Wednesday Evening gathering of fellowship and study. It is a joy to come together in fellowship and prayer before Jesus our Risen Lord. Somehow He comes and blesses us with His Joy. Our grandson Simeon loves sing a song by the Newsboys, "You give me joy that's unspeakable and I like it, and I like it." The Christian Gospel is not merely good advice, but rather it is the Good News of great Joy. The Christian Gospel is an invitation to Joy.

According to John's Gospel the first miracle Jesus performed was in a wedding setting. That, however, is only the beginning of the story. Another wedding, more glorious and more wonderful than anything we have ever known, is coming. Jesus hinted at it at the Last Supper when he said, “I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). The fulfillment of Christ’s promises to marry His bride will take place not just in a garden paradise, but in the full paradise of God’s kingdom, at the fulfillment of all things, at the end of the age. The writer of Revelation put it like this, “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”’” (Revelation 19:6-9).
Jesus began his ministry with a miracle at a wedding. Human history began with a wedding in the garden of Eden. The bride of Christ, His people, the church, was made possible at the saving death of our Savior, as the wine of his blood was poured out for his people. At the end of the age, this wedding will be consummated at the wedding feast of the Lamb. Here is the greatest of all miracles and mysteries. Here is the plan of God which he began in the Garden of Eden, a wedding made possible in the garden where Jesus was crucified and consummated in Paradise at the coming of Christ at the end of the age.
Joni Eareckson Tada, a quadriplegic who was paralyzed in a diving accident as a teenager, talks about her wedding day. She says, “I felt awkward as my girlfriends strained to shift my paralyzed body into a cumbersome wedding gown. No amount of corseting and binding my body gave me a perfect shape. The dress just didn’t fit well. Then, as I was wheeling into the church, I glanced down and noticed that I’d accidentally run over the hem of my dress, leaving a greasy tire mark. My paralyzed hands couldn’t hold the bouquet of daisies that lay off-center on my lap. And my chair, though decorated for the wedding, was still a big, clunky gray machine with belts, gears, and ball bearings. I certainly didn’t feel like the picture-perfect bride in a bridal magazine. I inched my chair closer to the last pew to catch a glimpse of Ken in front. There he was, standing tall and stately in his formal attire. I saw him looking for me, craning his neck to look up the aisle. My face flushed, and I suddenly couldn’t wait to be with him. I had seen my beloved. The love in Ken’s face had washed away all my feelings of unworthiness. I was his pure and perfect bride. How easy it is for us to think that we’re utterly unlovely — especially to someone as lovely as Christ. But He loves us with the bright eyes of a Bridegroom’s love and cannot wait for the day we are united with Him forever.”
We are, as it were, unattractive, frightened, paralyzed and imperfect, yet wild with hope, as we come to the wedding feast of the Lamb. We feel inadequate and unworthy, yet our eyes are fixed on Christ. We are overwhelmed with emotion as we know that we are loved and accepted just as we are, and that the wedding will bring about transformation. The blood and water that flowed from his side has released us from our bondage, healed our brokenness, and cleansed us from our sin. We become the Bride of Christ, not just in theory or potentiality, but in reality. There, together with Him and all the redeemed, we will taste the new wine of the kingdom.
It is written in Revelation, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true’” (Revelation 21:2-5).
May the Risen Lord pour in each one of us His Joy, unspeakable today as we love Him and serve Him.

In His Joy,

Brown

http://youtu.be/yCSVWWDLDiI

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Brown's Daily Word 5-16-12

Thanks be to Jesus for this new day. We will gather for our Wednesday Evening gathering at 6 PM with a very special meal prepared with much love and for Bible Study and prayer at 6:30 PM. We will be looking at 1 Corinthians 15, the Resurrection chapter.

It is beautiful all around us. The honeysuckles bushes are robed in luxuriant flowers, with their sweet aroma and magnificent fragrance wafting through the air. I saw yesterday morning two Canadian geese, a father and mother, walking their line of goslings in a parade in the fields by the parsonage. The beautiful sight was a feast to the eyes of the beholder. I noticed late in the afternoon that one of the goslings was left behind. It was wounded and could not walk. Late in the evening two Canadian geese flying over, calling out repeatedly, apparently looking for their beloved and beautiful little gosling.

C. S. Lewis’ famous tales, The Chronicles of Narnia center on the key story, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and the main characters, children named Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. Lucy, the youngest of the children stumbles through their uncle’s wardrobe into the frozen world of Narnia — a place where it is always winter and never Christmas. The other children at first disbelieve her, but eventually they follow her through the wardrobe and into Narnia. As they do, the creatures there begin to gasp as they see them and treat them as though they are someone special. At first they are surprised and think there has to be some kind of mistake. Then they are not sure they want this kind of responsibility, in spite of how flattering it is. Then they meet Aslan — a lion who is the Christ-figure in the story. He calls them by new names: King Peter the Magnificent, King Edmund the Just, Queen Lucy the Valiant, and Queen Susan the Gentle. Father Christmas had already given them gifts to help them accomplish their calling. They begin their wonderful journey of fulfilling their calling – a calling that was planned for them before the world began, and as they do, Narnia’s winter begins to break. The snow melts and summer’s warmth begins.

I love the summer season. Praise the Lord for summer. The summer season is not the season for slumbering. It is the season for sowing seeds and it is also the season for gardening in His Kingdom. Phillip Yancey, in his book "What Good Is God?" tells of a group of American high school students went on a mission trip to Afghanistan. They had great success and saw many people come to Christ as a result of their ministry. Dr. J. Christy Wilson, ( whom I had the great privilege to get together with Dr. Christy in Boston for a week in 1982), their host who was born of missionary parents, took them to an unusual tourist site, the only cemetery in Afghanistan where ‘infidels’ could be buried. "He walked to the first, ancient gravestone, pitted with age. ‘This man worked here thirty years and translated the Bible into the Afghan language,’ he said. ‘Not a single convert. And in this grave next to him lies the man who replaced him, along with his children who died here. He toiled for twenty-five years, and baptized the first Afghan Christian.’ As they strolled among the gravestones, he recounted the stories of early missionaries and their fates.
At the end of the row he stopped, turned, and looked the teenagers straight in the eye. ‘For thirty years, one man moved rocks. That’s all he did, move rocks. Then came his replacement, who did nothing but dig furrows. There came another who planted seeds, and another who watered. And now you kids — you kids — are bringing in the harvest.’"
"The group leader said, ‘It was one of the great moments of my life. I watched their faces as it suddenly dawned on these exuberant American teenagers that the amazing spiritual awakening they had witnessed was but the last step in a long line of faithful service stretching back over many decades. I’ll never forget that scene.’”
Perhaps you feel like all you do is move rocks — but you do it for God and you do it faithfully. Some day someone will come along and build on what you have done – and there will be a harvest. The Bible says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
The Bible also says, “Therefore, my brothers (and sisters), be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:10-11

In Christ,

Brown
http://youtu.be/qaHmiFaX_pk

Brown's Daily Word 5-15-12

Praise the lord for this new day. We drove to Boston last Saturday to spend some time with Janice and her family. We worshipped in A Presbyterian Church In Cambridge on Sunday. We celebrated mother's day in Boston. We praise the Lord for the gift of the Christian home. There is no perfect Christian home, family, or marriage. We all are dysfunctional in some ways. That is the reason Jesus came to redeem us and give us new life, new beginnings.

One of the headlines for the week has been about gay and lesbian marriages. In fact, few years ago, Congress took the extraordinary step of bringing into law the Defense of Marriage Act, which includes a very basic, unmistakable attempt to define what marriage is and what, by definition, it isn’t. This is what it says: The word “marriage” means only a legal union between one man and one woman, as husband and wife. The word “spouse” refers only to a person of the opposite sex, who is a husband or a wife.

There are those who would say, “That is the position that historically, traditionally and biblically has been held in Western Civilization.” There are others who are saying, “It’s time that we redefine marriage and the family.” So the lines of demarcation are clearly drawn, and it is incumbent upon each one of us to arrive at some very, very specific convictions and conclusions as to what we personally believe in this matter.

I have performed several marriages during my ministry. I performed another beautiful marriage ceremony recently. It was one of the ten best days. The man and woman, groom and bride looked stunning. It was a great time of celebration, and entering into the bond of Christian marriage. In the congregation there two men present who living together as homosexual partners. I shared during my wedding message to the newlyweds that our God revealed in the Bible, in the person of Jesus Christ, that He is a very generous God. He is Holy and righteous. Our God is the one who invented marriage between man and woman. It is written God made Adam and Eve (not Adam and Steve). God ordained marriage between one man one woman. When the first couple disobeyed the Lord and sinned God did not abandon them; rather, He planned the great plan of redemption in the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who blessed the marriage in Cana of Galilee by His own presence. In fact, He performed His first miracle there, according to John 2.

It is written in Genesis, "God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth". Two gay men in a "marriage" relationship or two lesbians in a "marriage" relationship cannot multiply. The Lord, the Creator, has the better idea that only man and woman in the bond of marriage can multiply.

God loves all of us. We are all sinners saved only by grace. He loves heterosexuals, homosexuals, and lesbians. Jesus came to redeem us from sin and bondage, and to give new and transformed lives so that we live in liberty and serve Him in joy.
In the Creation account of Genesis 2 we get a glimpse of life in the first family. In our Scripture we discover three truths about the marriage of Adam and Eve: First, they were created for each other. Second, they were different from each other. And third, they were given to each other.

In the year 1158, the medieval poet and professor Peter Lombard observed that, "Eve was not taken from the feet of Adam to be his slave, nor from his head to be his lord, but from his side to be his partner." Lombard grasped an important fact which has eluded many Christians from Lombard's day down through to our very own. That is, in the creation account there is no evidence of superior/inferior or dominant/submissive relations between the first husband and wife. Instead there is evidence of equality and an egalitarian relationship. Adam and Eve shared a growing friendship. They had a strong partnership. They enjoyed companionship. They complemented one another in every way possible, because they were created for each other.

In the Genesis account, God had looked upon the universe in all of its perfection and pristine glory -- and God has declared it very good. Yet, here, the Lord's benediction becamd a malediction: God saw that it was not good for a man to be alone. Thus, we read of the Lord's intent: "I will make him a helper fit for him" (Genesis 2:18, RSV).

Then our text takes an unusual turn. In the Genesis 2:19, 20, we have an apparent non sequitur. At first glance these verses seem unrelated to the 18th verse. We just read that God intended to make a helper for man, and next we read that God set Adam to the task of studying the animals. While these verses may initially seem incongruent, consider the divine wisdom at work. Here was the first "premarital counseling session." God had some important insights for Adam before Adam could marry Eve, which went well beyond "the birds and the bees."

Certainly God wanted to show Adam that his wife was entirely unique -- created like himself, unlike the animals. The Lord enabled Adam to envision his wife as a partner, a best friend, and a life companion. At the same time, the Lord inspired Adam to treat his wife in a loving and caring way. We need only understand God's purpose in creating woman to understand her divinely-intended relationship to man. She is described by God, her Maker, as a "helper fit for man." The preposition "for" is very important here. It literally means "corresponding to, equal and adequate to." She is a partner corresponding to the man. She is a fitting partner who is his equal in every respect.

Theologian Paul Jewett noted that the particular Hebrew word for help, used in verses 18 and 20, describe a "fitting helper" for man. This word, in fact, is never used in the Old Testament to designate a subordinate or a servant. Jewett observed that it is sometimes used of God Himself, for often the Psalmist speaks of God as our "help" in time of need.

Here we discover that Adam and Eve were created for each other. They were created equally to bear God's image. They were created equally to share life together. They were created equally for companionship, for partnership and for friendship. Yet, while they were created for each other, Adam and Eve were created uniquely different from each other. T hey were created to procreate.

Elizabeth Achtemeier has written of the beauty and mystery of this divine creation: "The man was shaped from the dust of the ground, intimately, in the hands of God the Potter. Then the woman was formed from the rib of the man, secretly, by God the Father of the Bride." The difference between man and woman, then, is due to God's creative plan and purpose. We read in verses 21 and 22 that God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, so that the Lord could perform divine surgery. From a single rib -- the solid and substantial bone which encloses the heart -- God created Eve.

Perhaps in describing the woman's creation in this way the Lord underscored the fact that woman is not the creation of man. When she was created, man was in an unknowing sleep. In fact Adam contributed no more to her creation than to his own; for this reason Eve is not somehow indebted to Adam. Although she is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, her being is hers, even as his being is his. This is because Adam and Eve were created uniquely different from each other.

It seems probable that the first husband and wife enjoyed many shared interests. At the same time, they must have encouraged each other to develop their individual interests, talents and abilities. We simply need to remember that before the Fall, in their perfection, Adam and Eve lived out the kind of love which Paul wrote about in I Corinthians 13. This love is patient and kind, it rejoices in the other's well-being. This love is not possessive, not resentful, not jealous, not demanding of its own way. When a husband and wife share this Christ-like love they encourage and celebrate each other's individual interests, talents, abilities and success.

Although God created Adam and Eve for each other, God created them different from each other. Such uniqueness, such differing gifts and interests are to be a wellspring of joy and spontaneity in marriage. This joy and spontaneity was especially evident on that primeval day when the Creator God gave Adam and Eve to each other. We read Adam's joyful song in verse 23 where, in effect, he said, "At last, here is my life companion, bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!"

Imagine Adam and Eve, in their perfection, encountering each other for the first time. In his commentary on Genesis, Martin Luther expressed his belief that Adam must have excelled the animals in strength -- with power greater than the lion's, eyesight sharper than the eagle's, with incredible knowledge and wisdom and handsomeness. Then Luther thought Eve would have been as strong, fast, clear-sighted, and brilliant as the man; and in addition to that she must have had a beauty and grace that excelled him.

Adam and Eve knew a joyful ecstasy when God gave them to each other. "Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). This is one of the Bible's most powerful teachings given to husbands and wives. Here we discover what makes for a successful and satisfying marriage.

Adam and Eve recognized that God had created them for each other -- for companionship, partnership and friendship. Adam and Eve realized that God had made them different from each other -- with unique gifts, talents and abilities. Adam and Eve rejoiced when God had given them to each other -- to share a lifetime of love together.

Today let us give thanks unto the Lord for His goodness to us. How great is God's love that He would care intimately about our marriages and families. How great His desire that our hearts and homes have a place for His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How great His provision in sending His Son to be our Helper and Counselor -- and above all to be our Savior. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can make marriage and family all that God originally intended it to be.

In Christ,

Brown

http://youtu.be/JIs0SrJYJUk

Saturday evening worship service.

Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott

53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.

Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott

Saturday May 19, 2012

6 PM Gathering: Coffee Fellowship

6:30 PM Worship Service

Worship Music by Laureen Naik, Emma Brunson

Speakers: Rev. Bill Turner,