The Journey to the Destination

In case you missed it, the Christian Church entered the season of Lent on Wednesday. Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is the day when all fat, eggs, and dairy are used up before the abstinence of Lent took over. Notice, there is no need to drink up all the alcohol, but some traditions seem to make an attempt at that as well.

Another name for the season leading up to Lent is Carnival, from the Latin carne vale, or “farewell to the flesh. This can call the believer to the period of abstinence and fasting or have a focus on the spiritual rather than the material. It is probable that the is some joint meaning in the reference.

Following the strict religious traditions of the time, all celebrations end abruptly at midnight on Fat Tuesday, and the Christian community enters a time of fasting, prayer, emphasis on the spiritual disciplines, and a devotion to and remembrance of the sufferings of Jesus Christ on behalf of the believers. The time of Lent was also a season to instruct those people seeking to be baptized into the faith. With the sanction of Christianity by Emperor Constantine in A.D. 313, not only were sanctions and persecutions lifted from Christians, but there were even advantages and privileges for people becoming Christians. The large number of potential converts needed to be adequately instructed and their commitment to the faith confirmed. It is said that the season of Lent was one of the ways a person would indicate their resolve and dedication to becoming a follower of Jesus Christ.

Some 1,700 years later, we have mostly forgotten those traditions. Many of us have no idea of what Lent is or how we should faithfully observe it. Others consider Lent a Catholic observance and not something Protestants normally do. So, we arrive at Easter with little or no preparation for the day, a general lack of understanding of the sufferings of Christ needed to procure our salvation, and neglected the strengthening of our faith through the use of the spiritual disciplines.

While it may be too late to wear the ashes this year, it is never too late to strengthen our relationship to our Savior. This Lenten season I am reading Lent for Everyone, a devotional book for the season by N. T. Wright. There are dozens of other devotional books for the season, including picking up one of our own Daily Bread devotional books from the foyer for free. The main thing is that you begin, and that you be as faithful to your routine as you can possibly be. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day or two. Remember, it’s about growth in grace, not perfection.

Pastor Craig

Sleeping Through the Storm

 

The picture is called Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt. You can read the story in the Gospel of Mark 4:35-41. As you read the story remember that the men in the boat with Jesus were seasoned sailors. This was
their living. They had been out in other storms, so they knew what they were doing. But they did not remember one this bad in years.

Imagine the scene on the boat. Try to put yourself in the state of mind that would make veteran sailors cry out, shaking Jesus, who, incidentally, was fast asleep. How can he be that calm, or is it that he just does not care? We recognize that we are in danger while this man is calmly taking a nap in the back of the boat! He fell asleep on a cushion. Is he that courageous, that crazy, or that foolish. How would it be possible to sleep with the boat bouncing from wave to wave? The waves washing over the boat should have been more than enough to wake Jesus!

The disciples finally shook him awake, grabbed him by his robe, and yelled in his face “DO YOU NOT CARE THAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT TO DIE!” It was not a lack of caring that allowed Jesus to take a nap. It was the confidence in his Heavenly Father, his belief in the one who created the wind, the waves, the very storm itself, could also provide safety from it as well.

When all seems lost, nothing is lost if you are in the boat with Jesus!

Grandmothers

 

Grandma & Granbpa Emmanuel

I hope that everyone reading this have wonderful memories of your grandmothers. My family is originally from Wisconsin. The upper midwestern personality is unique and incredibly special. My grandparents lived in Merrill, Wisconsin.

My father’s parents lived a few miles outside of town and owned a family dairy. My grandparents were
the only farm hands once their children moved away, so our family vacation each year was going “up there” during hay season to help bale and store hay in the barn for the coming hard winter. I am sure that my cousins and I were more often in the way than help, but we thought it was all fun.

Grandma & Grandpa Krueger

My other grandmother was a widow in lived in town. She worked at the local IGA grocery store, in the meat market. She did not have the farm work to do, so there was time to do more of what we wanted. She had two great treasures which I still hold dear, a collection of Reader’s Digests dating all the way back to the’30s. Each summer, I read them all. I only wish that I would have claimed them as my own when she finally passed.

The other treasure was made up of my mother’s record collection, several dozen old 78’s from the 40’s and 50’s. These I do have, and I still love the music from that period more than any other style or genre.

The point is that the houses and our time spent at each house was quite different, but each was a magical, memorable time, that I continue to cherish almost 60 years after it is gone.

This brings us to the reading for today, Proverbs 9:1-6. The passage is a personification of Wisdom. Wisdom is like a wise grandmother, who takes care of her house, prepares the meals so everyone is fed, takes care of their needs so that they feel valued, listening to anything that is communicated so that all feel heard. I am sure that my grandmothers heard every 6-year-old story of our previous year at school. They voiced the appropriate concern over the wrongs we suffered, rejoiced with our elementary achievements, presented us with gracious gifts from the local dime store, and offered us a place to be ourselves while encouraging us to grow into something grand.

What they both offered in their own way was unconditional love. A grandmother’s love and wise guidance have an impact on the mind of the young. As the children grow up to face various adult trials and challenges, hers is the voice that comes from deep within reminding us of acceptance, guidance, and showing us, in a very real way, the divine love of our Creator.

Now I am a grandparent myself. I remember clearly all the time they both listened to endless stories and provided comforting words. My grandmothers were the personification of wisdom itself, each of them in their own way. I can only pray that I might do something similar in the lives of my own grandchildren.

Rev. Craig C. Krueger

Be Imitators of God

 

Being a Christian was a new thing for everyone in the New Testament era. The ways that had become widespread practice were no longer effective ways to go about living one’s life. A new standard was in place for the people. The gods of the Greeks and the Romans were mean, cruel, dishonest, lustful, deceptive, greedy, and so much more. In fact, the people may have been more righteous than their deities.

As Paul instructs the church at Ephesus, he highlights for them the things for which they should strive. Ephesians 4:25ff says Speak the truth, be angry, but do not let your anger smolder and build into resentment, resolve your differences on the same day, do not steal, earn your money with your own hands so you will have something to share with the poor, use words that will encourage one another, be kind, forgive.

It is an extensive list, isn’t it? Paul was trained as a Pharisee. That meant he knew the law of the Jewish people backwards and forwards. He knew what was allowed and what was forbidden. He knew not only what was “black and white,” but he also knew what was allowed in the gray areas, those expectations that had, or required, exceptional circumstances. If you were not allowed to work on a holy day, well, what exactly constituted “work?” If you had animals that needed care, was that work or not?

In all of this, Paul could see that this new way that called for forgiveness and grace could very easily turn into another extensive list of rules, even more comprehensive than the Jewish people had lived under for centuries. How was that, Grace? How was that forgiveness? Would all the attempts to follow this Jesus turn into another system where people were simply trying to balance the scales between sin and righteousness?

Finally, Paul gave the Ephesians one simple bit of encouragement. He says, therefore be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1 NASB). Paul was boldly telling the new converts all over the world, that they should act like Jesus did in all things. Here we see just how differently Christian behavior was from the pagan world. Jesus was not only a model of behavior, but he was also the power to fulfill the life that was that showed forth the model.

Craig C. Krueger

The Journey is too Much for You

 

The reading for today come from 1 Kings 19:4-8 – Elijah was on the run. Queen Jezebel was after him, and she had no intention of stopping until Elijah was dead. An exhausted Elijah had found a hiding place in the bushes, and there he prayer for death but ended up taking a nap.

And it was in this place that the angel of the Lord came to him said “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So, he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And there the word of the Lord came to him.

The “wilderness” is a place of giving and testing. It is a place of refining and strengthening. It can also be a time of weakness and, even, depression. It can be a time where God meets you and brings clarity to the chaos that may be surrounding you at this moment.

When the word of the Lord came to Elijah in that cave, the words came as a question, a question that required an answer. What are you doing here, Elijah?

You see, Elijah wasn’t supposed to be hiding in the bushes, in a cave, or anywhere else. He was supposed to be boldly proclaiming that Queen Jezebel and her wicked husband, King Ahab were living on borrowed time. God was about to send judgment upon them and the idolatrous people of the nation of Israel. Elijah, it’s time to put your trust in this God of yours, and time to be bold in what you say and what you do.

“Elijah,” God said, “It’s time to go back the way you came and do the job which I have assigned to you.”

Think carefully of your experiences running from that which you fear, from a task which God may have given to you. How did you finally face your fear, or are you still trying to avoid what lies before you? Elijah heard the still small voice of the Lord in the wilderness. What is that voice saying to you? What will your response be to that voice?

Reply in the same manner that Elijah did. When Elijah stepped out in faith, God brought about an awakening of faith among the people of Israel, an abandonment of the false idols and a return to the worship in the temple. Maybe God is ready to use you for something totally amazing!

Squeeze It Tight

This picture is a sweet one of an 8 year old holding her mother’s hand. It is precious, but it is far beyond just being precious. It is Miraculous!

It is precious because the child’s hand is my granddaughter’s, and the adult hand is my daughter-in-law’s. It is miraculous because this picture is 8+ years in the making. It is a picture of hope --- hope of something that may yet be. It is the hope of what we hope will be. It is the first of something.

You see, Anabelle has been labeled as “Our Little Unicorn.” There is no name for the collection of symptoms she has. She defies description, medically. She has seizures and has had infantile spasms. All of these are under control as a result of a combination of keto diet and several anti-seizure meds. It is not that she is “low-tone” as they once thought. It is just that it takes incredible focus and repetitivesness to achieve coordination.

There definitely has been damage done developmentally due to the spasms and seizures she has survived. Her swallow reflex is an issue for her. There are many limitations: and yet there also have been some amazing accomplishments. She can prop up on her elbows to play with toys. She can make certain toys do what she wants them to do by manipulating them or pushing correct buttons.

She loves music and movement and rhythm and vibration. She is not as visually cued to recognition with people as she is by sound. For instance her grandmother made up a song for her, and she sings it to her when she first arrives to see her. Anabelle “knows” her more by what song she sings to her more than her appearance. Once she hears her song, then Anabelle lights up.

All of this to say that the picture with this article is a first. Anabelle has ben held, she has had people hold her hand, and she has had people carry her in their arms, but this picture is miraculous because it is the first time Anabelle has held someone’s hand in return. That brief squeeze is God helping Anabelle say, “I am here. I see you, I know you, and I love you.”

The next time someone holds your hand in return when you reach for theirs remember Anabelle, and thank God for the miracle of holding hands with someone you love!

Rev. Craig C. Krueger

Caring for the Poor Little Ones

 Augustin of Hippo (354 - 430 AD) is recorded as saying God will turn towards those at his left hand: . . . I placed my poor little ones on earth for you. I as their head was seated in heaven at the right hand of my Father - but on earth my members were suffering, my members on earth were in need. If you gave anything to my members, what you gave would have reached their Head. Would that you had known that my little ones were in need when I placed them on earth for you and appointed them your stewards to
bring your good works into my treasury. But you have placed nothing in their hands; therefore you have found nothing in my presence.

Imagine all the things you have done, or tried to do, to impress your Creator. You went to worship, served on charitable foundations, gave hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars to "worthy causes." Imagine doing all these things, and so many others to impressed those around you. Now you have your chance to plead your case before your Creator. You quote your resume line-for-line. It is QUITE impressive. There's  just one problem. It's all about you. Everything you did, even when you gave money to other causes, it was all about you. Maybe you didn't get a

building with your name on it, maybe it was just a fancy certificate, or a plaque, or a photo-op in the paper, but it was still about you. 

The dear ones never saw you, never met you, didn't know you, so they had nothing to brag to their Father about. You put nothing in their hands, so you had nothing in the Father's presence. 

What if you knew ahead of time that your eternal destiny might rest in a story a "dear one" would joyously tell their Father in Heaven about you. How much effort would that have taken on your part? How much time? How much money? Just to show the love your Heavenly Father tried to show you, what if you had passed that love on to one of those "little ones." 

It may be much closer to the truth than most of us would like to believe!

Pastor Craig

Dare to Trust

 

What does it take to face the unknown? Have you ever been presented with such a chance? Have you ever been presented with a dare? My actual "Call" to ministry was more of a dare than a traditional call. 

It happened like this.  .  .  I could talk to anyone, but I was terribly anxious to speak before a group, actually, literally speak to a group on any topic. I could participate in a discussion, I could put my own two cents worth in, I could make a comment, but to put something together that was my own, and to get up and present it to a group was terrifying. So, when I began to feel something I would later identify as "a call" to ministry, it was naturally something with which I was already comfortable, and to a group with which I was comfortable. I was called to be a Youth Pastor. It felt like I would be having a conversation with my peers. I would get to keep going to the Youth Conferences and retreats. I would get paid to play volleyball on Sunday night with the youth, to go to 6 Flags, to cheer on the Atlanta Braves. What a sweet deal!

I was on my journey to this career. I had just graduated from Belhaven College with a major in Bible and Christian Education. I was home for the summer, and I was already working as the Summer Youth Director at my home church. My pastor asked me what my plans were, and my reply was that I wanted to work with youth. 

Without any hesitation, he asked why I was scared of adults, reminding me that any decent youth pastor had to be involved with the parents of the youth in the group. I replied with a defensive comment. Ultimately, this led to the "I DARE YOU TO TRUST GOD AND APPLY TO SEMINARY TO SEE WHERE GOD TAKES YOU!" It's 43 years later. I have preached more than 1500 sermons, taught seminars, led retreats, and addressed a group of more than 5,000 at one time. My mother is the only one who can still tell that I am scared to speak in public!

All of this brings us to Peter, Jesus, a boat, and a storm. Matthew 14 tells the story of the disciples on the lake and Jesus walking to them out on the water. The storm is growing, increasing in power, and

Jesus decides to go for a stroll out in the middle of the lake. If the storm itself did not scare the disciples, the sight of a man walking on a body of water that reaches 141 feet in depth. Peter, in a bold move, calls out "Lord, if it really is you, tell me to come to you on the water." I would be surprised if there were no comments in later years about Peter's failed attempt to walk on water that night. However, I have got to hand it to Peter. He is the only one swing a leg over the side to get out of the boat in the midst of that storm and take one step. 

Now, I do not intend to compare my faith to the Apostle Peter's, and I am sure my risk was less than his as well. The one thing we share is that we actually took the step to start. The act of faith was not in walking on the water. No, the act of faith was Peter's willingness to get out of the boat. Your faith is not measured by your success, but by your willingness to trust, even if it starts with a dare. 

Pastor Craig

What Changed Your World

 

I am writing this on Monday, April 17, 2023. Today is the 10th Anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. By the time I finish this article, the race will be over, and the winner will be decided. I am sure there will be events to memorialize the people who died that day and the hundreds of others who were injured. 

There are dates we memorialize. They are significant enough to stop our busyness and remember what happened and how it touched us that day. 

Some of those memories are happy: weddings, graduations, work and vocational milestones, etc. Others are very solemn occasions. These are the days you remember where you were and exactly what you were doing when you heard the news. These are events from the assassination of JFK to the murder of John Lennon, to the death of Elvis, 9-11, the first Moon Walk, the Challenger Disaster, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Woodstock, and others. 

Some of these events are times when the whole planet stopped in shock and was still. We take a moment and think about the unfairness of some things in life. We think of lives cut short. We wonder where our loved ones are and if they are safe. We may not know anyone directly involved with the event, but, somehow, the scope of the tragedy makes us a victim anyway.

I did not know a single person who was killed or injured on 9-11. Still, my family was forever changed because of the events of that day. My oldest son spent 12 years in the Marine Corps based on the events of that day. His younger brother originally considered that a dumb decision, but ended up pleading and fighting to enlist because he was blackballed. He ended up spending 4 years serving his country in the Marine Corps as well.

It is important to celebrate the joyous events of life. It is equally important to take a moment on those solemn occasions and remember, to be quiet in respect, to say a prayer, to recognize how a few seconds of our life changed the rest of our life. Maybe the day that impacts you the most is not on the list above. Maybe it is something much closer to home, something more personal. It did not make the national news, but it still changed your life. It is worth a moment, so stop, shed a tear if you need, say a prayer, give thanks for the days that were shared, even if they seem to have been cut short, recognize how a person, gone so long, still impacts your life. Then, when you start back with the rest of your day, be that kind of person that will leave footprints behind so people will see the trail you took when you walked through their life.

Craig C. Krueger

A Promise to Keep

 

I tried to find some statistics on what percentage of married people wear wedding bands. It turns out, nobody really knows. I received my ring June 14, 1997, and, and it has never been off. There are many other people can say the same.

The traditional vows, with regards to the exchange of wedding rings, have changed a little over the years in the Book of Common Worship of the PCUSA:

From 1928: With this ring I thee wed, and with all my worldly goods I endow, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,

From 1946: I do promise and covenant; Before God and these witnesses; to be thy loving and faithful (wife or husband); In plenty and want; In joy and in sorrow; In sickness and health as long as we both shall live.

From 2018: By your blessing, O God, may these rings be symbols of unending love and faithfulness and signs of the covenant they have made this day, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

There have been some changes in the last one hundred years. The commitments are more nebulous, the promises leave room for interpretation, and the vows are more hopeful than restrictive. However, we still make promises to one another. We still exchange some symbol of our commitment, but what I want to call to your attention most is the ring on your hand, if you wear one, is not a reminder of your commitment. It is a reminder that there is someone who committed to you! It is a symbol that someone has a claim in you, and that they are counting on you.

Earthly marriages can fail. At times people lose sight of the promises they made. Something, or someone, is more interesting. At times we find we just do not know how to live out those lofty ideals we had on that special day. The commitment can be challenging work.

Despite our failures in our relationships, the favorite Biblical illustration of our relationship with God is still that of a marriage. The Church is often called the Bride of Christ, and Baptism is that “ring” that reminds us that someone now has a claim on us. God is the perfect spouse. He is forgiving. He is steadfast. He will stand by you through all things, for better or worse, in sickness and health, through this life and beyond. When things are difficult, remember your Baptism. Yes, it can be a sign of your promises to God, but beyond that, it is your reminder that God has a claim on you that will not fade.

Craig C. Krueger

 

What is Tenebrae

 The purpose of the Tenebrae service is to connect with those people who experienced the loss of Jesus Christ firsthand. As the sanctuary darkens, we experience some of the darkness that has overtaken our world and our life. When we see the Christ candle leave the sanctuary, we may feel a moment of hopelessness and helplessness. There is nothing to celebrate in this service. Our one hope that we might indeed be reunited to our Creator is dead and buried.

 

I have pastoral colleagues who will not observe a Tenebrae service because they say we live in a post – Easter church. We cannot be without hope because hope has already been raised. Yes, fortunately, that is partly true. However, the disciples lived, for a few days, knowing that Christ would never again walk with them, teach them, and show them the power of God in their midst. We live knowing that the power of God is always with us, alive in us through the person of the Holy Spirit.  

 

Yet we live in a society that, even as it is able to allow us to connect in more ways than any other society in the history of the world, is more fractured than any society prior to it. We can call, text, E-mail, FaceBook, tweet, chat, etc, but we still know less and less about one another. We lose compassion, never really gaining understanding of our brother or sister in Christ.

 

Tenebrae reminds us of that brokenness. It tells us that we need restoration.

 

When the disciples had community, what was its center, its focal point? The community of faith centered itself around the person of Jesus Christ. It did not divide up over mode of baptism or style of music. It cared nothing about pre-millennialism, post-millennialism, or amillenialism. It was immediate because the need for restoration was immediate. We were broken and there was no better time to fix our brokenness than right now. We were too busy evangelizing the world to worry that one of our group should be hated as a tax collector, another was a blue collar fisherman, another was an anarchist, and another, even though he stole from the group, was allowed to stay a part of the community as long as he was willing.

 

Today we divide over politics, race, worship styles, marriage issues, nationality, and many other things. In so many ways we seem more lost than they ever were. Yes, indeed, the darkness of the Tenebrae seems overwhelming at this point. We would indeed despair if we did not already know how the story ends!

 

Craig C. Krueger

 

The Dog I Didn't Want. . .

During the first 25 years of my life I had a single dog. Her name was Taffy. She was a Beagle, and she died from Cancer on the night I graduated high school. I didn’t own another dog for seven years.

However, since that time I have owned close to 100 different dogs, the vast majority of them rescues. There is a family picture of my wife and I, our blended family of 5 children, and, at that time, 2 spouses. The special thing about this picture is the dogs in the picture outnumber the humans. All of the dogs are Boxers!

Over the years, we have rescued Boxers, Greyhounds, Great Pyrenes, Boston Terriers, Akbash, Anatolians, German Shorthaired Pointers, Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, Staffordshire Terriers, what I call “Dust Mop Dogs, but mostly mixed breed.

They have been adopted from shelter, off the track, picked up from the ditch, rescued from the median of I-45, the shoulder of I-35, and from the exit ramp to Perkins Rd. in Memphis, TN. Yes, her name became Perkins!

Currently, we have thirteen, but today I want to tell you about the one I didn’t want. His name was Ozzie, and he was a Boxer. I first saw Ozzie running loose through Ennis, Texas. He had jumped the fence at his owner’s house and creating a traffic jam from motorists trying not to run him over.

Over the next few day, I would discover that his owner was my secretary at First Presbyterian Church in Ennis. She was looking for a farm on which Ozzie could run free. I did not know at the time, but there was a conspiracy between my secretary and my wife to relocate Ozzie to my house. My response to the request for rehoming was a solid, “No.” That settled the matter until the day I came home and found Ozzie sunning himself on my deck.

Not only was he there to stay, but he decided I was going to be his human. I didn’t own him; he owned me. He didn’t stay in my fence either. He ran across 35+ acres. He enjoyed life. Since nobody seemed to know his birthday, he decided we would share mine. Yearly, we would go through a Whataburger and sit by a lake to share lunch. He became the guardian of our house, the most loyal creature I have ever known. He would go to the office with me. If you wanted to wrestle with him, he would take you down and stand over you until I told him to let you go.  And, best of all, the dog I did not want and tried to ignore, shared 17 birthdays with me before he passed, making him, at the time of his passing, the World’s Oldest Living Boxer. Though he has been gone for several years, I miss him still. 

Blessings,

Pastor Craig

The Pastor's Page

We are less than 40 hours away from a whole new year. While our starting and ending dates for the year are quite arbitrary, they have a tremendous symbolism! We do much more than simply turn the page on the calendar, or start a new tax season. We make promises and set resolutions. We decide to lose weight. I have a friend striving for sobriety in the coming year. Their start date, January 2^nd. Honestly, they wanted to get the holiday season and all its temptations behind them before, feeling they would pretty much guarantee failure if the began in the middle of a season with so many temptations.

First Presbyterian Church is facing an exciting year. The challenges and adventures, the rewards and the struggles are, at this point, all hypothetical. They are signposts on the horizon, mile markers along the road, things we use to judge our progress on our journey, to help us keep direction as we travel.

Where will you go in 2019? Where will you start, and where is it you would like to find yourself at the end of the year? I know that my calendar changed dramatically 6 weeks ago. I find myself altering long kept schedules and making plans for destinations and tasks I never thought would be mine.

Going through that process of redirection does involve some excitement, but it also involves a sense of loss. The regularity of one schedule is replaced by the real possibility of one that is much more organic, always changing, moving, and reforming. One of the “exciting” things would involve the need to learn a new language in less than six months. Considering how little I learned in 2 years of high school Spanish and my poor grades in that class, it is a daunting task as well.

All of this simply leads us to the fact that our God is a lover of surprises. God loves to challenge us. The Holy Spirit throws things in our path that constantly drive us toward our that same Spirit. We are faced with opportunities that will be totally impossible without complete reliance on the power of that Spirit.

This could be an extremely frustrating existence if it were not for the face that we know we have a Heavenly Father who loves us and cares for us. We can embrace the reality of these future events as being placed along our journey for the express purpose of leading us into an ever deepening relationship with the Triune God. These are not events to overwhelm us. No, they are opportunities to marvel at the God who makes us conquerors in all things!

Pastor Craig

Take Time to Know

Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

Today, January 21^st, is General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson's birthday. This will be a day few people will celebrate. It has become unpopular to speak of Confederate Generals in a positive way in our current culture, but this man deserves to be highlighted for his dedication to his faith in the face of persecution and ignoring the political correctness of his own day.

Despite his success in both the Mexican War and the War Between the States, the accomplishment for which he was most proud was the Sunday school class he began in 1855 for free black and slave children in Lexington, Va. More than 100 children showed up every Sunday not just to learn the Word of God but also to read and write. Many of them became leaders in their communities after slaves were freed.

Jackson's effort was no small accomplishment. In the aftermath of the 1831 TurnerRebellion in southeast Virginia, legislatures in all Southern states enacted restrictive laws including the prohibition of black education. A local Lexington judge warned Jackson his Sunday school was in violation of such laws, and he could face a year in jail if he continued. Jackson was indignant and responded that black children stood in need of God's salvation as much as white children. He felt that each person deserved the right to read the Bible for themselves, and that they should not have to rely on other people for this. They deserved to know and study Christ for themselves. Jackson told the judge to follow his conscience, and he would follow his. He refused to close the school, which continued for many years after his death in 1863.

It is difficult to understand how believing in the importance of each person’s right to be able to read the Word of God for themselves could be in balance with the idea of maintaining slavery in the South.

In our modern age we think of Jackson as a Confederate general, a man fighting of the losing side, a person who seems to be supporting the institution of slaver. We are a little too quick to make a judgement on the people of this time. Maybe we should begin with an analysis of our own faith, seeing how words and deeds match up, before we judge the faith and intent of others. We simply must look to the inconsistencies and hypocrisy in our own faith, celebrating God’s grace and mercy to all people at all times, using each of us in His own way, and from our own starting point. Amen.

                                                            Pastor Craig

Loving One Another in a Hate-Filled World

I am writing this the day after members of Dallas police department were ambushed and killed in the streets.  I have read people’s blogs and posts regarding this issue. Some say these attacks are symptomatic of the deeply embedded racism in our country. Others say it is the natural consequence of years of lack of respect, or even rejection, of authority, tracing its roots all the way back to the 60’s. Still others say it is the result of our narcissistic society, the outgrowth of too many reality shows about people who have nothing to contribute to society other than being famous for being famous.

I wish to put forth a more accurate scenario. Our present trouble is the result of sin. We wish to rule ourselves, we have rejected God rule for self-rule. The problem with self-rule is that everyone is rule to themselves. We each become little gods. There is no way we can tell anyone, “You can’t do that,” or, “That’s wrong.”

In the last 24 hours I have heard numerous pieces on how we need to embrace love; then we can begin to learn to live together. Unfortunately, we live in a society that knows nothing about love.  Society labels love as acceptance. Acceptance means that I take you exactly the way you are. As soon as I make a call about morals or ethics, I am labeled as judgmental, racist, sexist, whatever –ist fits the topic at hand.

At First Presbyterian in Ennis, we sing a chorus in response to the benediction. The current one we are using is an old camp favorite, They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.

Unfortunately, most of us, myself included, stand little chance of being labeled as a Christian if the only thing the world uses to make the decision is how we love. . .how we love, not just the people like us, not just the people who will vote like we vote, not just the people who have the same skin color or cultural values that we have, not just people from our church, denomination, or who share religious prejudices with me.

We fear one another. Presently it seems minorities fear the established powers, while those same powers do not feel that they can trust the very people they are entrusted to watch over.

If perfect love does indeed cast out fear, then it is our goal to seek that perfect expression of love. As we seek common ground where all folks can stand equally we must come to the knowledge that the only place where all people are equal is on their knees at the foot of the cross asking forgiveness. Therefore, let us be Gospel people, people who share the Good News frequently, not just so bad people can become good people, but so fearful and anxious people can find that peace which passes all understanding.   

Turn the Page

This time of year is a time of transition. It is the season of the year when we think of weddings, graduations, the ending of one phase of life and the beginning of something new.

Some of the changes we experience are changes for which we have been waiting. We dream of leaving high school and going off to college. We dream of leaving college and starting our dream job in our dream city while living in our dream apartment. We long to begin a life together with a very special someone. We wanted and longed for these changes. Sometimes all our dreams come true; sometimes our reality life doesn’t match the one we had in our dreams.

Some of our changes are risky. We may find that our dream paycheck isn’t part of our dream job. We find a flaw in the perfect someone with whom we plan to spend the rest of our life. We learn that keeping in touch with former classmates is much harder than simply promising we will.

Some changes we can put off: We can postpone the wedding in hopes of becoming more certain. We can delay our move away from home to the dream city, dream job, and dream apartment.

But, sometimes our future comes upon us even when we would like for it to wait. Life becomes a conveyor belt, and we are on it traveling at a predetermined speed.

When your road is long, when daylight turns to dusk and the trail becomes hard to see, when the path becomes more steep than what you were prepared for, when fellow travelers drop out or drop off and you feel you must journey on alone, for all those times, the good ones and the difficult ones, there is a Father to give you strength, a Son to redirect you to the correct path, and a Spirit to offer you guidance and encouragement. Remember, Jesus became like one of us, not to remind us only of God’s Sovereignty, but to demonstrate God’s community with us and compassion for us!

                                                                                    Pastor Craig

When Faith Makes a Difference

You know the story well. You don’t have to be a regular church attender to have heard it used as the central theme for many a sermon. It is the story of The Good Samaritan. The story is told as an illustration for a theological discussion.

An expert in the Jewish law wanted to test Jesus, the great teacher of the multitudes, so he asked Jesus a simple question, “What do I have to do to guarantee eternal life?’

Jesus responds with a question, “You’re the expert. How do you read it?”

“Put God first,” was the lawyer’s reply. “Love him with every fiber of your being. Take care of your neighbor as you would your own family. Love your neighbor as you love your own life.”

“Well said,” Jesus shot back. “I think you’ve answered your own question.”

The lawyer, now feeling a little foolish, wishing to regain some sense of honor and authority asked, “Well, just who is my neighbor?”

Thus begins one of  Jesus’ greatest parables, a story of two people who should hate one another, but instead offer and receive help when others refuse to get involved.

Our society is being divided up. We are faced with an “Us vs. Them” mentality. We are more concerned with being right than being righteous, with being "correct" than being faithful, We have groups within our own country who are more divided, more hateful, more antagonistic of one another than the Jews and the Samaritans ever were. Jesus speaks to the very heart of this division.

“What is saving faith?” we ask. “How much faith is enough faith?” we want to know. Sometimes we become “experts” in the word. We go to meetings, attend worship services, gather for prayer and study with like-minded Christians.

Jesus calls us to the road. He invites us on a journey. We’ve experienced love and grace. The question is whether or not we are ready to extend that love and grace to the rest of the world.

“When is faith enough?” When it will not be content with living life in a way that allows us to watch most of the world lying half-dead in a ditch and walk on by.

Pastor Craig

Pushing Back the Darkness

The opening words of Psalm 27 are “The Lord is my light.” When I first read those words I thought of a light in the darkness, something that helps us to see our way.

Over the years I have been involved in 11 family retreats, directed 5 summer youth camps, taken a group of 21 on a two week hike along the Appalachian Trail, and directed some 10 youth retreats. Almost all of these events took place at a remote camp or conference site, a place where, when everything was over, you had to walk back to your cabin or room in the dark. For some reason I cannot explain, the one item I forgot almost every time, except for the two weeks on the Appalachian Trail, has been a flash light. I have stumbled over more roots than I can count, have missed several trailheads, and walked straight past a dark cabin multiple times. I seem to have a mental block about flashlights when it comes to my checklist before I leave.

The flashlight image is how most of us think of the light of our Heavenly Father, something to help us find our way. It is a candle to reveal for us the roots, turns in the trail, and our destination as we walk along the paths of life. Certainly, this idea of light goes with the next words in that verse. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Our relationship to our Heavenly Father brings us out of the dark and shows us that straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life.

However, there is another aspect of light that we tend to forget. I think we often choose to forget it because it is less pleasant than the warm and inviting light that helps locate home and hearth. This aspect of light is not the flashlight; it is the searchlight. The searchlight reveals. It highlights that which often wishes to remain hidden. The floodlights you may have around your home help you find your way in the night if you are walking around the yard, but you probably had them installed first as a security feature, to highlight the people who would use the cover of darkness to find an entry point into your home.

When God’s light shines on us it reveals us as we really are. Our many faults and failings, the things we would so much like to keep hidden are brought out into the bright light of God’s holiness. This too is salvation, for it is only when we recognize our need for salvation that we fall at the feet of Jesus Christ and ask him to grant us that which he has already prepared for us.

The light of Christ shining out from us, helps us and others find our way in this world. The light of Christ shining on us, reminds us that we never grow out of our need for the forgiveness that comes through Christ. Both of these lights show us the path of salvation. 

Pastor Craig

Hope Before Dawn

About 35 years ago I was walking on the beach. I actually started walking around midnight. I walked a long ways north, and then turned around and headed south, and then back north. Eventually, the stars you only see when the night is black began to fade as black turned to gray.

Occasionally, I could see images moving along the beach, but I couldn’t be quite sure what they were. Once I thought there was a deer out on the sand, but it wasn’t light enough to tell if it was a buck or a doe, or if it was not even really a deer at all. In the beginning of something you don’t always have the details in clear view. You may even find that some you thought were so firm and solid in fact is neither.

That is why hope begins in the dark. It is a clinging to that which we are certain of and yet do not know for certain. As Christians, our faith is boldness in the night. We don’t creep across the room as when we get up in the night to go get a drink or try to find the way to the bathroom in the dark without stepping on the dogs. We stride forward, stubbornly claiming that the dawn will come and we will realize that for which now we hope.

Faith is not simply believing that Christ can transform our society, changing all its prejudices and wiping away all its hatred; It is proclaiming in the street what Jesus said in the synagogue, proclaiming its truth directly in the face of all that would try to contradict it or cause it to fail.

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

John 4:18-21

Our message is the same today. God’s favor is not in the distant future. It is for us and it is for now. We bring liberty. We bring peace. The poor have hope and the hungry have food because we, through the Spirit of Christ bring it to them today, not just offer it to them with the changing of the guard.

Pastor Craig