A Parent, Not a Buddy

September 30, 2009 | 4 Comments

Been a little while.  I just wanted to direct your attention to Mike Cope’s recent entry about being brave enough to be a parent who sets boundaries for their kids rather than trying to please them all the time.  Click here to read it.

One of the readers calls it:

…true encouragement, the actual pouring of encouragement into the heart of another at the point of need.

Yes it is.  Hope to see as many of you as possible for dinner & Bible study tonight.

Posted by Robert | Filed Under Blog 
Tags:

Simple Enough

September 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment

We need to keep close to the ancient simplicity of the original Christian faith, and build our foundation on its original unity. We must abhor the arrogance of those who harass and tear apart the church of God under the pretense of correcting errors and holding to “the Truth.” –Richard Baxter

Let us thus think often that our only business in this life is to please God. –Brother Lawrence

These quotes sum up the best of our denomination’s history.

I don’t talk a lot about the history of the Church of Christ. Partially because it seems that the more I know, the less I understand. As with any religious body it’s a complex story with many different players. And then once you get all of the facts and events straight, there is the thorny task of making a cohesive story out of them. That’s one of the reasons I hesitate to say, “This is where we come from.”

But in spite of all the dangers, I would like to point out one facet of our origin that I have always admired. There is, in the history of the Churches of Christ, a vehement desire to simply be “Christians”–to shed the titles and the trappings and simply be a church of Christ.

What’s amazing is that the beginnings of our denomination didn’t really have one beginning, but several. At one point in time there were multiple people throughout the country who were responding to a similar impulse. They all wanted to make following Jesus a simple process. They grew tired of the ornate theological distinctions between churches. They wearied of the inter-denominational squabbling over the finer points of scripture. They grew tired of the dense creeds and doctrinal mazes that separated one believer from another.

So, in response to this impulse for simplicity, there were multiple movements occurring simultaneously all over the young nation. And what unified them was this desire to stop worrying about technicalities and start focusing on simply following Jesus. This is typified by their avoidance of denominational labels. These people were just “Christians.”

Of course, things never go as planned. Before long there was huge disagreement over what a “simple” Christian really looked like. And, unfortunately, the disagreement often just led to more division.

But in spite of it all I still resonate with that early impulse. I’ve always liked the idea of being “Christians only, but not the only Christians.” This morning, we’ll read a passage in Mark’s gospel where Jesus is telling his disciples to stop worrying about trivialities and just follow him. I hope we can strive to do that this morning.

Posted by NCOC | Filed Under Amen Corner, Articles 

Praise & Worship In The Park

September 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Everyone is invited to Praise and Worship In The Park at Norfolk Botanical Gardens on Oct. 4th. It starts with breakfast at 10 a.m. We’ll have a worship service, share lunch and enjoy God’s creation in the gardens together.

Members are asked to bring two side dishes, dessert and drinks. Breakfast, coffee, hamburgers and hot dogs will be supplied. Boat rides are available for $5 per ticket. Donations to help offset the cost are appreciated.

We hope to see you there!

Posted by NCOC | Filed Under Amen Corner, News 

The Master Plan

September 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment

I wanted to share this with you. It’s from the 6-10-09 blog entry of Kevin Deyoung, entitled “Who do you say that I am?” Deyoung notes that we all have a tendency to remake Jesus in our own image, then he gives us several examples, here are a few…

  • There’s the Republican Jesus—who is against tax increases and activist judges, for family values and owning firearms.
  • There’s Democrat Jesus—who is against Wall Street and Wal-Mart, for reducing our carbon footprint and printing money.
  • There’s Open-minded Jesus—who loves everyone all the time no matter what (except for people who are not as open-minded as you).
  • There’s Martyr Jesus—a good man who died a cruel death so we can feel sorry for him.
  • There’s Hippie Jesus—who teaches everyone to give peace a chance, imagines a world without religion, and helps us remember that “all you need is love.”
  • There’s Yuppie Jesus—who encourages us to reach our full potential, reach for the stars, and buy a boat.
  • There’s Touchdown Jesus—who helps athletes fun faster and jump higher than non-Christians and determines the outcomes of Super Bowls.

There are more, but you get the point. Everybody has an aspect of Jesus’ personality that they tend to prefer over the others. The real challenge is to take Jesus as he is rather than try to make him into the Jesus that we want him to be.

We’ll see that in this morning’s passage. Peter tells Jesus that he’s not really happy with Jesus’ idea of what it means to be a Messiah. And that brings us to that famously stinging rebuke that Jesus has for Peter: “Get behind me, Satan…You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

And no wonder Peter says what he says. Jesus’ idea of what the Messiah is supposed to do sounds crazy and difficult and, in the end, like a fool’s errand. If I didn’t already know how this story turns out, I would be on Peter’s side.

I think that this morning’s passage is one of the most difficult in all of scripture, because it runs counter to some of the most basic aspects of my own personality. It flies in the face of all conventional wisdom. And yet it is also the truest calling card of what it means to be a Christian.

Posted by NCOC | Filed Under Amen Corner, Articles 

Yard Sale

September 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Don’t forget the Teen Yard Sale on Sat. Sept. 19th from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Donations are still needed. If you need a pick up for large items, call the church.

Posted by NCOC | Filed Under Amen Corner, News 

Next Page »