Happy Mother's Day

¹⁷ On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare your Passover meal?” ^18-19 He said, “Enter the city. Go up to a certain man and say, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near. I and my disciples plan to celebrate the Passover meal at your house.’” The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to the letter, and prepared the Passover meal. ^20-21 After sunset, he and the Twelve were sitting around the table. During the meal, he said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators.” ²² They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it, Master?” ^23-24 Jesus answered, “The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!” ²⁵ Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?” Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.” ^26-29 During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples: Take, eat. This is my body. Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them: Drink this, all of you. This is my blood, God’s new covenant poured out for many people for the forgiveness of sins. “I’ll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father.” – Matthew 26:17-29 MSG

Yours Because The Promise Belongs To Me!

Rev. Mel

His Promise

¹⁷ On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare your Passover meal?” ^18-19 He said, “Enter the city. Go up to a certain man and say, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near. I and my disciples plan to celebrate the Passover meal at your house.’” The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to the letter, and prepared the Passover meal. 

 ^20-21 After sunset, he and the Twelve were sitting around the table. During the meal, he said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators.” ²² They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it, Master?” ^23-24 Jesus answered, “The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!” ²⁵ Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?” Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.”  

^26-29 During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples: Take, eat. This is my body. Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them: Drink this, all of you. This is my blood, God’s new covenant poured out for many people for the forgiveness of sins. “I’ll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father.” – Matthew 26:17-29 MSG

Yours Because The Promise Belongs To Me!

Friends and Family Sunday

This Sunday, April 26, 2015, will be our first Family and Friends Sunday.  We want to share the blessing of God in our lives with family and friends of Grace United Church of Christ.  We’re a 6 month old babe in ministry and God is blessing in ways we couldn’t imagine.  We have a vibrant and spirit nourishing Sunday School and Bible Study. We have held fitness camps that offered yoga, exercise and zumba.  Certified teachers have provided a homework café.  We were able to provide outer garments, accessories, and uniforms for the three schools in Sauk Village.  Prayer warriors took it to the streets and prayed at the six gates of the village to declare, All Lives Matter! And there is more to come…God is doing a new thing; come see it with us!

Yours Because The Promise Belongs To Me!

The Promise Belongs To Me!

Misogyny is a cultural attitude of hatred for females because they are female.  It is also the basis for the oppression of females in a male-dominated society.  This disdain is most prevalent in men, but also exists and is practiced by women against other women or even themselves.  Who would believe that the one God created to bring forth life would be hated by men and women.  Unfortunately, misogyny has been around for as long as people have.   

This term was said to have dominated Greek philosophy and philosophers.  Aristotle born in 384 BCE was quoted as having written that women were inferior to men.  And of course we know this behavior is practiced in many Christian pulpits.  

 It was once said to me, that one of the reasons some men can’t fathom the idea of a female counterpart in ministry is because they would have to treat them as an equal.  In other words, they could no longer take advantage of them.  The Bible is often taken out of context and used to support this hypocrisy.  But I assure you, there is nowhere in the Bible that says women can’t preach or become pastors.  

Jesus was surrounded by women.  Women played a pivotal role in his ministry.  The faith of women, as portrayed throughout the Bible, brought forth life, won battles, saved men, built kingdoms, etc.  Wisdom is a woman in Proverbs.  However, Paul makes one statement about some women that were believed to have been keeping up mess in the church and all of a sudden it becomes the basis for exclusionary tactics.  But that same Apostle Paul acknowledges women serving the Lord.  The sad part about this kind of misinterpretation of the Bible is the place it had in history during the slave trade; that has marked the lives of people of African descent ever since.   

The only difference is many Africans didn’t understand the language of their oppressor and were punished for trying to learn.  We don’t have that problem anymore.  Or least I didn’t think we did!

Yours Because The Promise Belongs To Me!

We are One

This past Sunday one of the parishioners was somewhat distraught because she’s run into men and women who refuse her invites to Grace because the pastor is a woman.  She’s heard, “I don’t do women!” and feels defenseless against these attacks.

  In my sermon this past week, I mentioned that when people have determined who God will speak through; it might impede their walk of faith.  In other words, when you limit the vessel from whom the power and authority of God is shown; you have distorted the Word of God and violated the two most important commandments.

So, when responding to men and women who refuse to listen to a female minister, I’d like to ask that you refrain from being defensive.  This moves us away from truth and understanding.  

During the next few weeks, I want to spend some time sharing what the Holy Spirit has shared with me along with other known facts that might arm you with a sincere evangelistic approach.  It is also my prayer that you will do your own homework and that we will not skip over Galatians 3:28 & 29, which reads, “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female.  For you are all one in Christ Jesus.  

And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham.  You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you” (NLT).

Yours Because The Promise Belongs To Me!

Resurrection Sunday and Holy Communion

Matthew 26 While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ ²⁷Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸for this is my blood of the^* covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’

30 When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Yours Because He Lives,

Child-Like Praise

After Jesus had overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple and chased them out; he established a healing clinic and the blind and lame were the first patients. Afterwards the Word tell us when the priests and scribes saw the wonderful things Jesus did and heard the children shouting praises to the son of David, they were not very happy. They asked Jesus if his hearing was sharp because they couldn’t believe the children referred to him as royalty and he didn’t correct them.

What he did was question their Bible Study retention or if they attended by asking if they had read Psalm 8:2. It was already decreed that out of the mouths of babes come perfected praise. The praise of children is undaunted by hypocrisy and fear. They speak a truth that is sometimes hard for us to hear. As we witness the ‘perfected praise’ of the young people that will bless us during our first Youth Sunday; let’s put on our child-like praise. I guarantee it will be freeing!

Yours Because He Lives,

Give It Up

In our Bible Study class we are using a book entitled, “Give It Up”.  Each Thursday, during this Lenten season, we have looked into our 21^st Century lives and discussed the author’s weekly deletion.  The first week, we were asked to give up mirrors.  The author wanted us to not look in mirrors for six days!   

Dr. Reed facilitated this lesson and she began by passing a mirror around to each of us.  We were to look in that mirror and write down what we saw.  When all had completed the task, we were then asked to share what we saw.  Afterwards, our class members were asked to share what they see when they look at us.  In all cases, we never saw what everyone else did.  That speaks volumes!  I’m not sure about the rest of the class; but I certainly left there wondering if I would find my actions a reflection of God’s mirror.

Yours Because He Lives,

Unconditional Love

I had a student many years ago that was dear to my heart.  He was an average student, but he always tried his best and had great manners.  The circumstances of his life, which he wasn’t responsible for, found him being raised by his maternal grandmother.  Years later he would visit me and during one of those visits I questioned how he was able to walk through the neighborhood without anyone bothering him. 

You see, our school wasn’t located in the safest ‘hood’ and though I enjoyed his visits; I was very concerned for his safety.  This student that was dear to my heart; that always tried his best and had the best manners looked me in my eyes and said, “I’m running it!”  He further explained after my quizzical look that he was in charge of the gangs in theneighborhood and therefore he could walk where he wanted in this particular ‘hood’. 

My heart sank and for a moment, all the good thoughts I cherished about him almost went out the window.  But a still, small voice spoke very clearly in my heart and said, “How can you stop loving someone just because they no longer fit your image of them?”

As fate would have it, this story didn’t end well, but God taught me something that has been irrevocable and that is ‘unconditional love’.  This scene occurred nearly 25 years ago and I have never been the same.  My initial thoughts were that I needed to change him, to save him, to convince him of his wrong.  And though all of this needed to occur, the first thing that needed to happen was to love him. 

I believe that’s what God did when he gave his only begotten Son so that we might not perish, but have everlasting life.  I believe my student changed, but not my will but by God’s awesome unconditional love shared with me that day.  I believe my student changed and though it didn’t happen while I could still see him; I believe that some of that love I tried to show him during subsequent visits might have found him calling on the name of Jesus in those last dark moments.

Yours Because He Lives,

God is Still Working

My days require that I read several devotionals and meditate on the word of God fervently. I'm probably preaching to the choir as I know that these are some trying times for many. If it's not in our personal lives; it's the news reports that should be called, 'the bad reports'. Life can be challenging, but well worth the living if we're doing it for Christ! I read a powerful message several days ago that I keep going back to for two sentences that I'd like to share with you.

The first is, "Tenacity is more than endurance, it is endurance combined with the absolute certainty that what we are looking for is going to transpire".

The second one is, "If our hopes are being disappointed just now, it means that they are being purified".

Both of these quotes came from "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. In a nutshell, I believe these statements are reminding us to keep on believing what God has said regardless of what we see or hear. If it seems to be taking too long to manifest; it just means God is still working it out for you in Jesus’ Name!

Yours Because He Lives,

Become A Better Person

I’ve often wondered why we just don’t get it(self-included). Why do we waste our time and God’s if we’re not going to try and be a better person?

Well, the most obvious reason is that we’re all sinners; yet this isn’t so obvious to everyone. I encounter so many people that act as if they never had a past. I encounter so many that turn their noses up at people doing the same thing they used to do.

During a Bible Study class, years ago, the preacher on the video said some of us never get better because we choose to view the Bible narratives, Sunday School lessons, sermons, etc., through the lens of the powerful instead of the powerless.

He wasn’t implying that we shouldn’t strive to be victorious or that we aren’t victors. He was simply making the claim that if we’re always puffed up and identifying with the person that wins; we will never be able to recognize what needs fixing in our own lives.

Trust me; we all have something we can improve upon! So, let us stop wasting God’s time and ours and say, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, Oh Lord, standing in the need of fixing!”

Yours Because He Lives,

The Blessings of the Lord

“The Blessings of the Lord makes rich and God adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22). Some days I have to recite this to myself over and over again. Just reading it gives me strength on those days that I don’t feel rich and sorrow has camped out on my doorstep.  However, the true blessing is that I finally got it.  The more opportunities I have to recite or read God’s word, the stronger my faith becomes.  I don’t particularly like having to go into battle mood, but when I do the Word of God secures the victory-in Jesus’ Name!

Yours Because He Lives

Transfiguration Sunday

Today is ‘Transfiguration Sunday’; a time of change. It is said to be a defining moment in our lives where our human nature meets God with Jesus as the connecting point. We moved through the season of Epiphany (a time of realizing that Jesus was born and continues to be born into the lives of his people) that lasted five Sundays. Now we enter a phase of transformation that for some of us might begin with ‘now what’. “I’ve walked the aisle and joined the church-now what?” “I’ve gone back to the church after a period of absence-now what?” “I’ve given my life to the Lord because it’s time for something different-now what? “Now what’, is a good place to start. It signals our surrender from the way it was before, to God’s way. I’ve heard it said like this, “You’ve left ‘your way’ for ‘Yahweh’. On this day as we enter the Lenten season; let’s ask God to give us a close examination of ‘our way’ and then let us be led into ‘God’s way’.

Yours Because He Lives,

A New Marketing Tactic

Texting on a qwerty keypad phone (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve just become familiar with a new marketing tactic. This past Monday when Chicagoland stood still, from the effects of the weather, I began to receive these inviting text, calls and emails from car dealerships in the area.

The calls and emails indicated that I had actually expressed an interest in not just any vehicle, but a specific one. They told me which one I said I wanted and invited me to come in and move the conversations further. The text referred to me by my first name and then asked how I was doing.

These dealerships have studied psychology 101 and know that many emotions are set into effect when we have to be still too long (sometimes alone) or things appear hopeless or restrictive. They also knew many people were home either by choice or decisions of their employers.

What a great time to entice you to do something that will make you feel better about a situation you didn’t ask for!  I too have studied psychology 101, but have long since moved to The Bible: Alpha to Omega.  I have also experienced all of those emotions; the marketers capitalize on and know they can be effective if you aren’t rooted in your study of God’s Word.

So I invite you through this bulletin and social media to receive God’s daily greeting.  You will not only see your name, but you will find the solution to your situation and it won’t cost you anything!

Yours Because He Lives,

My People by Langston Hughes

The night is beautiful,

So the faces of my people.

The stars are beautiful,

So the eyes of my people.

Beautiful, also, is the sun.

Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.

Yours Because He Lives,

And He Did Not Do It

As I write this, the ambient temperature is 42 degrees. The significance of that is it’s near the end of January when that kind of temperature isn't expected. The significance of 42 degrees in January is the temptation to remove some of the weather appropriate clothing this season dictates. The significance is we caught a break.

As I think about our spiritual lives the same can be true. When things are going better than expected or when something unexpected occurs to send our spirits soaring, it's clear we've caught a break. The significance is we don't always expect a breakthrough. The significance of unexpected blessings is the temptation to remove or lighten our prayer life. After the initial Thank You Jesus; we begin to replace gratefulness with basking in the blessing. Remember how Momma told you to keep your clothes on when the weather broke so you wouldn’t catch a cold.  Bask in your blessing, but don't forget to keep your garments of praise on so your season will last.

Yours Because He Lives,

Are You Listening?

Last Sunday one of my points was to ‘obey God’. In that message entitled, “Walking in Divine Authority”, the text (Acts 5:12-42) was very clear in that response to doing the work of God. Peter said, “We must obey God, rather than human authority”. He certainly didn’t mean we must ignore the human authority God has placed in our lives. Jesus tells us, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s”.

But in obeying God, you can’t be preoccupied with what man and woman is going to think. If God be for you, who can be against you! I wasn’t able to read one of my devotionals until later Sunday evening and couldn’t believe my eyes when it began with, “If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs us…”

Obeying God is an evangelism moment. Others will not be able to understand how you’re able to do what you do with such ease. They will assume that you are fearless; however the truth of the matter is, “We Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Us!”

Yours Because He Lives,

Oil of Gladness

After service today, we will inaugurate the Oil of Gladness Ministry.  As you will recall, this mandate was birthed during our solidarity with churches around the state bringing attention to the senseless slaughter of African American men and boys.   

BlackLivesMatter is the call and if we believe that we must do more than say it.  We must join in declaring AllLivesMatter!  We must not only scream when the murderer is white and the deceased is black.  We must also scream when the murderer is black and the deceased is too.    

Following the decrees of Isaiah 61, it is our plan to go out into Sauk Village and cover our neighbors in prayer.  As we go armed under the anointing of the Lord, ask your friends and neighbors to join us.  If they can’t join us, then ask them to pray that the Holy Spirit invade us and that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to our Lord and Savior!

Yours Because He Lives,

How Can This Be?

This past week I read a touching yet troubling article about a child from the Englewood community who was 13 years of age. This young man was given the opportunity to request whatever he wanted for Christmas from an organization adopting him and his peers.

Do you know what he wrote? “All I ask for is for safety, I just wanna be safe”  In small print at the conclusion of his letter, he asked for a scarf, gloves, hat and school supplies.

His letter made its way to President Obama, who encouraged this young man and promised to do his best to keep him safe.

Another friend of mine who lives in a pretty affluent community shared that a friend of her daughter’s was beaten and maced over a boy at a nearby party. This is one of those, “How Can This Be?’’, in both interpretations.

So now that we’ve gotten over the shock of it all; let’s use the power God has given. Remember, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man or woman availeth much” (James 5:16).

Yours Because He Lives,
Rev. Mel