Missionary Renegade: This Week in Worship • Into the Wilderness: 40 Days of Change with Reverend Brent Ross, Senior Pastor of Normal Heights United Methodist Church in San Diego, California, United States

Friday, February 20, 2015

This Week in Worship • Into the Wilderness: 40 Days of Change with Reverend Brent Ross, Senior Pastor of Normal Heights United Methodist Church in San Diego, California, United States

This Week in Worship • Into the Wilderness: 40 Days of Change with Reverend Brent Ross, Senior Pastor of Normal Heights United Methodist Church in San Diego, California, United States
What you'll find in this week's email:
This Week in Worship - Into the Wilderness: 40 Days of Change
5-Week Class on Christian Practices (2/26, 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26 • 6:30p-8:00p)
Listening Conversations Debrief (This Sunday • 12:00p-2:30p)
No Faith on Tap Next Week! (2/26)
Pancake Breakfast: Donations Needed!

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes,
but in having new eyes."[Marcel Proust]
Lent is an ancient Christian season that is marked by the forty days before Easter, and has been used as a time of introspection, reflection, and learned humility. The idea of 40 days in the Bible has always marked a season or time of change. Whether it is Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness or Moses' on Mt. Sinai, when people opened themselves to 40 days of spiritual practice or reflection… they changed. The journey and path through that time showed them something new and truthful, and God often showed them new things about themselves. Their fragility, their faithlessness, and ultimately the level of their dependence on God. Beginning this Sunday, I invite you to take this journey as well. As we start this season of Lent, we are going to be asking you to make this a genuine process by giving time, effort and intentionality to it. Each Sunday, we will be offering you ways to walk the path of understanding your dependence on God, and of gaining new eyes to see who you are. See below for our Scriptures and topics in this walk together, and ask yourself now..
“How will I change during these 40 days?”
5 Week Lent Series
Into the Wilderness: 40 Days of Change
February 22nd
Mark 1:9-13 • Beginning in the Wilderness
Jesus is baptized and then immediately driven into the wilderness by the Spirit of God. Why? What is to be learned, accomplished or completed by being driven into the wilderness? We begin with this question this week.

Scripture Text: Mark 1:9 Shortly thereafter, Yeshua came from Natzeret in the Galil and was immersed in the Yarden by Yochanan. 10 Immediately upon coming up out of the water, he saw heaven torn open and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; 11 then a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love; I am well pleased with you.”

12 Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by the Adversary. He was with the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.

John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for Mark 1:9-13

Verse 9

[9] And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

Matthew 3:13; Luke 3:21.

Verse 12

[12] And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

And immediately the Spirit thrusteth him out into the wilderness — So in all the children of God, extraordinary manifestations of his favour are wont to be followed by extraordinary temptations. Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1.

Verse 13

[13] And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

And he was there forty days, tempted by Satan — Invisibly. After this followed the temptation by him in a visible shape, related by St. Matthew.

And he was with the wild beasts — Though they had no power to hurt him. St. Mark not only gives us a compendium of St. Matthew's Gospel, but likewise several valuable particulars, which the other evangelists have omitted.

Sermon Story "From a Hight to a Low" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 22 February 2015 with Scripture from Mark 1:9-13Here we go as Jesus, the Only Son of God, after thirty years of living with his mother and father comes to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist. As Jesus is baptized and comes out of the water, The Father sends His Holy Spirit to ascend upon Jesus while The Father speaks the words this is my Only Son in whom I am well-pleased. This is Spiritual High to Jesus and the other people who hear these words coming down from Heaven, but Jesus is pushed in the wilderness all alone to be tempted to sin by God's advisary. How would you react if you heard this about a man then he disappeared from the community? What characters in this Scripture are you able to realte to? How do you understand God's ways for Jesus at this time? Have you ever been in a place where you felt so colse to God, but than temptation to sin became reall close to you? There have been times in the lives of people I have known who have felt so surrounded by God's Love and Presence that they snese a revival in their lives and their church community, but then. The then comes across in mamy ways whether the temptation to sit down and drink or even smoke cigarettes or maybe smoke marijuana or maybe it was a temptation to view or take part in pornographic activities or maybe a person came across your path who was not either your significant other or you were single and felt drawn to have a sexual affair with them. what to do! You have just been in a spiritual revival service and felt the Presence of god as never before, but these temptations came your way. How should you respond? should you yield to these temptations thinking these were God sent or yield not to these temptations because you believe they will draw you away from God's plan for your life. As we prepare to receive the Eucharist we sing this Hymn "Yield Not to Temptation" by oratius R. Palmer (1868):

1. Yield not to temptation,

For yielding is sin;

Each vict’ry will help you,

Some other to win;

Fight, still pressing onward,

Dark passions subdue;

Refrain:

Look ever to Jesus,

He will carry you through.

Ask the savior to help you,

Comfort, strengthen and keep you;

He is willing to aid you,

He will carry you through.

2. Shun evil companions,

Bad language disdain;

God’s name hold in rev’rence,

Nor take it in vain;

Be thoughtful and earnest,

Kind-hearted and true;

Refrain:

Look ever to Jesus,

He will carry you through.

Ask the savior to help you,

Comfort, strengthen and keep you;

He is willing to aid you,

He will carry you through.

2. Shun evil companions,

3. To him that o’ercometh,

God giveth a crown;

Through faith we will conquer,

Though often cast down;

He who is our savior,

Our strength will renew;

Refrain:

Look ever to Jesus,

He will carry you through.

Ask the savior to help you,

Comfort, strengthen and keep you;

He is willing to aid you,

He will carry you through.

2. Shun evil companions,

March 1st
Mark 1:9-13 • With Beasts and Angels
Jesus in the wilderness has two groups for company… wild beasts and angels. What are the beasts and angels in your life? How during Lent can you sit with those fears and hopes? Can we learn to be in tension with these during times of growth in our lives?

12 Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by the Adversary. He was with the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.

John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for Mark 1:9-13

Verse 9

[9] And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

Matthew 3:13; Luke 3:21.

Verse 12

[12] And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

Verse 13

[13] And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

And he was there forty days, tempted by Satan — Invisibly. After this followed the temptation by him in a visible shape, related by St. Matthew.

Sermon Story "From a Hight to a Low" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 3 March 2015 with Scripture from Mark 1:9-13

As we explored last week's thinking towards being pushed into the silderness away from people or even friends and family members, we now look to see how our accompaniment assists us when they seem like they are either beasts or angels. In our beasts, who do we see more our memories or reall people. How do our memories fo our lives affect this time of temptation? Too often, it is not the people who come into our lives as we begin to be tempted to sin against God that are lile beasts, but how we maay have lived or desired to live or dreamed about living in a community with no worries over whether we will have enough to eat, take care of our families or pay our bills or get the proper education for ourselves and our families or even having the proper roof over our heads to live a comfort or what we think comfort should be. How do you see your own internal beasts or demons playing into your choices? Who or what comes into our lives as angels to encourage us such as Scripture that we have previous read or maybe a saintly mother or teacher from school or church or words of encouragment from other relatives or neighbors we live by or come in contact with? We sometimes see in unlikely places angels who prod us to choose the right way as theis young man who was called into full-time pastorate and was studying through a ministerial course of study, but ended up divorced gaining custody of his son who was diagnosed with developmentally delayed status. It was approaching the first Christmas with his son living with him after the divorce and the granting of full custody of his son and the man wondered how he could afford to buy a Christmas tree for their apartment or even presents for his son. Yes, this man went back to drinking at the bar that the hotel-casimo he worked as a night auditor at a wage just above minimum wage. The apartment was a beautiful apartment that was subsidized by Section 8 and receiving medicaid coverage for his son and himslef as well as some food stamps for food, He had an extra dollar or two and deceid to pick some numbers on the keno which he did and he won enough to purchase a christmas tree. He took the money and put it in his wallet separate from any other cash and continue to place quarters in this 21 poker machine at the bar. the bartender saw what he was doing ansked if I was using the money he won when I said no because he put that money away and she was releived. The bartender was relieved and the next thing he knew he was leaving the place and going to the store to buy the tree and decorations before picking his son up at the day care services. To this man, the bartender who was a an angel even though she was also a co-worker. This man shared that there were other times in his life when angels protected him that were people in unexpected places. As we come forward to receive more grace from eating and drinking of the Eucharist, we will sing the Hymn "Forever One" by Ken Bible

1. Creator, Your love is all around us.

Immanuel, Your life is all within.

O Lamb of God, You died, and we are risen.

Hallelujah! You are coming again.

2. Creator, the earth will be a garden.

Immanuel, each heart will be Your throne.

O Lamb of God, we're crying, "Holy, holy!"

God Almighty, we will be forever one!

3. So Lord, I trust You, and I worship You.

How I long for You to fill this temple.

My Lord, I look to You,

Daily wait for You

As I walk with You

In unbroken praise.

4. Creator, the earth will be a garden.

Immanuel, each heart will be Your throne.

O Lamb of God, we're crying, "Holy, holy!"

God Almighty, we will be forever one!

Creator, Immanuel,

Holy Lamb of God,

Forever one!

March 8th
Matthew 4:1-4 • The First Temptation
Jesus is tempted first to provide for himself. Why is this a temptation? How do we rely on ourselves more than God? Why is that wrong?

Scripture Text: Matthew 4:1 Then the Spirit led Yeshua up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Adversary. 2 After Yeshua had fasted forty days and nights, he was hungry. 3 The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order these stones to become bread.” 4 But he answered, “The Tanakh says,

‘Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of Adonai’”[a][Footnotes:

Matthew 4:4 Deuteronomy 8:3"

John Wesley's Notes-commentary for Matthew 4:1-4

Verse 2

[2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Having fasted — Whereby doubtless he received more abundant spiritual strength from God.

Forty days and forty nights — As did Moses, the giver of the law, and Elijah, the great restorer of it.

He was afterward hungry — And so prepared for the first temptation.

Verse 3

[3] And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

Coming to him — In a visible form; probably in a human shape, as one that desired to inquire farther into the evidences of his being the Messiah.

Verse 4

[4] But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

It is written — Thus Christ answered, and thus we may answer all the suggestions of the devil.

By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God — That is, by whatever God commands to sustain him. Therefore it is not needful I should work a miracle to procure bread, without any intimation of my Father's will. Deuteronomy 8:3.

Sermon Story "Hungry and Given an Opportunity for Food" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 8 March 2015 with Scripture Matthew 4:1-4
We continue on this walk through lent and the temptations that Jesus had to go through after 40 days in the wilderness without food, water, or even companionship. After these 40 days and 40 nights, God's advisary comes and tempts Jesus with questions. This week we explore the first question that God's advisary ask of Jesus which is if you are truly The son of God and are truly hungry, you would be able to turn these stones into bread and food for you to satisfy your hunger. Jesus' only response is to quote from the Bible or what is known as the Hebrew Scriptures that man does not or people do not live by bread or food alone. How would you have responded? How often to we crave fro something that we really do not need at the moment and strive to sacrifice to receive to fulfill our desire. Too often, we desire to stockpile food for a time when we know we may not have the resources to purchase the food for us so we stockpile it while other people go without. I am reminded of this scene in the CBS Mini-series "Jesus" where there was a man who came as God's adversiary and showed Jesus some poor and starving children in the future that He, Himself, could satisfy their thirst. Jesus response was simply that the coldness of people's hearts cause this to happen, How is your heart for the starving people in the world and our local community? Hs God given you a heart to help people who are less fortuante than youselves? There is a man who was attemopting to go to seminary as a single father to a son with multiple disabilities with very little income, but God provided the place to live and the food to eat to take care of the basic needs. Yet, htis young man if given the opportunity to help a homeless person with food or cash, he was not afraid to give what he could. How about you in allowing God to fill your spiritual hunger as you help other people? May we come forward to receive His grace to give as He has given to us in eating and drinking of the Eucharist the Hymn "Jesus, Tempted in the Desert" by Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr.

Jesus, tempted in the desert,

lonely, hungry, filled with dread;

"Use the power," the tempter tells him;

"Turn these barren rocks to bread!"

"Not alone by bread," he answers,

"Can the human heart be filled.

Only by the Word that calls us

is our deepest hunger stilled!"*

March 15th
Matthew 4:1-4 • The Second Temptation
Jesus is tempted next, to save himself. Why is this a temptation? What does it mean to lose yourself?

‘Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of Adonai’”[a][Footnotes:

Matthew 4:4 Deuteronomy 8:3"

John Wesley's Notes-commentary for Matthew 4:1-4

Verse 2

[2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Having fasted — Whereby doubtless he received more abundant spiritual strength from God.

Forty days and forty nights — As did Moses, the giver of the law, and Elijah, the great restorer of it.

He was afterward hungry — And so prepared for the first temptation.

Verse 3

[3] And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

Coming to him — In a visible form; probably in a human shape, as one that desired to inquire farther into the evidences of his being the Messiah.

Verse 4

[4] But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

It is written — Thus Christ answered, and thus we may answer all the suggestions of the devil.

Sermon Story "Seeking Self-Salvation" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 12 March 2015 with Scripture Matthew 4:1-4

We now come to the second temptation that Satan throws at Jesus which is the fact that Satan takes Jesus to the highest point on the Temple in Jerusalem and throw yourself off and God will send His angels to safeguard your life if you are tru;y the Son of God or The Messiah. Jesus only responds by saying that no one should tempt God as the Scriptures state. Wow! Jesus came through this so far with passing grades and too often we say that we cannot resist such a temptation becaue we are only human, not fully God as Jesus is. Yet, God has promised to be with us through everything and when something happens to us that is painful in amyway, we desire to ask God to take this away to show others how much of a follower of yours, I am. I am reminded of parents who have children who were born differenly abled who became differently abled thorugh a sickness or accident that if God would make our child normal the world would see and see how our family is blessed of God. Yet, the people who are differently abled become the teachers of how to fully trust God to us who think we have it all. Even the poor have lessons for the middle class or or wealthier people by their trust in their daily provisions even when they do not know where the provisions will come from.. How many times have stories been tled of preachers and their families when the salaries of the pastor was very low to be able to meet all the needs of the family and all the food in the house was gone and they sat down to pray for the food on the table that was non-eistence only to hear a knock on the door and going to seek multiple sacks of groceries with no one they could see? How often are these stories told now, yet somehow that grasped because of the increased salaries of pastors and church staff? Lord have mercy on us that we have created in this country pastors or even other workers so comfortable with their salries and benefits that they connot see the struggles of the people in their communites who do not even make enough money to pay their bills. What are we to do? Yes, we should take care of our pastors and their families, but are there other people we need to as well. How are you doing? How comfortable are you? How much of your comfort are able to be passed on to tohers who are not so comfortable? How much has the seven deadly sins especially greed controlled our lives keeping us to help others with even less? How will we approach the eucharist in receiving God's grace as we eat and drink the Eucharist? Maybe we should sing a song "Under the Red sky" by bob Dylan rather than a hymn:

There was a little boy and there was a little girl

And they lived in an alley under the red sky

There was a little boy and there was a little girl

And they lived in an alley under the red sky

There was an old man and he lived in the moon

One summer’s day he came passing by

There was an old man and he lived in the moon

And one day he came passing by

Someday little girl, everything for you is gonna be new

Someday little girl, you’ll have a diamond as big as your shoe

Let the wind blow low, let the wind blow high

One day the little boy and the little girl were both baked in a pie

Let the wind blow low, let the wind blow high

One day the little boy and the little girl were both baked in a pie

This is the key to the kingdom and this is the town

This is the blind horse that leads you around

Let the bird sing, let the bird fly

One day the man in the moon went home and the river went dry

Let the bird sing, let the bird fly

The man in the moon went home and the river went dry

March 22nd
Matthew 4:1-4 • The Last Temptation
Jesus is tempted last to be in charge. Why is this a temptation? We finally see that each week the temptation, at base, is the same… idolatry. To try and be equal to God, rather than a servant and a broken vessel for Him. The crucifixion and passion of Christ must be observed in this way… with an acknowledgment of our idolatry.

Scripture Text: Matthew 4:1 Then the Spirit led Yeshua up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Adversary. 2 After Yeshua had fasted forty days and nights, he was hungry. 3 The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order these stones to become bread.” 4 But he answered, “The Tanakh says,

‘Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of Adonai’”[a][Footnotes:

Matthew 4:4 Deuteronomy 8:3"

John Wesley's Notes-commentary for Matthew 4:1-4

Verse 2

[2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Having fasted — Whereby doubtless he received more abundant spiritual strength from God.

Forty days and forty nights — As did Moses, the giver of the law, and Elijah, the great restorer of it.

He was afterward hungry — And so prepared for the first temptation.

Verse 3

[3] And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

Coming to him — In a visible form; probably in a human shape, as one that desired to inquire farther into the evidences of his being the Messiah.

Verse 4

[4] But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

It is written — Thus Christ answered, and thus we may answer all the suggestions of the devil.

Sermon Story "Seeking Idol Worship" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 8 March 2015 with Scripture Matthew 4:1-4

As we come to the last temptation of Jesus as listed in Matthew 4, we realize that Satan was attempting to draw Jesus' worship to himself rather to God. When Jesus responded that you shall worship the Lord god only it appeared that Satan left Jesus alone for another time. I am reminded of this scene in the "Jesus" mini-series when there appeared a live person as Satan in tempting Jesus. Then again, I am reminded in the "Last Temptation of christ" movie how the temptation for Jesus to come down from the cross and live a normal life as a carpenter, husband, and father which ended with Jesus back on the cross. How often do we want to worship God other things in our life whether family or friends or employment or government forgetting that God uses of of these to provide for us and allow us to love others as God loves us. May we come and eat and drink the Eucharist singing the Hymn "Let Your Kingdom Reign:"

God, let your kingdom reign

Let all the earth proclaim

God on the earth let your kingdom reign

and "God Knows" by Bob Dylan

God knows you ain’t pretty

God knows it’s true

God knows there ain’t anybody

Ever gonna take the place of you

God knows it’s a struggle

God knows it’s a crime

God knows there’s gonna be no more water

But fire next time

God don’t call it treason

God don’t call it wrong

It was supposed to last a season

But it’s been so strong for so long

God knows it’s fragile

God knows everything

God knows it could snap apart right now

Just like putting scissors to a string

God knows it’s terrifying

God sees it all unfold

There’s a million reasons for you to be crying

You been so bold and so cold

God knows that when you see it

God knows you’ve got to weep

God knows the secrets of your heart

He’ll tell them to you when you’re asleep

God knows there’s a river

God knows how to make it flow

God knows you ain’t gonna be taking

Nothing with you when you go

God knows there’s a purpose

God knows there’s a chance

God knows you can rise above the darkest hour

Of any circumstance

God knows there’s a heaven

God knows it’s out of sight

God knows we can get all the way from here to there

Even if we’ve got to walk a million miles by candlelight

During the season of Lent, we will be offering a 5-week class on Thursday nights to help you learn about the ways of Christian change during these 40 days. This year, we will be focusing on 5 practices, events or things that the church has historically done in order to be formed as disciples… some of which may surprise you! We’ll be using a using a fantastic DVD curriculum called “Animate” which combines great information with excellent discussion questions and conversation starters. I've personally watched the discussion starters and lecturers and they are great!
We will also have childcare available for kids 4 and under, AND a kids component where they, too, will learn about what we are covering! We are really excited about this program and what it offers to the whole worship community! The class will be on Thursdayevenings from 6:30pm - 8:00pm.
Read below for our topics and evenings:
Worship - Feb 26th
For many Christians, worship is synonymous with just going to church. But this week, we will be challenged to think about worship as a much richer practice, one we can engage in through the entire week.
Sacraments - March 5th
When we take communion each Sunday or celebrate a baptism, what does that really mean? Or more importantly, what does it DO? This week we will learn and talk about what these acts (called sacraments) are all about.
Food - March 12th
The Bible is chock-full of stories of food. Whether it is communion, the Last Supper, mana in the wilderness or the feeding of the 5000, the Bible clearly believes that food is and can be sacred. But what does that mean? Does it mean just eating healthy? Or is there a truly radical way to think about eating and food? This week we will learn and talk about the most fundamental of human and Christian acts… eating and drinking.
Service - March 19th
What is the spiritual value of working for the benefit of others? What happens with us when we offer ourselves and our time to helping others without asking for anything in return? This week we will discuss what service really looks like in our context.
Community - March 26th
Community. We use this word a lot in our church. But what does it mean? How do we think of this word and practice of gathering with others? How can we all remake and be remade by what we offer to Christian community?

This Sunday will be the culmination of our Listening Conversations, as we discuss results and information learned from this process over lunch. If you have been involved, or would like to hear some of what we heard from these discussions, please let Nancy know via e-mail that you're attending so we can have enough food prepared! We will be meeting and sharing from 12p-2:30p, and childcare will be available.

Due to our class on Christian practices starting on Feb 26th, we will not have our Normal Heights “Faith on Tap” this month. We encourage everyone to attend the class, and each week stands alone, so feel free to be here when it works for your schedule!

Our pancake breakfast is growing and we need more materials! We are looking for another electric skillet and hand mixer. If you have one of these laying around, not in use, we will put it to use for sure! Mark your calendars for March 8th for our next breakfast, and please e-mail Nancy if you want to help out!