In Spirit and Truth

For twenty-seven years, Afton Travis has served each of us at Faith. For twenty-seven years she has given her time, her talents, and truly, her very self to us. And we are all blessed by her presence. By now you have no doubt read the first page, and seen that after twenty-seven years, and after a great deal of thought, many prayers, and I’m sure a fair bit of deliberation, Afton has decided to retire. I am extremely grateful for her! She has been an incredible blessing to me, and to us all. When I think of Afton’s twenty-seven years at Faith, I am reminded of the scene in the classic movie The Fiddler on the Roof, where the main character asks his wife if she loves him. She responds with a list of the ways she has served him, and a list of her commitment to him over a period of twenty-five years, and asks, “If that’s not love what is?” I love this picture, and see it displayed through Afton’s life. For twenty-seven years she has been there to help us worship through accompany...

advent - n. The coming or arrival,  especially one which is awaited. Advent - n The four Sundays leading up to Christmas. The coming of Jesus at the Incarnation. The second coming of Jesus. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language & Collins English Dictionary There is a phrase that I have come to love and identify with. It's a phrase I first heard in seminary, but have since heard in several other places. It's a phrase that speaks of our place in the story of God’s salvation, the status of the Kingdom of God and the condition of our faith. They are "already and not yet." For many, the season of Advent has been relegated to "the season we sing Christmas carols" or perhaps a season of preparation for Christmas. While these actions occur during Advent, they are not the primary purpose of the season. It is my belief that the primary purpose of Advent is to wait for God. Our culture doesn't like to wait for anything. The idea of delayed ...

Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better. ~André Gide The season of Advent, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, is a time that we join with Christian tradition and focus on the Story of God’s salvation. This year’s theme for Advent is "Rescue from Chaos." During these four weeks: we remember how our spiritual ancestors waited with Hope for salvation from God; we remember God’s Love for us shown in Jesus Christ; we remember with Joy our own salvation through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; and we remember that we too are waiting for the final redemption of the world, by which God’s reign of Peace will be established. If you are a poet, painter, sculptor or other artist, meditate on the above themes, and let your thoughts flow out into your preferred art medium.

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" —Matthew 6:27 It is difficult to watch the news these days. Disease, war, and economic famine dominate the headlines. It is easy for us to become overwhelmed and worried about the future. Every commercial on TV reminds us that Christmas is right around the corner. But when we think of Christmas, we may think of the presents left to buy, and the money that isn’t there. How quickly that season of joy can turn to despair. Though Wal-Mart and Target may have forgotten about it, we do still have a holiday before Christmas. It is one that, I believe, is essential in our Christian life—Thanksgiving. Even in what may seem like our darkest days, we still have much to be thankful for. The whole of Christian worship is encompassed by God’s own worth and holiness, and our thankfulness. This holiday season, let us follow the words of Paul in Philippians 4:6, where he instructed us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in e...

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." —Revelation 4:8b,11 Lately, I have been struck by the differences between earthly worship and heavenly worship. For those of us who live on this side of the vale, we have to stir ourselves up in worship. We coax our hearts out to worship by reciting what God has done or is doing for us. This was true all throughout the psalms, and it is true for us today. "He set my feet upon a rock." "He forgives all my sin and heals all my diseases." Those, however, who sit in the very presence of God, who witness, and perhaps understand, the fullness of the Trinity, worship God primarily for who He is. The only time I have found heavenly worship focusing on an action is concerning the cross. "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain." Ra...

There is a feeling I get when I hold my daughter in my arms. It is as though I can physically feel my own affection for her. Something in my chest reaches out beyond my own skeletal frame and binds itself to her. It is a warm and satisfying feeling. I am overwhelmed with love for her. This unquenchable love is just a taste of what our good Father God feels for us. It was because of that love he sent Jesus to die for us. Similarly, when I come home from work, before I even enter the house, my son hears the garage door opening and runs through the house to the back door shouting “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!” When I enter, he is there happy to be in my presence. I receive and return that affection. I believe that our Father God longs for our times of corporate worship to be filled with that kind of affection. We previously defined worship as "ascribing worth" to someone or something. Let's tweak that traditional definition just a little. One of the best definitions of worship I’ve ...

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, 'Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God." —Romans 8:14-16 Do you remember the invincible days of youth? There was courage (and energy) to climb trees, run headlong down steep hills, and hang upside-down from the monkey bars. We weren’t afraid of the bumps and bruises, perhaps because we couldn’t see their inevitability. For the most part, we were carefree. Reality, however, sank in at some point. Now that we are paying the bills we worry about where our next meal is coming from. When we were kids, we just showed up to the table, but now we may spend hours or days wondering where it will all come from. According to the passage above, and many others in scripture, God is not looking for slaves, but rather he is looking for Chil...