Difficult seasons, or desert seasons, of life, can leave us feeling worried, fearful, or anxious.

All too often those feelings begin to shape how we think, behave, and view the world. Moving in such a way makes it difficult to live filled with joy and hope.

How can we honor the difficult realities of desert seasons yet move in such a way that provides us hope for what is yet to come?

 

 

The past few months have not been easy.

• COVID-19,
• racial tensions,
• political turmoil,
• financial instability,
• uncertainty about the future,
• trying to determine the best way to educate our children this fall.

I have come to think of them as a desert season. While traveling through a desert is often difficult, deserts can also be places of great opportunity and promise.

In thinking of these desert seasons, I have been drawn to the story of the nation of Israel as God led them out of captivity in Egypt, toward the Promised Land. Their desert season was filled with lessons that prepared them to experience the best God had for them. I believe the same is true for us.

For the next few weeks, I am going to be speaking on how we can best travel desert seasons. We are going to focus on what we can learn about God, ourselves, and others that will help us navigate the world in a more peaceful and redeeming way.

 

Dan

 

 

For ways in which you can connect with a wider community as we travel this desert season check out First Baptist Kennett Square – Desert Series

To share a link to this message: bit.ly/Desert-Journeys

 

Ironic: We have been live-streaming worship services for close to three years now. It has been something we have done in the background of the main worship service taking place in our sanctuary. For the most part they have happened with little disruption and have gone very smooth.

Now that we depend upon the live-stream to gather our community together there seems to be disruption after disruption. The past few weeks have been extremely frustrating.

In the midst of the struggle today I was blessed to see this post from one of our members who was struggling along with us to watch a gimpy live-stream, “My virtual Sunday worship amid technical glitches. God is Good all the time and all the time God is good.”

It was a reminder to me that yes indeed…God is Good all the time, all the time God is Good.” Even when technology decides it wants to do battle with your best of intentions.

I thought I would share my sermon and our communion service here.

A continued thank you to everyone who is helping to make worship at First Baptist happen during this unusual season.

 

You can download the prayers that are part of our communion service here: Communion Service

Today was a great day at church.  We celebrated the unveiling of “Riding the Wave with God”.

Surfing the Movements of the Spirit

Last November I began thinking about the focus of our congregation for 2018.  We adopted an image from Henry Blackaby that helps us think about finding where the Spirit of God is at work and join in to help bring about “Thy Kingdom Come.”  Blackaby talks of how a surfer watches for good waves and then rides the wave.  Surfers do not splash around to create waves.  They ride out into the sea and sit patiently, discerning the good waves from the bad.  When they find a wave they like it is game on.  Every ounce of energy and focus goes into catching and riding that wave for as long as they can.

If we believe the Spirit of God is alive, well and working in our lives and world then we ought to seek out those places where God is “on the move” like a surfer seeks the perfect wave.  When we see God at work it is our call to join in with every ounce of energy we have to offer.

The Surfboard

When I knew this was going to be our focus I wanted to find a surfboard to have around and point to throughout the year.  It took some hunting to find one.  I finally found one while on vacation in North Carolina last Thanksgiving.  Craigslist delivered and I ended up in a parking lot with a man looking to unload a surfboard.  When I asked why he was getting rid of it he shared, “I moved to the beach and thought it would be neat to learn how to surf.”  I asked how that worked out for him and he replied, “I am meeting you ina grocery store parking lot to sell my board.”

My nieces and I had some fun with the surfboard in Grandma’s backyard and then it made the long trek from North Carolina to Kennett Square, PA.  I wanted to strap it to the roof of the car but Rayann was not a fan.

In early 2018 the surfboard made its debut in church.  It was an awesome visual aid and helped us think about surfing with the Spirit. [Read more…]

Growing up as a child I loved the story of Jonah and the “whale”.  What young boy did not get excited about the idea of a man swallowed by a “whale” and living to tell the tale.  It sounded so exciting and like the kind of adventure you read about in the story books.

As I grew up I learned there were many lessons found within the four short chapters of Jonah.  Lessons that helped me understand my relationship with God, the way I look at life, and how I move towards others.  For the next four weeks we will be exploring the story of Jonah and the big fish.

The book of Jonah deals with core issues such as forgiveness and grace.  It helps explore those things which motivate us, those things which move us to action.  I hope you can join us for the next few weeks as together we learn some of the lessons found within this great piece of scripture.

Service begins at 11:00, there is a fellowship lunch immediately following worship service.

How does the pastor come up with sermon topics?

Good question.  We could spend a lot of time talking about that.  Maybe we will someday.  For now let me share that the next series at First Baptist has been inspired by a book I have been reading this summer.

“The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by the Revered James Martin, SJ is a practical spiritual guidebook based on the life and teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.”  (from google books)

Early on he talks about the many different ways people seek God.  If you asked twenty people to share about their spiritual journey you would hear twenty unique, sacred, stories.  While each of our stories, or journeys, may be different there are six common pathways that shape our relationship (or lack of) with God.  For these two Sundays we will explore these six pathways looking at the benefits and pitfalls of each.

For those on the Pathway of Belief they cannot remember a time when they did not believe in God.  Faith has always been an important part of their life and it provides a framework for how they view the world.

People traveling the Path of Independence have made a conscious decision to separate themselves from organized religion yet still believe in God.  They may find church boring, irrelevant, or maybe they were hurt by past experiences within the church.  While they have walked away from the institution they still pursue a deepening relationship with God.

Traveling the Path of Disbelief individuals have walked away from the church and have come to the conclusion that God may not, does not, or cannot exist.  People on this pathway are skilled at detecting hypocrisy amongst those who call themselves followers of Jesus.

The Path of Return is one that many people visit at some time in their lives.  Having drifted away from the church, having grown distant in their relationship with God something happens which draws them back.  Maybe it is a life crisis (mourning the loss of a loved one) or a time of celebration (the birth of a child), whatever the reason they feel compelled to return and explore church and faith.

Many people have traveled the Path of Exploration.  On this path individuals find themselves searching for a religion that “fits” them.  They remain open to just about anything and are willing to explore different faiths, denominations and practices; picking and choosing what works for them.

Our last path, the Path of Confusion, is one that finds its way into just about every other pathway at some point in our journey.  On this pathway there are times where we feel close to God, at others God seems extremely distant.  Faith appears to be a real and vital part of our life one moment…the next we question whether pursuing a deepening relationship with God is worth our effort.

All of these pathways are “normal”.  God works through each of them to draw us closer to Him if we continually seek Him.

This series runs August 6, 13.  Service starts at 11:00.  Hope you can join us.

First Baptist Church of Kennett Square