Stepping on the Scale Sunday Morning

I lost two pounds this week. I stepped on the scale this morning and it flashed back those wonderful numbers that reflected a lower weight. However I’d be foolish to think that I lost the weight when I stepped on the scale. The scale only reflects my choices and actions throughout the week. I’m training for the Whisky Row 10K which means I’m running a couple of miles a day and eating a lot healthier than I was a couple of months ago. It’s in these actions that the weight comes off; the scale is only a mirror of my lifestyle.

In very much the same way I think that Sunday morning worship is the scale that reflects back at you the choices you’ve already made about worshiping God. The New Testament seems to be clear in declaring that worship is not about an action but an attitude or life style. Worship wars are not something new to our generation and even Jesus Himself couldn’t avoid the debate. In John 4 Jesus is talking with the Samaritan woman at the well about styles of worship. I think it’s interesting that instead of facing the conviction of sin in her life, she changes the conversation to worship style (but that’s a discussion for another blog). However, the crux of Jesus’ response is that worship for a Christian is going to be done in the spirit and in truth. This was an idea that rocked the current worldview. Jesus was throwing out centuries of tradition and said the new definition of worship was going to be about a life lived in truth. Paul picks this truth up and summarizes it this way: “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

So is this how we look at worship today? Sadly, the answer most of the time is ‘no.’ For the most part when we talk about worship we are thinking about the music portion of our church services. Why is this? Is it because we have a “worship pastor” whose job is to take care of Sunday morning singing? Is it because we have “worship CDs” that includes the songs we sing during our “worship services?” I don’t think these hold the answer. I think the answer lies closer to the example I used of the scale. When talking about weight we look to the scale. Why? Because the scale is the device that reflects back to us the actions of our lives. Just like a love poem reflects the reality of our heart, our “worship time” in church reflects the reality of worship in our life.

So take a minute with me and take a look at your scale Sunday morning. What is your “worship time” telling you about the rest of your life? I’d like to propose to you that if you find yourself apathetic and disengaged on Sunday morning the scale is reflecting back at you a truth that is deeper than ‘not connecting to the music style.’ Could it be this apathy and disconnect is reflecting back an overall life of apathy and disconnect with God? What if your Sunday morning worship is a time of discomfort because your desires or styles aren’t being met? It might be reflecting a life that is about me and my needs, instead of being a “living sacrifice.” What if it’s a time of judgment and cynicism? What if it’s a time of passion and love? What does the scale of Sunday morning reflect about your life?

A Secondary Thought:

I had a friend growing up who always blamed the equipment. Anytime he started losing in any competition he started blaming the equipment and quit. He needed better golf clubs, his soccer shoes were worn out, the basketball was too flat, his game controller was sticky, and on and on. But the truth was, he didn’t want to look inside or push past the complication. He always saw the problem outside himself and in the end he never improved or grew. Is my “Sunday Scale” a fail proof test? No!!! But before you start placing blame on the band, the style, the music pastor or the song selection, look inside first. I can step on the three different scales in my house and get three different responses (which I sometimes do to get the number I want) this tells me that at least two of my scales are ‘off.’ But even though my scales are not 100% perfect they still reflect back the truth, and in the long run they will all tell me whether I’m improving or getting worse. Is our Sunday scale 100% accurate? Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t reflect truth back into your life

My Prayer:

Lord, when I step on the scale on Sunday morning I want it to reflect a life of worship for you. Let it not be about me, my needs or desires. Let my worship reflecting sacrifice, love, hope and faith. And when I notice unhealthy or sinful attitudes in my worship let me repent and align myself with you once more.

Blogging

The internet, through all its temptations and shortcomings is not bad within itself. It is just like any other tool in life, it can be used for good or for evil. we think it is high time that the church started using it for some good. This blog is just one effort in that quest to redeem the internet for Christ. This blog will be run by the pastors of FBC Prescott and will consist of our thoughts, prayers, devotions and challenges. Please feel free to subscribe, or become a fan of us on facebook where these blogs will also post.

Blessings,
The Staff of FBC Prescott

The Christian Life is Lived in our Responses

Have you ever been to a professional baseball game? I went to my first baseball game when I was in college in Chicago. It was the Cubs, at Wrigley Field, and I was instantly hooked. But it’s not the sport or the players that drew me in; it was two other things. First I loved the crowd. I’m a people watcher and other than the airport there is nowhere in life where you get such a diversity of people in one place all interacting with each other. I could sit and watch the crowd at a game all day long. But secondly, and more importantly, I love the food. When we get to heaven and we sit down to the great feast, I’m convinced that there will be ballpark food served at the banquet. At my wedding Julie had charge of everything but put me in charge of the food. And so at our wedding reception we had ballpark food, corndogs, soft pretzels, cotton candy, nachos, and everything else wonderful in the world.

I was reading Proverbs 4 this morning and it brought to my mind an experience I once had at a baseball game. I had spent the first two innings wading through all the wonderful food options and was now returning to my seat with the bounty that would last me at least until the seventh inning stretch. As I was working my way down the row the Cubs made a good play and the crowd leapt to their feet. With this about a quarter of my Dr. Pepper splashed out of my cup onto the people around me. But this is nothing new to baseball fans; they were just excited for their Cubbies. I made the rest of the way to my seat, giving high-fives, and fist bumps along the way. When I finally sat down I found that I had lost almost half my drink. As I looked back down the row I saw people drying their shirts and pants from all the Dr. Pepper I had spilled along the way.

In Proverbs 4:23 is says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”^[1] What is in our heart overflows into our life, and what is in our life overflows on to the people around us. The Christian life is not lived in stated beliefs. It is easy to talk about beliefs, it is easy to plan and carry out certain actions. If we want to really see what our life is about, bump into something and see what spills out. I would say that the true measure of our Christian life is not in our actions as much as it is in our reactions. We live our Christian life in our responses. We say we trust God, but then we bump into a hard economy. We say we love others, but then we bump into a conflict. We are defined by our attitudes (the beliefs of our heart) and at no time are our true attitudes displayed more clearly than when we are reacting to something unexpected. In speaking about attitudes Paul says, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” ^[2] When I am walking through life bumping up against others, both in good and bad situations, what spills out of my life often comes from the first half of Paul’s list and not the second. How about you? When you get a promotion what spills out? Pride or gratefulness? When someone disagrees with you, what spills out? Defensiveness or compassion? When you bump into life, what spills out?

My Prayer: Lord, fill me up with you. I want to be so full of you that anytime I bump into another person it is you that spills out of my life.

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^[1]The Holy Bible : English Standard Version., Pr 4:23 (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001).

^[2]The Holy Bible : English Standard Version., Eph 4:31-32 (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001).

By wisdom a house is built...

I’ve heard it said “youth is wasted on the young, when they have no wisdom how to use it and wisdom is wasted on the old when they don’t have the energy to act on what they know.” I never really liked the saying because it just comes across as fatalistic and pessimistic, but in truth it is how many people play out their lives. When they are young and full of energy they blindly follow their heart and the wisdom of life seems to elude them, and when wisdom finally catches up to them they feel too old to ‘go at it again’ and settle into a “I’ve done my time” mentality, simply wishing they had done their time better. I’m trying to fight this pattern in my life in two ways. One is I want to never see myself as too old to change or to pick myself up and try again. Life is short and I hope that as long as I am alive I will have the heart to keep on keeping on. I don’t think we should retire from life, ministry, or service. I hope that I will continue to be effective for the kingdom of God until the day I die. If you go into marriage knowing that divorce is not an option when you hit walls you don’t run away but instead you work things through. I’m trying to face my life of ministry the same way. I don’t want to do ministry until it gets hard or until I get tired, I want to be able to look back on my life and like Paul say “I’ve fought the good fight.” This doesn’t mean that I am expecting to be a youth pastor in the same church for the rest of my life (although I would not argue if this is where God chose to keep me) but it does mean that if I ever move I want it to be God who moves me. I want to always be in the ministry where God has placed me and I never want to walk away from that ministry because of my own reasons or desires. The second way I am fighting the pattern is I am trying my best to spend a lot of these early years in my life learning from the wisdom of others so I don’t look back and say “what a wasted youth.” One of my goals in life is to be the type of person who doesn’t have to go through a trial or hardship to learn a lesson for myself. If I can learn from the mistakes of others or if I can learn a truth and apply it before it becomes a mistake in my life I think I will make great strides toward getting wisdom in my life now. I want my life to reflect what the Proverbs say, “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.”^[1]

My prayer: Lord when I am young give me the wisdom of the old and when I am old give me the energy of the young.

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^[1]The Holy Bible : English Standard Version., Pr 24:3-6 (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001).

Introductions

For those of you who don't know me or if you are following this blog and you don't attend FBC Prescott... Hi! My name is Jesse Burke and I am 28 years old. I was born and raise here in Prescott, AZ and made the foolish mistake of telling God that I would never end up back in this town. But honestly, I love it here and couldn't see myself anywhere else. I graduated Prescott High School in 2000. Four years later I graduated Moody Bible Institute in Chicago with a BA in youth ministry. A year later I married my high school sweetheart Julie (Laipple) and we decided to make Prescott our home. I have been the pastor of student ministries at FBC for 3 and a half years and I love it. I love youth and I love youth ministry. Currently I am also working on my M.Div. from Phoenix Seminary. All in all life is pretty crazy busy... but with a loving wife my side and an incredible God showing the way, who can complain?