Friday, August 30, 2013
Isaiah 11:3-4: People may judge by what we see. God looks upon the heart, and God “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12). When God looks at you, today, God looks upon your heart in all its ranges, knowing you more deeply than you know yourself. Show Him your love and faithfulness. This is a Wekivaword.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Psalm 73:17: Whatever task you are facing, you can find help and inspiration when you enter the house of the Lord. And you find other blessings as well. When you enter your sanctuary, you find is a foretaste of the heavenly things to come. The haven of holiness exists inside the doors of faith, a space that was set apart for God's Holy Spirit. They remind us of the eternal haven of holiness to be found in Christ. This is a Wekivaword.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Psalm 24:9: Jesus longs to enter every heart and every home, from earth’s farthest regions to your home. Are the gates of your heart and the gates of your home truly open to Him? Ask yourself whether you are making every effort to open yourself to His love and grace. The way to do that is to let go of your defenses, to set aside worry, fear and apathy, and accept the blessings He will bring you. This is a Wekivaword.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Luke 6:46-49: There is a lot that is practical about Jesus. It has to do with receiving Him, and then (this is the practical part), doing what He tells us. In the case of this parable, it means: dig deep and put your foundation on solid rock, in order to keep from being shaken. That is what Jesus will do for you, today. This is a Wekivaword.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
John 20:19: This village carpenter was a Man of Peace: As He worked at His trade in Nazareth, He was a Man of Peace. When He left His workbench behind Him, and went to work reshaping human lives, He was a Man of Peace. When he taught the people with simplicity, authority and truth, He was a Man of Peace. Go with Him, peacefully, today. This is a Wekivaword.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Jude 1:24-25: Have you felt as if your personal life has become a bit of a desert? Dry and dusty, and not much in the way of beauty? Maybe, just maybe, a bit of praise of Jesus is called for. Remember, “Just a little praise is like water in the desert.” Praise Jesus. It is good to praise Him. It is good for you. And it is a good witness, for others. This is a Wekivaword.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Christian Child Center at Wekiva Presbyterian Church
The new school year is about to begin for the Christian Child Center here at Wekiva Presbyterian Church.
To join with our wonderful ongoing staff, we also have some absolutely fantastic new teachers and helpers at the Christian Child Center this school year, including our new director Katie. They have all begun the new year with energy and enthusiasm and we are benefitting from the fresh ideas they are bringing to our long established program.
The Christian Child Center, Wekiva Presbyterian Church’s preschool, is the Longwood-Wekiva neighborhood’s longest established and most highly respected traditional preschool. The CCC offers classes serving young children as they grow and develop. We provide an environment in which children are guided with love and compassion.
To join with our wonderful ongoing staff, we also have some absolutely fantastic new teachers and helpers at the Christian Child Center this school year, including our new director Katie. They have all begun the new year with energy and enthusiasm and we are benefitting from the fresh ideas they are bringing to our long established program.
The Christian Child Center, Wekiva Presbyterian Church’s preschool, is the Longwood-Wekiva neighborhood’s longest established and most highly respected traditional preschool. The CCC offers classes serving young children as they grow and develop. We provide an environment in which children are guided with love and compassion.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
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Mark 2:13: You can trust Jesus to come close to you when you need Him the most. Rather than live in loneliness; live in trust. Jesus walks right up to you, bringing encouragement and hope. You are not alone. No matter how rough the waters, Jesus is there. Jesus will do the same for you. This is a Wekivaword.
Friday, August 2, 2013
How Kind of View...
HOW KIND OF VIEW
V. Nine Visible Attributes of The Christian Life
A Sermon by The Rev. Dr. John A. Dalles
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Psalm 136:1-3 & 22-26; Galatians 5:22-23
We have come to the fifth of the Nine Visible Attributes Of The Christian Life. Kindness.
Kindness is an underrated virtue. Indeed, sometimes people get the mistaken idea that to be kind is to be weak or a pushover.
They would be wrong.
Kindness makes all the difference.
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”
Everyone from Aesop to Winnie the Pooh will tell you so.
Aesop said,
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
And Winnie the Pooh said,
“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”
And then there is the Apostle Paul, who in writing to the Galatians, held up kindnesses one of the nine visible attributes of the Holy Spirit. In other words, where you see kindness in action, the Holy Spirit is alive and working in that person’s life. Where you do not see kindness – no matter what else you see in the way of smarts, or strength, or ability to command people and nations – well, the Holy Spirit probably is not there.
It really is that simple.
And we know it in our hearts. And we can feel the presence or absence of kindness, as we interact with others.
Here is an actual newspaper article courtesy of the Associated Press:
The headline reads: WANTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER
The article is short, so I will quote it in full:
Linda Burnett – a resident of San Diego – was visiting her in-laws, and while there, went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries. Several people noticed her sitting in her car, with the windows rolled up, and with her eyes closed—with both hands behind the back of her head.
One customer, who had been at the store for a while, became concerned, and walked over to the car. He noticed that Linda’s eyes were now open, and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was okay.
And Linda replied that she had been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in, for over an hour.
The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car, because the doors were locked—and Linda refused to remove her hands from her head.
When they finally got in, they found that Linda had…a wad of bread dough on the back of her head.
What happened was this…
A Pillsbury biscuit canister from her grocery bag had exploded in the heat, making a loud sound that sounded like a gunshot. And the wad of dough hit her in the back of the head. When she reached back, to find out what it was, Linda felt the dough, but thought it was her brains.
She initially passed out, but quickly revered, and then tired to hold her brains in, for over an hour, until someone noticed and came to her assistance.”
* * * *
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”
* * * *
This particular act of kindness – dispelled ignorance and fear.
Kindness always dispels ignorance and fear.
And every act of kindness comes from the Holy Spirit.
* * * *
Kindness can be defined as “A deep seated, habitually considerate behavior.”
God is kind.
That is what the scriptures tell u s. That is why we often sing it in our hymns, including selection 244 in our hymnal. That is the poet John Milton, by the way, who wrote:
“Let us with a gladsome mind, praise the lord who is so kind—
For God’s mercies shall endure, ever faithful, ever sure.”
Milton wrote those words in 1623. They are just as true in 2013.
God is Kind.
It is a faith affirmation that fairly leaps out of the Psalms. It is a paraphrase of our Old Testament Lesson, Psalm 136. The hymn was written when Milton was a student at St Paul’s School in London. He was 15 years old, a Puritan, and a man on the verge of entering Christ College at Cambridge.
A wise and faithful young man’s observation might be worth pondering. How does our own faith line up alongside what Milton says – that “God is kind”? Do you see God as basically kind?
Many folks do not. They see God as a stern taskmaster. As very powerful and awe inspiring, but also very demanding and judgmental. Not kind. In their eyes, God is so demanding that they feel they will never be able to measure up to what God expects. So, they have feelings of guilt and fear and resentment toward God. What good is that—for them, or for God?
None whatsoever.
If what we read in the Old Testament is not enough, then what about Jesus.
Jesus is the perfect model of God’s kindness.
Look at Jesus.
See his kindness to the lame, to the blind, to the paralyzed.
You are seeing the kindness of God at work.
Look at Jesus.
See him crying over the city of Jerusalem, and crying over the death of his friend Lazarus.
You are watching the kindness of God.
Look at Jesus. See him welcoming children and praising their faith.
You are experiencing the kindness of God.
Jesus is kind. God is kind. It’s a fact. You can say it with boldness and confidence, just like John Milton, the fifteen year old poet and Christian.
KINDNESS DISPELS IGNORANCE AND FEAR.
When Linda Burnett accepted the kindness of that stranger in the grocery store parking lot, all of her ignorance and fear dissipated like the dew at noontime.
That is the way it is with kindness.
Kindness shared, lightens burdens.
Kindness shared, resolves problems.
Kindness shared, restores peace and calm.
Kindness shared, opens up the future with hope.
Whenever the Holy Spirit comes to us – through the kindness others – we are set free from fears and folly.
I’m thinking about that unknown Good Samaritan in that store parking lot. What did it cost him to be kind?
A few moments of his time.
A bit of quick thinking.
And putting the needs of someone else before his own.
These things are small.
They are especially small—insignificant quite—compared to the hour of tormented horror that Linda spent in her locked car. As others who were not as kind passed her by. As the time dragged on. As she felt that warm, soft mass that she held so closely to the back of her head.
Dreadful.
We – none of us – have been in Linda’s predicament. But we have been in similar predicaments. Where we have done all we can for ourselves and what we have done is not enough to resolve the problem.
And we are left with the kind of fear that Linda felt—
How good to have someone come alongside us with kindness to spare.
To be for us the means of saving us from our own difficulties.
We all of us have friends who have done exactly that for us.
And the best of friends…
Jesus himself, who is in the business of being kind, and dispelling ignorance and fear.
You see…
Knowledge and truth are not to be feared. Not by any faithful Christian.
“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free…” Jesus says to all of his followers [John 8:3].
How free we become, when God's truth comes to us in a kindly way. From someone who has a deep-seated, habitually considerate behavior.
* * * *
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”
* * * *
Just a bit more on this subject…
Kindness – strengthens the person who is kind.
We are growing in our faith. As we do, kindness plays an important role.
Being kind helps us to mature.
As we read in the first letter of Peter, chapter two, verse three:
“Like newborn babies, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it, you may grow up to salvation. For you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
V. Nine Visible Attributes of The Christian Life
A Sermon by The Rev. Dr. John A. Dalles
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Psalm 136:1-3 & 22-26; Galatians 5:22-23
We have come to the fifth of the Nine Visible Attributes Of The Christian Life. Kindness.
Kindness is an underrated virtue. Indeed, sometimes people get the mistaken idea that to be kind is to be weak or a pushover.
They would be wrong.
Kindness makes all the difference.
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”
Everyone from Aesop to Winnie the Pooh will tell you so.
Aesop said,
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
And Winnie the Pooh said,
“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”
And then there is the Apostle Paul, who in writing to the Galatians, held up kindnesses one of the nine visible attributes of the Holy Spirit. In other words, where you see kindness in action, the Holy Spirit is alive and working in that person’s life. Where you do not see kindness – no matter what else you see in the way of smarts, or strength, or ability to command people and nations – well, the Holy Spirit probably is not there.
It really is that simple.
And we know it in our hearts. And we can feel the presence or absence of kindness, as we interact with others.
Here is an actual newspaper article courtesy of the Associated Press:
The headline reads: WANTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER
The article is short, so I will quote it in full:
Linda Burnett – a resident of San Diego – was visiting her in-laws, and while there, went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries. Several people noticed her sitting in her car, with the windows rolled up, and with her eyes closed—with both hands behind the back of her head.
One customer, who had been at the store for a while, became concerned, and walked over to the car. He noticed that Linda’s eyes were now open, and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was okay.
And Linda replied that she had been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in, for over an hour.
The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car, because the doors were locked—and Linda refused to remove her hands from her head.
When they finally got in, they found that Linda had…a wad of bread dough on the back of her head.
What happened was this…
A Pillsbury biscuit canister from her grocery bag had exploded in the heat, making a loud sound that sounded like a gunshot. And the wad of dough hit her in the back of the head. When she reached back, to find out what it was, Linda felt the dough, but thought it was her brains.
She initially passed out, but quickly revered, and then tired to hold her brains in, for over an hour, until someone noticed and came to her assistance.”
* * * *
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”
* * * *
This particular act of kindness – dispelled ignorance and fear.
Kindness always dispels ignorance and fear.
And every act of kindness comes from the Holy Spirit.
* * * *
Kindness can be defined as “A deep seated, habitually considerate behavior.”
God is kind.
That is what the scriptures tell u s. That is why we often sing it in our hymns, including selection 244 in our hymnal. That is the poet John Milton, by the way, who wrote:
“Let us with a gladsome mind, praise the lord who is so kind—
For God’s mercies shall endure, ever faithful, ever sure.”
Milton wrote those words in 1623. They are just as true in 2013.
God is Kind.
It is a faith affirmation that fairly leaps out of the Psalms. It is a paraphrase of our Old Testament Lesson, Psalm 136. The hymn was written when Milton was a student at St Paul’s School in London. He was 15 years old, a Puritan, and a man on the verge of entering Christ College at Cambridge.
A wise and faithful young man’s observation might be worth pondering. How does our own faith line up alongside what Milton says – that “God is kind”? Do you see God as basically kind?
Many folks do not. They see God as a stern taskmaster. As very powerful and awe inspiring, but also very demanding and judgmental. Not kind. In their eyes, God is so demanding that they feel they will never be able to measure up to what God expects. So, they have feelings of guilt and fear and resentment toward God. What good is that—for them, or for God?
None whatsoever.
If what we read in the Old Testament is not enough, then what about Jesus.
Jesus is the perfect model of God’s kindness.
Look at Jesus.
See his kindness to the lame, to the blind, to the paralyzed.
You are seeing the kindness of God at work.
Look at Jesus.
See him crying over the city of Jerusalem, and crying over the death of his friend Lazarus.
You are watching the kindness of God.
Look at Jesus. See him welcoming children and praising their faith.
You are experiencing the kindness of God.
Jesus is kind. God is kind. It’s a fact. You can say it with boldness and confidence, just like John Milton, the fifteen year old poet and Christian.
KINDNESS DISPELS IGNORANCE AND FEAR.
When Linda Burnett accepted the kindness of that stranger in the grocery store parking lot, all of her ignorance and fear dissipated like the dew at noontime.
That is the way it is with kindness.
Kindness shared, lightens burdens.
Kindness shared, resolves problems.
Kindness shared, restores peace and calm.
Kindness shared, opens up the future with hope.
Whenever the Holy Spirit comes to us – through the kindness others – we are set free from fears and folly.
I’m thinking about that unknown Good Samaritan in that store parking lot. What did it cost him to be kind?
A few moments of his time.
A bit of quick thinking.
And putting the needs of someone else before his own.
These things are small.
They are especially small—insignificant quite—compared to the hour of tormented horror that Linda spent in her locked car. As others who were not as kind passed her by. As the time dragged on. As she felt that warm, soft mass that she held so closely to the back of her head.
Dreadful.
We – none of us – have been in Linda’s predicament. But we have been in similar predicaments. Where we have done all we can for ourselves and what we have done is not enough to resolve the problem.
And we are left with the kind of fear that Linda felt—
How good to have someone come alongside us with kindness to spare.
To be for us the means of saving us from our own difficulties.
We all of us have friends who have done exactly that for us.
And the best of friends…
Jesus himself, who is in the business of being kind, and dispelling ignorance and fear.
You see…
Knowledge and truth are not to be feared. Not by any faithful Christian.
“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free…” Jesus says to all of his followers [John 8:3].
How free we become, when God's truth comes to us in a kindly way. From someone who has a deep-seated, habitually considerate behavior.
* * * *
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”
* * * *
Just a bit more on this subject…
Kindness – strengthens the person who is kind.
We are growing in our faith. As we do, kindness plays an important role.
Being kind helps us to mature.
As we read in the first letter of Peter, chapter two, verse three:
“Like newborn babies, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it, you may grow up to salvation. For you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
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