Miami Beach Community Church

Musical Selection - "Breathe On Me"http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Sermon text unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience.The Rev. Dr. Garth R. Thompson Pastor, M.B. Community ChurchA sermon is a simple truth told by someone whobelieves it to people he knows and loves (Phillips Brooks)January 13th, 2008 10:30 a.m.May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heartsbe acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Musical Selection - "Rise Up Shepherd and Follow"http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Sermon text unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience.The Rev. Dr. Garth R. Thompson Pastor, M.B. Community ChurchA sermon is a simple truth told by someone whobelieves it to people he knows and loves (Phillips Brooks)January 6th, 2008 10:30 a.m. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heartsbe acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Musical Selection - "There Is No Rose"http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Musical Selection - Handelhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Sermon text unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience.The Rev. Dr. Garth R. Thompson Pastor, M.B. Community Church. A sermon is a simple truth told by someone whobelieves it to people he knows and loves (Phillips Brooks)December 23, 2007 10:30 a, m. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heartsbe acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Musical Selection - "Patiently"http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Musical Selection - "I Belive O Lord"http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

"New Lives For Old""When it was the right time, John the Baptizer began tellingpeople a message from God" - so says our Scripture lesson today.John the Baptist (as we call him) is obviously known for baptizing people.Actually, he should be remembered for his message - he should be "Johnthe Preacher" not "John the Baptizer" because it was his direct,confrontational preaching that made people remember him. It was hispreaching mouth that got him in trouble, not his baptizing hands. Hismessage? Repent! He told Herod, the ruler of Galilee to repent fortaking his brother's wife, Herodias, as his own. Herodius plotted with herdancing daughter to have John's head - literally - killed as if he were anannoying gnat flying about in the royal box.But Jesus said, "The truth is that John the Baptizer" is greaterthan anyone who has ever come into this world."...(John 11:11)"Before John came, the law of Moses and all the prophets toldabout the things that would happen. And if you believe what theysaid, then John is Elijah. He is the one they said would come. Youpeople who hear me, listen!" (John 11:14)It was the right time for his message of repentance. Before wecan get new lives, we have to dump a lot of junk out of the old life. That'sa two step process - being sorry for what you have done and asking Godto forgive you for all of it.There's a time of repentance built into every communion service,where when we confess our sin, "God is faithful and just to forgive usof our sin and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness."No wonder John's message was also a welcome one - many peoplewanted to hear it, and to hear it that had to expend a good deal of effort.John planted himself in the middle of nowhere. He set up shop in thewilderness and anyone who wanted to hear what he had to say had to goto a lot of trouble to get there - borrowing the neighbor's donkey perhapsor setting off on foot with enough water for the journey, and going downlonely trails infested with bandits.To hear John preach you had to trek way off into the blazing hotdesert, traverse relentless hills of thick sand and make you way down tothe Jordan River, far away from any city.He was particularly hard on people in organized religion, thePharisees and Sadducees. They didn't go there to hear him except tohear enough so they could find a way to do him in - after all, if he becametoo popular their temples would be empty of people - worse yet theiroffering plates would be empty."You bunch of snakes!" John said, "slithering down here tothe river. Do you think that a little water on your snake skins isgoing to make any difference. It's your life that got to change, notyour skin! If your life is changed, people will be able to tell. You'llbear fruit. And don't think you can pull rank because you are adescendant of Abraham. Descendants of Abraham are a dime adozen. God can take these rocks and make them into descendantsof Abraham. What matters is your life. Is your life green? Is itbearing fruit? Because if it is dead wood then it goes into the fire.Repent! The Kingdom of Heaven is near!"My advise to you is, "Live your life understanding that onlywhat's done for Christ will last."What are these things? Acts of kindness, Works of charity, Visitingthe sick, comforting they who mourn, being more concerned about thewelfare of your wife or husband or significant other than your own.Carrying about with you a spirit of good will and acceptance. Not beingjudgemental, Not complaining.At our last minister's meeting, one of the ministers came with aband on his wrist. Each time you complain about something, you have tomove the band to the other wrist. The goal is to see how long you can gowithout having to do that. How about YOU? Could you last only anhour - a day - a week? The program's goal is to go 21 days. Are all ofyour branches green - or just a few of them. (A Complaint Free Worldby Will Bowen.)I have a senna polifida tree that isn't doing well at all. I have fiveof them in a row. They have exuberant, plentiful yellow blossoms. A fewweeks ago, they all began to bloom - well not all - the one at the endlooked sick - and I thought it was dying. I checked it for any pests thatmight be destroying it, but nothing was to be seen. I hate to tell you this,but I am one of those persons who believe that one species can talk toanother - should talk to each other. I spoke to the tree. I moved itsbranches. I showered it with a little more water than the others. Now, itis in bloom! - not riotously like the others, but a nice grouping of blossomson the branches that were not dead after all. Those that are - thedeadwood, I assume I will have to trim off.This is then the place in the sermon where you need to decidewhat deadwood you need to get rid of - repent of. Anything that keepsyou from your goal of Christlikeness has to go. Repent! "He will burnthe useless part with a fire that cannot be stopped."God is speaking to us today - moving OUR branches, nourishingus with His love - the God who can make our branches bloom with goodworks. "He will separate the good grain from the straw, and he illput the good part into his barn."All you have to do is make a conscious decision to give priority tothose things that will grow your spirit.The Network of Spiritual Progressive is committed to fostering anew consciousness so that we allow ourselves to know that the mostsignificant and rewarding part of our lives comes through:*Acts of love and generosity*Kindness to humans and animals*Caring for and giving to other without expectation of reward ora "return on the investment of our time and energy.*Work that is fulfilling both in its process and in the sense it givesus that we are contribution to the public good.*Awe at the grandeur of creation*The experience of being recognized on the deepest level of ourbeing and recognizing others in that way.*Acknowledging our connection to something larger than ourselvesand seeing our lives in the context of service to the ultimate triumph oflove, goodness, justice and peace.That's fine for us, but how are we doing as a nation, as a world?Is it time for a call to repentance there? Is the world getting better orworse? I always say that progress is backwards. Waiting the other dayfor replies to several e-mails and needing one in particular, I had anamazingly brilliant thought - Why not use the telephone?! That way Iwould get an immediate answer, and it wouldn't be just words on a pagebut hearing the vibrant, wonderful voice of the friend I was calling, and Iwould be able to get a feeling of how he was doing - not just by thewords, but by the tone of voice.And the internet - much as I love Google - I was appalled by thecruel trick played by one teenager on another - the one, a girl, pretendingto be a handsome young man, communicating with her neighbor a fewdoors down, getting her very attached to "him" then having him dump hersaying all kinds of cruel things to her. Only after she had hung herself, didher parents learn that there was no such young man, only a girl down thestreet playing tricks on an unsuspecting, sensitive soul. What is happeningin our world. Young people are getting more and more cruel to each otherand to the adults around them. The suicide incident was part ofa program depicting the growing cruelty and irresponsibility being manifestedin our young people including a college student who, driving drunk, killedone girl and made an invalid of another. She fled back to her native Peruwhere she continued to drink and drive and even wrote a song braggingabout her driving experiences. Where is John the Baptist when he's needed?Who will call us to repentance - we all have things of which we need torepent. Jesus will.Jesus calls us to repentance, not to make us feel bad aboutourselves, but to free us from the darkness and deadness that drags usdown. Then he setts us on a pathway of service and fulfillment - heads usfor home - the eternal home He has prepared for us from the foundationof the world.One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after;that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, tobehold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. For inthe time of trouble he shall hid me in his pavilion: in the secret ofhis tabernacle shell he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies roundabout me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy;I will sing, yea I will sing praises unto the Lord.Change your hearts! And show by the way you live that you havechanged. A good indicator of that is your checkbook which will showamong other things how much you give to yourself and how much to God.I hope everybody got the pledge letter from our church Treasurer,Edwin Scharlau - how anybody could resist it I just can't figure. Sincethere are more of you here who haven't pledged than have, I assumemany of you didn't get it. He referred to all the special moments thechurch provides you - your wedding, your child's baptism, agranddaughters 1st birthday, delicious food, the incomparable karaokiesinging by church members, dancing the "chicken dance at the Octoberfest,- sitting in your pew with some of the same people around you week afterweek, being greeted at the church door as you walk in, the sermons forchildren, the sermons for serious Christians. He says, "I'm sure youhave your own moments you look forward to on Sunday mornings athe Miami Beach Community Church - from the spiritual to thesimple. " Then he suggests that we all bear the fruit of good stewardship,that the Church can go forward in strength and its message heard. Bearfruit. "Change your hearts and show by the way your live that youhave changed!" (Mt. 3:8)Today's message is "Repent!". May we pray. Each of us Lord,have things for which we repent, things we have done, things we havefailed to do, things for which others cannot forgive us, things for which wecannot forgive ourselves. Even the remembrance of them grieves usseverely. In these moments, as we repent earnestly of our sins, "Forgiveus all that is past and grant that we may evermore serve thee innewness of life to the honor and glory of Thy Holy name. Amen.Sermon Notes(Not edited nor proofed)The Rev. Dr. Garth R. Thompson Pastor, M.B. Community ChurchA sermon is a simple truth told by someone whobelieves it to people he knows and loves (Phillips Brooks)December 9, 2007 10:30 a, m. Matthew 3:1-122nd Sunday in AdventMay the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heartsbe acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

"What's New?!"Happy New Year! This is the beginning of the church year -which begins with the season of Advent - filled with the anticipation of thearrival of Christ into the world. He came and He comes again - wheneverwe invite Him. Even the saints like to have an invitation - a welcome.But Jesus was rejected while still in the womb - the Inn was fullyou remember - and his mother delivered him in the stable - among thefriendly animals. Animals know so much more than we give them creditfor - witness the animals who went to higher ground before the gigantictsunami. How does my god know to go which day to go the door to waitfor the maid to come - whom she loves dearly because Elsa stays homeand keeps her company all day, whereas I run off to church. How do theswallows find Capistrano? How do pengins know where to march to?In this world of ours, there's a miracle around every corner -something new to be discovered - something different to understand.Jesus was something new - something different - we've neverquite gotten used to him. That's because He was none other than Godwalking among us - God with us - Emanuel! - which is what Emanualmeans - God with us! Because we as mankind never got ourselves toGod, there was only one solution - God had to come to us.We tried to be faithful. We tried our best to follow God's laws aswe understood them, but we failed.We poured over the sacred books seeking a better understandingof God, but things there seemed so strange and incomprehensible.We built a grand temple in the hope of containing God, a housegrand enough for God to reside in, but following the rituals of the templewas a pale substitute for the living God.We listened to the prophets and nodded in assent to their demands.But agreeing with them was one thing: obeying them was another.So many of our attempts to get close to God, to walk with God,to obey God only seemed to drive us further from God. What could wedo?The answer is that we could do nothing. Something had to bedone for us. We could not come to God, so God came to us.Advent means, that caught in our old ways, following ouraccustomed scripts, going through the motions, God came to us. Godreached out to us, despite the futility of our groping toward him, Godembraced us, stood beside us, and became one with us.It's that closeness that Communion accomplishes for us if we havethe eye to see the miracle in the common place.Before His physical departure from the Earth, Jesus chose elementsby which we could remember him - two things that were at every meal -bread and wine. He gave symbolic meaning to each - a symbol of hisPresence.Shortly after my father died, I found my mother sitting sadly in achair, holding my father's shoes. They weren't his dress shoes - but hiswork shoes which didn't smell all that great from years of sweaty use - butstill they were the perfect symbol of the dedicated, hardworking husbandand father he was - who was up before light and finishing after dark tosupport a family of nine children.What would symbolize you? What is the essence of who you arethat could be capsulized into a symbol?And how does that essence relate to the fierce directions given usin the Scripture today "We should prepare ourselves to fight evil withthe weapons that belong to the light."The weapons that belong to the light are the principles of Jesusthat are the only things powerful enough make it possible for our world tosurvive - for the earth to be preserved and for wars to cease that couldcause the end of civilization. God doesn't have to bring the end of time,we're doing a very good job of heading for it entirely on our own.When I was a kid, we were always crying wolf - saying there wasa crisis when there was none. Once such day, my next older brothershouted out from the old swimmin' hole that he was drowning. His criesof "Help - Help, I'm drowning" didn't fool any of us. He went under. Wewaited eagerly for him to come back up. The only problem - He didn't!He WAS drowning - whereupon a family member dived in, found himbelow the surface, and dragged him to shore - where he coughed up a lotof water, came to and continued on in the land of the living.But he had been through quite an experience. Thinking he wasgoing to meet his Maker, he said that every mean and terrible thing thathe had ever done passed through his mind in an instant. God didn't haveto judge him, he had already judged himself.God doesn't have to bring an end to things...we're doing a fine jobof that ourselves....thinking we can war our way to piece - totally oppositeto what Jesus said - totally foreign to the way He was in the world.As we come to the communion table today, our task is simple, toexamine ourselves to see how like the Christ we have become or need tobecome - to ask how concerned we are about His Church, His Kingdom,His reign as King of Kings - how involved are we in the things of theSpirit.It is likely that instead, we have fallen prey to what our culturecalls us to become. A recent church of England report puts it this way:"Where previous generations found their identity in what theyproduced, we now find our identity in what we consume. "Never at any funeral have I said, He consumed four luxury cars,to luxury homes and half of the Forge's wine list. Spiritually, those thingswon't get us anywhere - they certainly don't stop wars or produce peace.Jesus gives us the bread and wine to remember him by, but for thepurpose of remembering that we are his hands and feet in the world toaccomplish His tasks. He walks beside us hoping to see us doing thingsthat will make a difference.The Church just sent a thousand dollars from our BenevolenceBudget to help keep the Interfaith Worker Justice organization going -giving them money to help others who earn very little to get a living wage- pressuring Burger King, Taco Bell and others on behalf of the tomatopickers who earn very little - or pressuring universities and housingcommunities to pay their groundskeepers a living wage. They know intheir hearts to help these people is to make a difference where it countsmost - with whom it counts most.So what is the symbol by which you will be remembered ? -perhaps a sweaty shirt from the latest march for worker's wages: or fromserving on the food line at the church's luncheon for the homeless, or aparking stub from one of the many committee meetings you have attendedto further the work of your church, your service club or arts organization."I say this because you know that we live in an important time,Yes, it is now time for you to wake up from your sleep. Our salvationis nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almostfinished." (Romans 13:11.)Into the darkness, the Christ of Light appears - again this advent.Showing us how Life is to be done and won. - to give us anothr chance.He came not to consume but to give - to love - to share. That's why we'rehere - to learn to walk in that light, to live in that light.The animals in the stable intuitively understood that. So must we.In closing, I'd like to share A Dog's Purpose, from a 4 year old.Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten year-oldIrish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa,and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they werehoping for a miracle.I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told thefamily we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform theeuthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.As we made the arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thoughtit would be goof for four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. Theyfelt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker'sfamily surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for thelast time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The littleboy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloudabout the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunnedme. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to livea good life - like loving everybody all the time and being nice right?"The four year old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to dothat, so they don't have to stay as long."LIVE SIMPLY. LOVE GENEROUSLY. CARE DEEPLY.SPEAK KINDLY. LEAVE THE REST TO GOD. MAKE YOUR LIFEA SYMBOL OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST. Now.....Come, dance in delight because love has comeand the wine of celebration is being pouredCome, lift up your heartsto receive the abundance that waits for usfor the Christ is present.and we touch the life of God.Come to this sacred table, not because you must, but becauseyou may..... .Communion Meditation Notes(Not edited nor proofed)The Rev. Dr. Garth R. Thompson Pastor, M.B. Community ChurchA sermon (or meditation) is a simple truth told by someone whobelieves it to people he knows and loves (Phillips Brooks)December 2, 2007 10:30 a, m.May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heartsbe acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Musical Selection - Jonathan Burton performs "I Will Sing New Songs" by Dvorakhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

"KING ME!"When I came to this community 33 years ago, Miami Beach wason a downward spiral - which had a very negative effect on the church.The congregation dwindled, the funds lessened. I realized that I wouldhave to be the glue to hold things together until the City itself turned around.That came to my mind when I read this commentary on ourScripture lesson from the first chapter of Colossians: "The historicalJesus is here being proclaimed as that grand beginning point of awhole new creation that will displace the old. In verse 17, the mostsweeping claim for this new king of creation is that "all things holdtogether in him" Christ the King is the glue that keeps the cosmostogether."I don't know about you, but I think we're hanging on by a thread-as a result of the direction in which we're going ecologically and politically- we could drown ourselves or blow ourselves up if we don't change.The Apostle, Paul could pray the same prayer for us he prayed for theColossians: "This is what we pray - that you will know fully whatGod wants; that with your knowledge you will also have greatwisdom and understanding in spiritual things; that this will help you livein a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in everyway, that your life will produce good works of every kind and thatyou will grow in your knowledge of God, that God will strengthenyou with his own great power, and that you will be patient and notgive up when troubles come."The basis for "understanding spiritual things" is tounderstand who Jesus is.Not everyone within the sound of my voice will agree with me asto my understanding of who Jesus is. Despite my liberal stance on socialissues and my belief that God Is Still Speaking, thus setting aside somethings we have heard or read before - even in the Scriptures - I have avery high Christology.I personally believe that Jesus was present at the right hand of theHeavenly Father when all that is was created. "Without him was notmade anything that was made" as John the gospel writer put it. Ibelieve what the same gospel writer proclaimed that Jesus was the"expression of God" the "Word" of God - that He was with God and wasGod or as our text today Colossians 1:15 puts it, "He is the image ofthe invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." I believe that whenJesus was here on Earth, God was here on Earth - that to know whatJesus is like is to know what God is like - that although He had the powerto wipe out and destroy any of His enemies or those of the Jews, or thoseof mankind, - he chose to demonstrate the power of loving sacrifice -the giving of Life rather than the taking of life.If we as Christians were doing our job, our nation would bespending as much on peace as they are on war. At a minimum, weshould be working as aggressively to bring peace as we are to bringwar.Our Department of Peace should receive as much in finding as ourDepartment of War.Our denomination, the United Church of Christ has the right idea- currently collecting money to provide assistance to the over four millionpeople who have been displaced by the Iraq War - two million internallyand two million who have fled to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.On a personal level, you miss a world of peace and tranquility bynot living daily in the context of Who Jesus Is - King of Kings and Lord ofLords.Who or what is Lord of your life? Constantine became a"Christian" and made Christianity the official religion of the State andChristianity has been going down hill ever since. Christianity was defined,trimmed, smoothed and changed to fit imperial policy. It allowedConstantine to continue to rob kill, burn, fight and execute. What is wrongwith that picture. What is wrong with our picture.To bring "our picture" into focus and to take our first step on ourjourney to "real" Christianity, we have to see that Jesus is the King ofKings.Knowing that Jesus is "King of Kings" means that YOU are "achild of the King". As such you have some privileges. Because you're"family" you are allowed into the Presence of the King of Kings. You livein the mansion! A place in the Palace is yours!When Jesus said, "In my Father's House are manymansions", he wasn't talking about something that is going to be, butalready is. Once we set our foot on the discipleship trail, we are "ineternal life." And here is precisely where we go wrong, because mostmodern disciples give 99 % of their thought into the physical world andhopefully, at least 1% on the realm of the Spirit in which they now live.Most of us nod to God in the morning and hurry our devotions inthe evening, more to say we have done them than to get something fromthem. I don't advocate giving up set times at the beginning and ending ofyour day for giving attention to godly things - but additionally, I advocatePRACTICING THE PRESENCE.If we are indeed the King's Kid - and we do live in the palace, inthe Presence of the King - then we should bask in the Nearness of thedivinity.For some reason we don't expect Divinity in the daily doings ofour lives - but if not there, then where? It's time for "Andy" to make hisappearance. The hymn, In the Garden took some hits because of thewords, And He walked with me, And He talked with me.....which becameparaphrased as "Andy walked with me - Andy talked with me." Butvisualizing Jesus walking and talking with you is as good a way to Practicethe Presence as you can find. And Jesus is joined by others.I'm a big believer in not going anywhere without being "in thecompany of the saints." At communion, the liturgy says- "With angelsand archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnifyThy Glorious Name." Don't leave home without them.!"Of course, you will be known by the company you keep! Imentioned to a friend the other night that reincarnationists believe that todevelop our souls we have many sojourns on this earth - until we get itright I would guess! AND that they believe we often interact with some ofthe same people we have known in other incarnations, although the rolesoften change - someone who is a good friend in one incarnation may be abrother to you in the next. The husband may reincarnate as the wife andthe wife the husband - now THERE'S an interesting thought. Turn aboutis fair play it would seem, but he thought I shouldn't mention such things asreincarnation, lest the men in the little white coats come to get me... inwhich case I'll be in good company - Jesus said that John the Baptist wasElijah who had lived centuries before - and as you recall - they dressedthe same - and had the same mission in life - preaching - and lived on thesame foods. Coincidence? In the realm of the Spirit, there are nocoincidences!In the realm of the Spirit, there are always interesting concepts todiscuss and consider. I DO believe that some people reincarnate. Iremember one of mine - I was a priest - and I remember only walking andreading as I made my way around a cloister - which is an area within amonastery or convent, a covered passage, having one side walled and theother an open arcade often with a series of columns set at regular intervals- a colonnade. On my vacation I saw a cloister something like the one ofmy past.Yes, I'm suspicious that so many people claim to have beenCleopatra or Julius Caesar - or are told that they were by unscrupulousmoney makers, but it cannot be dismissed out of hand - if it's good enoughfor Jesus - it's good enough for me!Another advantage in living in the Palace - in the realm of the Kingof Kings is learning how God interacts with mankind. Beware, this willcause you to put away any "Errand boy in the Sky" practice you may havehad. You can no longer have the "Gimme God Blues" - that's when Godwon't gimmie what I want him to gimme - and I get the Gimmie GodBlues. ( I try not to go there!)It is so much more fun to see what I can give because that's theway people in God's Kingdom get turned on - by doing something forsomeone else, by being of service - by being in ministry.As Palace People we are in full time Christian service, althoughthe devil tries to get us to believe only paid employees of the church are infull time Christian service - and that's the way the devil would like it - farbe it from us to please the devil - much nicer to give him a hard time bytaking our ministries seriously.At the Thanksgiving Eve ecumenical service I told a story told byThe Rev. James Howell, pastor of the Myers Park United MethodistChurch in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was his own story of wonderingif he should even BE in the ministry: The reason I am still in the ministryis because of the night I decided to leave the ministry. It was myday off. The phone rang, and it was the chaplain at a nearby hospital.Usually we would exchange pleasantries, but all she said was,"Come to the hospital - now!" I trusted the urgency in her voiceand arrived in about ten minutes.I found her with a young couple I knew and loved from ourchurch. I sensed shrieks and sobs lingering in the room, which waseerily silent: the wife and the husband fell onto my shoulders. Icould hardly bear their weight as they gasped for words. Theirchild, Caroline, whom I had baptized a couple of weeks earlier hadjust been diagnosed with a malignant tumor intertwined with herspinal cord at the base of the brain."Another minister who knew the family materialized. Hisdemeanor startled me: smiling, confident, speaking many words,assuring the parents with an utterly confident grin that "God willsave your child if you just pray."I'm ordained, he's ordained, but I felt no kinship with him.I oscillated between wanting to strangle him and wanting to be morelike him. Why have I never been able to be pious? When did Ibecome the grim pastor who expects the worst? Sure, his style ofpastoring seemed trite, absurd - and yet, what good was I doing?About that time, the pediatric oncologist came in - calm,intelligent, well-trained, impressive. I remember him as being verytall. He had a plan. As he unfolded his strategy, I remember thosesmart grown-ups who had advised me to go to medical school, andI wish I had, because as a minister, I had nothing - literally nothingto offer to these people I loved so much. Had I gone to medicalschool, I could do something...."Then her parents asked me for a favor. "We are exhausted.Caroline won't stop crying. Could you hold her for a little while sowe can step out and take a little break?" And so I took this childin my arms and rocked her. She cried and I cried, and then havingexpended all her energy, she drifted off to sleep. I kept rockingher until her parents came back, a little bit rested, relieved to seeher more peaceful. We placed her gently in the crib, and then I leftthem, took the elevator downstairs and stepped through the doorinto the night.As I felt the chill against my face, I knew I would not quitthe ministry. It was as if my whole life had been a preparation forthis dark evening. All the wrestling with what career to pursue,counsel from professors, the books, papers, degrees, hurdles ofordination: I had been in training for this day, so that on this day Icould drive to Durham and give two parents a little bit of rest - andto rock a very sick child to sleep, just to hold this little one whoseemed to have as little hope as I did.It was around midnight that I had to answer a question:Why did I go into the ministry? To do something grand andimpressive? Or because I thought I might love somebody, somefamily, some child, in God's name. Holding Caroline, I wondered:isn't this what Mary did with Jesus when he was sick during thenight? Didn't she embrace him when he was taken down from thecross? Isn't this what God Almighty had been doing we me allthese years? And on one night, I was able to help. I held a child.I fulfilled my vocation, the small impotence of it all turning out tobe the beauty."Your ministry is simply to be doing what God does with you- to hold the hurting, to encourage the depressed, to support thoseweakened by what life can do to the weary. In fact, if you didn't doit, God couldn't get anything done, for you're the way He gets hismission accomplished - as we emulate and follow the King of Kings.When I was a kid, we played checkers, and I recall that if you gotyour single checker across to the other side of the Board, you could yellout KING ME! And another checker would be added to yours, whichdeferred princely powers to the unit - you could do things now, you nevergood before! That's the way God does things, as our mission makes adifference - my mission makes a difference. " KING ME!"Sermon Notes(Not edited nor proofed)The Rev. Dr. Garth R. Thompson Pastor, M.B. Community ChurchA sermon is a simple truth told by someone whobelieves it to people he knows and loves (Phillips Brooks)November 25, 2007 10:30 a, m. Colossians 1:11-20May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heartsbe acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

"WHO'S THE GOOD GUY?!"If I were to choose a hymn to go with the Scripture today - Luke18:9-14. in which the hated tax collector is shown mercy and the selfrighteousness religious leader is sent away without any, I would chooseAmazing Grace.Growing up as we do in a tit for tat world, where the good shouldbe rewarded and the bad should be condemned, we just don't understandthe way God does things. God saves those we would damn, and setsfree those we would capture. God restores those whom we might leavebroken. While we set about to be righteous and look down upon thosewho have not climbed to our heights, God is busy blessing the unrighteous,and calling our self righteousness into question. God's Grace IS amazingand downright disgusting - depending upon where we placedourselves in the Scripture. God's Mercy is unfathomable exceptperhaps to those who need it most.The wretched tax collector who collected from his fellow Jewswhat taxes Rome required and a lot more that he could get away with tokeep for himself, finally had his guilt catch up with him, confessed that hewas a wretched sinner - in contrast to a former member of our churchwho would not come to church if we sang Amazing Grace. "I amNOT a wretch!" He would vehemently declare - and he wasn't, he wasa very good guy, but his name did rhyme with Warlock - which I believe isa male witch! (I threw that in, just so you'd know how seasonally relevantI am!) "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved aWRETCH like me!"God seems a little prejudiced toward the sinner if the truth betold! In so many of the parables, the supposed "bad guy" is the good guyand the bad guy - the good - thus the sermon title, WHO'S THE GOODGUY?!Today's Scripture Lesson from the Lectionary usually results in uslooking down our noses (we Christians are VERY good at that!) - lookingdown our noses at the self-righteous Pharisee which puts us in the exactcategory we seek to disavow! Oh, ow!Is it possible only to be deemed "good" by being bad? Are wemissing a real opportunity here to live it up? What IS going on with thisScripture?We're not the only ones to wonder. The early disciples who firstheard the words couldn't believe what they were hearing. For them, it isutterly unseemly, almost laughable to think someone who does what thetax collector does would even dare to PRAY for mercy. They found itscandalous that grace is offered to such a scoundrel so easily. Wherewere the works of absolution? Where were the terrible nights of anguishthat prove his remorse is not short-lived? Where were the years of goingabout righting wrongs, returning the extra fees collected that made himrich while he watched his neighbors struggle to survive?What we have to come to is the truth that mercy is at God'sdiscretion, forgiveness is available to all who ask for it and righteousnessis a gift, not an accomplishment.We are imbued with what the theologians call work righteousness.The Apostle Paul tried to warn us to clue us in: "For by grace are wesaved though faith, not works, lest any person should boast." And,he asks a good question, "Shall we sin that grace may abound?!"Now THERE'S an idea! But we won't be practicing THAT any time soon.Essentially, this parable is about judging - or rather, not judging.Let's not cast aspersions on what God wants to do in the forgiving business.We may need some of that blanket forgiveness ourselves at some futuredate.But in the meantime, our job as Christians is not to judge but tojoin those who are recipients of God's Grace - to invite them to join us.They don't need our judgement - they don't need to see us looking downour noses at them - as all the "righteous" people of Jesus time looked atthe tax collector.A few years ago, I decided to be in my office five days a week,not six as I had done for thirty years. Still, I wanted to be of service onthat extra day I now had off - so I went to a Rotary Club - in Ft. Lauderdale,near my home. The president was very welcoming, but I can't say theclub was. They had some get togethers, but no projects where you coulddo what Rotarians do - not in the weeks that I was there. It was a prettyritzy club, meeting in a ritzy environment and I didn't see why I should beexcluded..I had a ritzy house and a ritzy car and I could afford the ritzypriced breakfast. . The fact was it was not about me at all. They werehaving such a good time with the people they already knew and liked, thatalthough I was there, I was there and not there. They didn't see me andfind me wanting, they didn't find me at all - they didn't see me at all. I wasnot a member of their club. I continued to attend for several weekswhen that fact became painfully obvious.I went to the district meeting of Rotary which members of Rotaryclubs all over the district attended. Unfortunately, no one from my RotaryClub of Miami Beach was there so I sat down with my Rotary friendsfrom my "extra day" club. "Sorry," one of them said, "this area isreserved from members of our Club." I went to another table, but Inever went back to THEIR club.Years ago, this church made a decision not to be a Club. It decidedto be welcoming to everyone despite the fact that some of the memberswanted the leadership and membership to be essentially white, anglosaxon,country club people. Those same members, di not want Blacks,Latins, gays or children in the church - i.e. children not white and anglosaxon.The Chairman of the Board, a young man, Doug Bischoff wasadamant that the church should be open and welcoming to all. I rememberhim saying, "It's o.k. for my country club to be a country club, butit's not o.k. for my church to be a country club."Up until that effort began, people in the community believed thatthis church was for the rich only. In fact an outstandingly talented flautistwho played here with the Symphony of the Americas lived in Miami Beachas a child, told of playing jacks on the front steps of the church, wonderingif she would "ever be rich enough to be allowed to go in."It was a club and a clique-y one at that. The problem is, and whatwe are being asked to see is that without meaning to be, we are still TheClub in our own way - we are the Pharisee judging anyone who is differentfrom ourselves.Years ago I read this in the Saturday Review. It shows the dangerin insisting that everyone be just like ourselves.In cobra country, a mongoose was born one day who didn'twant to fight cobras or anything else. The word spread frommongoose to mongoose that there was a mongoose who didn't wantto fight cobras. If he didn't want to fight anything else, it was hisown business, but it was the duty of every mongoose to kill cobrasor be killed by cobras."Why?" asked the peacelike mongoose, and the word wentaround that the strange new mongoose was not only pro-cobra andanti-mongoose but intellectually curious and against the ideals andtraditions of mongooism. "He is crazy" cried the youngmongoose's father. "He is sick," said his mother. He is a coward,"shouted his brothers. "He is a mongoosexual, whispered hissisters.Strangers who had never laid eyes on the peacelikemongoose remembered that they had seen him crawling on hisstomach, or trying on cobra hoods, or plotting the violent overthrowof Mongoosia. "I am trying to use reason and intelligence," saidthe strange new mongoose. "Reason is sex-sevenths of treason,said one of his neighbors. "Intelligence is what the enemy uses, "said another.Finally, the rumor spread that the mongoose had venom inhis sting, like a cobra, and he was tried, convicted by a show ofpaws and condemned to banishment.Moral, Ashes to ashes and clay to clay. If the enemy doesn'tget you your own folks may - those in "The Club" that seek to keepeveryone else out.So here we are on a Sunday - confident in our spirituality, enjoyingthe fellowship of the church - meaning enjoying all the people we alreadyknow and love - and, unfortunately - not seeing, not welcoming thenewcomer, the stranger, the person not yet a part of that fellowship, theperson who is different from us - not like us - but hurting for a word ofwelcome.When we hear about the Pharisee, let us be totally aware of howvery much in danger we are of becoming the very thing we look down ournose at, because of the subtleties by which we can get into that realitybefore we even realize it.It isn't that we're bad or mean, we're simply caught up in theenjoyment of being together with people we know and love. Yet thechurch exists not for the people in it, but for the people not in it yet. That'swhere our focus should be on Saturday morning when we have theopportunity to invite people to come with us on Sunday, and Sunday afterchurch where we can seek out the stranger and the guest.Every member and friend of the church - every regular attendershould be what we call in church growth parlance - a new person spotter- who then becomes a new-person welcomer - otherwise we have heardthe parable but missed the very point that Jesus wanted to make by tellingit.We are not the important, VIP, "Country Club" people - we arethe servants of God intent upon widening the circle of God's House toinclude others than ourselves.We are not to be the Pharissee, who felt that he was better thanothers, nor do we want to be. He went home not right with God. "Peoplewho make themselves important will be made humble, but thosewho make themselves humble will be made important.""There were some people who thought they were very goodand looked down on everyone else. Jesus used this story to teachthem." Once to every man and nations comes the moment to decide, ifwe will learn the lesson or not. WHO'S THE GOOD GUY?!Sermon Notes(Not edited nor proofed)The Rev. Dr. Garth R. Thompson Pastor, M.B. Community ChurchA sermon is a simple truth told by someone whobelieves it to people he knows and loves (Phillips Brooks)October 28, 2007 10:30 a, m. Luke 18:9-14May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heartsbe acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Musical Selection - For the Beauty of the Earthhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Musical Selectionhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

"Jesus - With Me, It's All Or Nothing!"Climb Every Mountain! Jesus has given us a very high mountainto climb - asking us in today's Scripture, Luke 14:25-33, to leaveeverything to follow him - loving him more than you love your " father,mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters - even more than yourown life." "If you come to me, but will not leave your family youcannot be my follower" or to say it another way, WITH ME IT'SALL OR NOTHING!I thought a little about that when finishing seminary. It wasn't likeI was going back home to Ohio - my first call was in Wisconsin, thesecond in San Juan, Puerto Rico and the third in Miami Beach Florida!My calling would keep me long distances from father, mother, brotherssisters, nieces, nephews - all. But it was the only way I could do what Iwas called to do.Jesus did not mean that we must all leave our families. He simplymeant that we must give first priority to our spiritual task - to being aperson of Spirit. You are here on this planet to grow your Spirit and to bea force for the development of the Spirit of Christ in the world. There willbe times when you will be tested as to the kind of person you really are.In the way of illustration: Consider the man who was guiding twoclients to the top of Mt. Everest. When they were within 1000 feet of thesummit, they came across a climber who the day before had been left fordead there in the death zone - but who somehow had survived the nightand, though delusional with the cold and altitude, greeted them. He neededhelp - persons to take him back down to where he could me "medivacked"out. The guide felt that was what, as human beings they were called to do.His clients, each of whom had paid $25,000 dollars for the climb, agreedto give up their dream of the mountaintop for this necessary humanitarianmission.It seems to me, in making that decision - they had reached themountaintop - that is, THE mountaintop, of God-like, Christ-like action.The guide was not "a religious man" by his own understanding of that, notaffiliated with any church or synagogue - but connected to the Divinethread that links humanity with Divinity - connected in his heart to theHeart of the Universe.The rescue was successful. The wife and sons of the rescuedman who had been notified of his death, but then, one of his sons, followingthe event on the internet saw the latest report that his father had beenfound alive and rescued. Their joy was beyond measure. Their rescuedloved one told them that he would be missing parts of some fingers andtoes. They asserted that they would love him just as much without them.An interesting sidelight to the event was that in addition to thethree that rescued him, two others came by at the same time, andoverhearing them speaking English, indicated they did not speak English,did not understand what was being said and kept on trekking toward thesummit. Later it was learned that they did speak English - they just didn'tspeak "human being" - they didn't speak "Divinity"The question Jesus has for you today is simple - to you speak"Divinity" with your life. Ironically, speaking "Divinity" with you life couldme that you answer the call, not to leave your mother or father, but to carefor them, cantankerous and difficult as they may be, or hopefully upbeatand easy.Whatever happens in your life where a need that you can meetpresents itself, gives you the opportunity to climb the mountain - or as itwas in the climbers case - to descend the mountain! Where you expressyour Divinity is entirely dependent on where you humanity finds you - andgives you the opportunity to know who you are - if you are the Christ's ornot.Years ago, when one of our parishioners went blind, she addedme to her bank accounts so that I could pay her bills and take care of anyneeds that might arise. When she died, the way the accounts were set up,I had every legal right to take what was in those accounts - thousands andthousands of dollars - but that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted thosedollars to go the church and they did. I had no temptation to take them -I knew who I was and that I was in Christ and Christ was in me. Therewas no question.Jesus wants you to lead a "No question" life. Though it's a simpleethic, it is well worth the following - to guide your life by the life of Christ.To follow His way of thinking and doing without question.How well do we do that? We'd have to ask someone other thanourselves. As a "Christian nation", we might ask someone from Islam forexample. The fact is that the Muslims who despise us, dislike us notbecause we're free, or because we're so very Christian, but because, intheir eyes, we're so awfully godless.. It's because we appear to haveproduced a godless, sex-saturated, violent, materialistic society.We as Christians need to admit that, considering our lamentableinability to practice the teachings of Jesus, that most Muslims are distinctivelyunimpressed with our religion. We invoke God's name as we bomb,occupy and dominate Islamic countries. We may say "In God We Trust"on our money, but they suspect that oil, power and wealth are our trueheart's desire.We're going to have to look a lot more redeemed before they believe inour Redeemer or before they believe in our belief in our Redeemer!And what can we think of Islam when Islamic fundamentalistsbrought about the horror of 9/11? How religious can that be?What we need is for the main body of people in each of the majorreligions to follow their leaders' true values - the values of love and justice- the values we have in common.A young man entered Duke University. He was tall, utterly white,utterly blonde, and utterly Southern. A few weeks later, the Dean saw himwalking on campus, hand in hand with a young woman who was utterlyshort, utterly brown, utterly Muslim, and (God forbid) an Ohioan! TheDean was on personal terms with the boy's parents and it wasn't longbefore his mother called: "Have you met Thomas' girlfriend" shesaid. "Talk to him! They're serious!"So the Dean asked Thomas for a chat. "Thomas," he said,"Tell me about Maranda." He told him that they were very much inlove, that she was a wonderful person, and that they were planning to bemarried right after graduation. The Dean asked, "What brought youtogether." Thomas said, "It was because we had so very much incommon!" The Dean replied, "Thomas, you're from South Carolina,you're blonde, Baptist; She's Muslim, brown and from Ohio. Whatin the would could you possibly have in common?"Thomas said, "Well, you know me. I don't drink onweekends, don't believe in casual sex. I'm not really into the successat any cost thing. She was the only girl I met who had the samevalues as mine!"The Scripture today is wonderful because it gives us an opportunityto check our discipleship quotient by checking our Christian values andhow well we're maintaining them.The fact that you are here in God's house - that's good - for hereyou are reminded of who you are and whose you are. It's good you're inattendance as this sermon is given - at least I think it is.In one church not too long ago a man got up in the middle of thepastor's sermon and walked out. His wife rushed up to the Pastor afterthe sermon and said, "Please don't think anything bad about myhusband walking out in the middle of your sermon. It's just that heoften walks in his sleep!"Maybe that's why Edgar A. Guest wroteI'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day;I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way,The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear,Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clearAnd the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.I soon can learn to do it if you'll let me see it done;I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast mayrun.And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true;But I'd rather get my lessons by observing what you doFor I might misunderstand you and the high advice you give,But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.When I see a deed of kindness, I am eager to be kind.When a weaker brother stumbles and a strong man stays behindJust to see if he can help him, then the wish grows strong in meTo become as big and thoughtful as I know as I know that friendto beAnd all travelers can witness that the best of guides todayIs not the one who tells them, but the one who shows the way.One good man teaches many, men believe what they behold;One deed of kindess noticed is worth forty that are told.Who stands with men of honor learns to hold his honor dear,For right living speaks a language which to everyone is clearThough an able speaker charms me with his eloquence, I say,I'd rather see a sermon than to hear one, any day.Lots of people who technically aren't preachers, including youcan be preachers. "A preacher is a person who finds the switchesthat turn on the best inside of us."H.Stephen Glenn points out his fifth grade teacher as one of them.In the days before it was understood, she found ways to deal with hidyslexia that had kept him from progressing previously. She got him outof the stuttering problem that his previous nervous and stressful years inschool had caused. When he went into sixth grade, Miss Hardy becamethe teach of that class as well, much to his delight. He kept track of her formany years thereafter and ultimately learned that she was terminal withcancer. As her only "special student", he decided to travel the thousandmiles to express his appreciation. But he wasn't the only one who madethe pilgrimage to renew their association and share their appreciation ofher - there were hundreds - an interesting mix of people - 3 U.S. Senators,12 State Legislators, and a number of CEO's os corporations and businessto name a few.In comparing notes with them, Stephen figured that three fourthsof them "went into the fifth grade quite intimidated by theeducational process, believing we were incapable, insignificant andat the mercy of fate or luck. We emerged from our contact withMiss Hardy believing we were capable, significant, influentialpeople who had the capacity to make a difference in life if we wouldtry. "One life made such a difference in so many lives - as can yours -particularly if it is guided by the principles and teachings of Jesus and yourpriorities are in order, remembering the essence of what Jesus told us intoday's Scripture "With Me, It's All or Nothing!"Sermon Notes(Not edited nor proofed)The Rev. Dr. Garth R. Thompson Pastor, M.B. Community ChurchA sermon is a simple truth told by someone whobelieves it to people he knows and loves (Phillips Brooks)September 9 2007 10:30 a, m. Luke 14:25-33May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heartsbe acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Musical Selectionhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch

Musical Selectionhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch