1/25/16

Have you heard of this word…‘meme?’  A meme is an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person-to-person within a culture.  The word was actually coined by [atheist] Richard Dawkins in 1976.  He was trying to get a handle on why some behaviors seemed to make no sense but, somehow or other, were found to be embraced by society.  Dr. Paul McHugh has been the Psychiatrist in Chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital for 26 years.  During much of this time, he has been studying people who claim to be transgender.  He has watched as the phenomenon has expanded in remarkable ways with more and more, mostly men, seeking sex-reassignment surgery.  However, in recent years, he has observed an increasing number of women are now coming forward, seeking to be anatomically altered.  And, over the last decade, even young boys and girls have begun to present themselves as being of the opposite sex.  Now, almost everyone has heard of or met such a person.
 
The media has promoted the idea that one’s biological sex is a choice, leading to widespread cultural acceptance of the idea…ref. Olympic decathlon winner Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner on various magazine covers… So, this idea, which first gained acceptance in the 1980’s, has run through the American public like a ‘meme’ affecting much of our thought about our sexuality.  The champions of this meme, encouraged by their alliance with the broader LGBT movement, claim that whether you are a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, is more of a disposition or a feeling about yourself than it is a fact of nature.  And, of course, much like any other feeling, it can change at any time, and for all sorts of reasons.
 
Dr. McHugh writes, “After pioneering sex change surgery, we demonstrated that the practice brought no important benefits.  As a result, we stopped offering that form of treatment in the 1970’s. Our efforts, thought, had little influence on the emergence of this new idea about sex, or upon the expansion of the number of ‘transgendered’ among the young and old.”  Maybe there is a reason such an idea is dubbed a ME-ME.  It originates in and is perpetuated by individuals who have an extreme degree of self-consciousness.
 
Pray with me…Father, today we pray especially for victims who have been seduced by the world, people who have become self-deceived, people who have been taken in by the believed lies of a confused culture…people estranged from You looking for answers in human reasoning that can only be found in You.  In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.

Blessings,
Pastor Ken

1/18/16

Today, throughout the United States, we recognize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Dr. King was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.  He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his strong Christian beliefs.  On October 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through non-violence.  King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D. C., to be called the Poor People’s Campaign, when he was assassinated on April 14, 1968 in Memphis, TN.  He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. And it is most appropriate that this day has been established as a national holiday to be ‘celebrated’ as a day of remembrance, education and service.   
 
Speaking personally…in early 2015, just a little over a year ago, my wife and I saw the motion picture Selma.  By all accounts, it was an accurate dramatization, using actual video footage of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery [Alabama] historical march that was arguably the watershed event that propelled the Civil Rights Movement into the forefront of our national conscience.  Watching the film, I was deeply moved by both shame and admiration…shame because of the segregationist attitudes and violence by the state government in Alabama…admiration for the courage and restraint of the civil rights leaders on that day.  And the catalytic leader was the venerable Martin Luther King Jr.
 
Pray with me…Father God, I thank You today that we are all part of a Kingdom in which there is no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female…for we are all one in Christ Jesus.  Thank you for making us one in Him.  In His Name we humbly pray, amen. 

Blessings,
Pastor Ken

1/12/16

I remember one particular basketball game during the 1987 Regional Finals of the NACC.  LSU was leading Indiana by eight points with only a few minutes left in the contest.  As is often the case with a team in the lead, LSU began playing a different kind of ball game.  They changed their game plan and went into a protectionist mode rather than their usual fast-paced, aggressive style.  The television announcer commented that the LSU players were beginning to watch the clock rather than wholeheartedly play the kind of game that had put them ahead in the first place.  As a result of this shift in focus, the Indiana Hoosiers were able to close the gap and won the game by a single point in regulation play.  That year the University of Indiana went on to win the NCAA championship.
 
While Jesus called us to be aware of the “signs of the times,” he clearly called us to expend our energies in faithful, active, sacrificial service.  As we await Jesus’ promised return, we are not so much to watch the clock as we are to be diligent servants during the time we have left on this earth… or until He stops the clock and draws down the shade on life as we know it in this life… to commence God’s eternal day in the greater life.
 
Pray with me…Dear Father God, it is so easy for us to become preoccupied with what is going on in the world.  We are so much more aware in this generation of extensive global communication and technology.  But, by your Spirit, keep us undistracted from the things that matter most.  Keep us focused, not on the clock, but on the deep things of the heart…on the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of those in our circles of acquaintance and on the need for the knowledge of God in Christ to reach the four quarters of the earth. In the Name of Jesus, Lord of all, amen.

Blessings,
Pastor Ken

1/4/16

Again this year, 2016, I will commence a through-the-Bible-in-a-year reading plan in addition to my weekly study in the Word of God to share messages with our church.  Some might say, “Come on, you have read the Bible already.  Why do you keep rereading it anyway?  Isn’t it a redundant exercise?”  Well, there is one very good reason to renew yourself in a commitment to read, study and meditate on scripture throughout the New Year.  It is found in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  The Bible is not like any other book on the planet.  Clearly, it is Divinely authored.  What other book has 40 authors writing over 1600 years in different epochs, different cultures, different circumstances, different locations… all supplementing and complementing one another… all testifying with one voice to God’s singular redemptive plan…  all together telling us that Someone is coming [Genesis-Malachi], Someone came [Matthew-John] and Someone is coming again [Acts-Revelation].  The Bible is not a book you read through once and then you have gotten it.  You need only to thoughtfully read it once to know it is not like any other book in the world.  It is alive and active.  It penetrates.  It judges the heart. 
 
It is the Word of Truth/Life.  And personally, I can tell you I don’t have all the answers.  I need to know from the Ultimate Authority what is true and what is false.  I want to know how to think, how to speak, how to act and react.  Some people buy self-help books, and they can be helpful as a supplement, because all truth is God’s truth; but the Bible is special and foundational to personal growth.  It is the Sourcebook.  You will get spiritual conviction and practical instruction from the Bible.  Join me and see the difference.  Your attitudes and actions will change in 2016!  Life will be deeper and sweeter!

Blessings,
Pastor Ken