Category: Theological Musings

Community Intervention ~ Betrayal Prevention

Last Sunday we explored how a community can prevent betrayal. You can download the sermon here.

What we discovered is that if we walk with people we can stop people from “walking out into the darkness” alone. That’s what happens to Judas. He is with his friends, brothers, and community and he walks out into the darkness under suspicious circumstances with no one inquiring about him. No one cared enough to stop Judas, to ask how he was doing, or to ask where he was going. The community let him walk out into the darkness alone.

But we can learn from the disciples’ mistakes.We can care. We can connect. We can stop people from walking into darkness, sin, and betrayal. But how? By always walking with them. If someone is walking out into the dark, you can walk with them bringing the light and love of Jesus with you. If a community walks together then no one will walk alone. That reality can change the course and direction of someone’s life.

On Sunday we landed on three ways you can walk deeply with others. You can give people your time, your full attention, and space. You can give people time to check in, to catch up, and to actually have a conversation. Deep conversations can’t happen over Facebook, or on route to get coffee after church. Give some time for someone to open up.

Then also give them your full attention. So often when we are in conversations with people we are just waiting for our turn to talk. Turn that around. Wait for your turn to listen. Give the other person your full attention, not figuring out your next question, when you can jump in, or what you can say. Make them the focus.

And lastly, give them some space to talk and to go deeper. So ask some difficult but important questions. Ask how they are truly doing. Give them space and an opportunity to talk to you. They might not choose to, but at least they will know you cared enough to ask.

So this week ~ walk deeply with those around you. Make a decision to never let a friend walk out into the darkness alone; and give people your time, attention, and space. Take your responsibility to your community and friends seriously. Never let anyone walk into the darkness alone, by making a commitment to walk with them wherever they may go…

by Andrew Mills

The Lingering of Loss

I lost my dad over a year and half ago.

The problem is that statement isn’t true. But it feels true.

I haven’t lost my dad, and he hasn’t lost me. I will never lose my dad. It just feels that way. He’s not lost to me we’re just separated at the moment. One day we’ll be back together. That’s the promise of the gospel. The trouble is that the separation is so deep, it’s so long, and sometimes its too much. Death is separation. Death is wrong. And there are some days more than others that I wish I could bridge that abyss called death.

On Sunday I felt so at home at our church. I preached about what I care about. I saw people touched by God. I was touched by him. And as we drove home Krista turned to me and said, “I saw and heard your dad so much in your preaching today.” That was a sermon my dad would have preached. I knew that when I was preaching. It was the type of day I would have liked to just call up my dad and talk about the service like we used to for close to 20 years. I wanted him to be able to share in the beauty of grace and acceptance I found on Sunday with me.

That’s what makes the separation so hard. It’s the “with me” part that I miss. Because at some times dad’s so close. I’m preaching, sharing, teaching, or just living and it seems like he is right there. Like I could sense him, pick up the phone and talk to him, or see him in the crowd smiling. This is why I feel like I’ve lost my dad. This is why separation isn’t a strong enough word for the pain of death. Death is evil in any form, at any time, and in any way. Paul says death is the last enemy. I know that enemy.

But while death may be the last enemy; death is not an enemy that will last. Because death has already been beaten. Jesus died to destroy death. Or more theologically put: Jesus dies to kill death.

So separation is here. But it won’t last. Death’s time is running out. So I may be separated from my dad, but he’s not lost. I’m in the waiting time. And I guess when we finally see each other again – I’ll just have lots of sermons, Sundays, and services to talk about. But at that point we’ll have time to catch up…

by Andrew Mills

Lent and Death

Over the past few days I’ve been reflecting more and more on death. Often during Lent I try to reflect on sacrifice, Jesus’ death, and what it all means.

It’s not something we often talk about is it?

Death isn’t a dinner party topic. Sacrifice isn’t something you share at picnics. I think that’s because its heavy, real, and difficult. But just because something is difficult, doesn’t mean it should be avoided.

So for the next few weeks of Lent every now and then I’ll post some of my thoughts on death, sacrifice, and meaning found in the dark. It might be heavy, but by going through some heavy thinking and reflecting now, it can help later.

So to begin the process maybe take some time and reflect on these questions:

  • What makes death so hard?
  • What questions about death or sacrifice do you have?
  • Why did Jesus have to die anyway?

Then over the next few weeks I’ll post some of my thoughts. But to start, what are your thoughts?

by Andrew Mills

Still Stuck on Grace

Here it is Sunday morning and I’m still thinking about last Sunday where we talked about grace. I’m still thinking it all through. Something that has really lasted this week was what we began the sermon with last week – a quote from Mrs. O’Brien in Terrence Malick’s new film “Tree of Life”. She says this:

“There are two ways through life, the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one to follow. Grace doesn’t try to please itself. It accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries. Nature only wants to please itself, and get others to please it too. It likes to lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy, when all the world is shining around it, when love is smiling through all things. They taught us that no one who loves the way of grace ever comes to a bad end. I will be true to you, whatever comes.”

The more I reflect on this quote the more I think it’s a challenge of the Kingdom. In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus clearly shows that he runs his Kingdom on Grace. The challenge is that he is clear that if we don’t live by grace, we may find ourselves at odds with his Kingdom. As Malick says, making an illusion to Jesus, there are two ways through life, grace and nature and we must choose our path.

I believe that is the question for you and for me that I am still reflecting and grappling with. That, if the Kingdom truly runs by grace, if its rule is grace, its way of life is grace, then the implicit challenge is: are we living by grace?

Would your friends and neighbors say you give grace? Would your family characterize your life as a life of grace? What about the people who meet on the road driving to work? What about the cashier?

There are only two ways through life, one of grace and one of nature. And Malick is right, “No one who loves the way of grace has ever come to a bad end”. Because Grace is the way the Kingdom runs…

by Andrew Mills

Post for Ash Wednesday

We read this in Psalms:

The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, *

slow to anger and of great kindness.

He will not always accuse us, *

nor will he keep his anger for ever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, *

nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, *

so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.

As far as the east is from the west, *

so far has he removed our sins from us.

As a father cares for his children, *

so does the LORD care for those who fear him.

For he himself knows whereof we are made; *

he remembers that we are but dust.

We are grateful that God always forgives, always loves, and always trusts. But it is still our sin that Jesus dies for.

And today begins the season of Lent, and is Ash Wednesday.  Lent is the time of the year where we reflect, repent, pause, and we decide to sacrifice something remembering the sacrifice of Jesus. Lent is a darker time that makes the brilliance of Easter all the more bright. But you have to go through the night to get to the day.

Today, Ash Wednesday, is a day where traditionally many Christians around the world get marked by ash to remember that we miss the mark, fail, and sin. We remember that as the Psalmist says, “we are but dust”. It is a day to remember to repent. To give up things in our lives for the sake of Jesus. So why not actually do that.

Would you consider joining in millions of Christians who on today will repent and remember by giving up something for Lent?

Over the years I’ve given up coffee, bitterness, and other things. The point is to sacrifice something to remember Jesus sacrifice.

So would you consider joining me and many others in Lent? In giving something up so that we find someone so valuable? Giving up so that we might remember and make this Easter more meaningful than ever before?

by Andrew Mills

Generosity Should Hurt

I like to think of myself as a generous person. Really who doesn’t like to think of themselves as a generous person. But it’s easy to think you’re generous, sometimes practicing it is hard.

Last week a friend contacted me with a need. It was real, it mattered, and I could really help him. It would just cost me some money. But here’s the thing giving when it costs is hard…

Inwardly I had a little struggle. I knew I should give but was reluctant. Not reluctant because the need wasn’t real or worthy, but because it would be hard and might hurt a bit. Krista and I just came through Christmas, Hudson’s birthday, and didn’t have a lot of disposable funds lying around.

And that’s when I learned something about generosity. Generosity shouldn’t just come out of our surplus. Giving out of our extra is good, but giving when it’s hard isn’t just better it’s godly.

Jesus gives up everything to give to us (Phi. 2:7). He doesn’t give out of his extra, but out of his very self. His extra doesn’t determine how much he gives us. He gives till it hurts, and is hard.

So generosity should hurt a bit. That’s hard to learn, and even harder to live out. But the more I look at Jesus the easier I find it. And here’s the funny thing. After I gave to my friend, I found Jesus right there as he shook my hand and said thank you.

So all in all…it hurt a bit…but was so worth it…

And Jesus knew that all along…

by Andrew Mills

Dangerous, and Wild Growth

This last week we talked about how God’s Kingdom is like a plant that can grow and spread. You can download the sermon here. We began looking in Matthew 13 how in quick succession Jesus tells three parables of the Kingdom, based on plants growing.  I shared how Jesus was teaching and talking to farmers who would know a thing or two about growing thing. If the Kingdom is something that can grow ~ farmers would know that it would take hard work. They didn’t have the luxury of the equipment we had. It would take hard work. It would also take time. Growing and harvesting doesn’t happen in a day. And lastly it would take God’s timing, and provision. God was the one who sent the rain, and caused the growth. So seeing this Kingdom grow will take time, hard work, and God’s involvement but it grow.

But what I didn’t tackle or bring up is how God’s Kingdom also grows in a dangerous way.

Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed in Matthew 13:31. Mustard seeds were in ancient times dangerous and also explosive. They took over, they spread, and couldn’t be controlled. An ancient author Pliny the Elder wrote that mustard “grows wild…and once it has been sown it is scarcely possible to get the place free of it”

I love that picture of the Kingdom. That once it’s sown its scarcely possible to get the place free of it. That it starts to take over, growing, spreading, almost uncontrollable. That if we are spreading this Kingdom of grace and love it spreads, takes root, grows wild, and can’t be contained.

But that also is a bit dangerous. Why? Because this Kingdom of God can’t be controlled by us. It grows, it’s wild, and it is not meant to be contained but to spread. When you start spreading God’s Kingdom you are spreading life, grace, and love that once released can’t be contained.

For me that is a beautiful picture of God’s Kingdom. A Kingdom that grows from small seeds, takes time, hard work, and God’s involement but once it takes root spreads, shakes things up, and is almost impossible to get rid of.

So this week why not spread the seeds of God’s Kingdom? Because wouldn’t a beautiful testimony to you, the church, and Christians be that our communities are so full of God’s kingdom that “it’s scarcely possible to get the place free of it”…

Discussion Questions from This Sunday

  • Adult Questions
  • How do you “spread the seeds” of the Kingdom?
  • Where should you be “scattering the seeds” of God’s Kingdom?
  • Who should you be praying for consistently and watching to see if the Kingdom is growing in their life?
  • Who in your life is ready and open to growing closer to God? How can you help them?
  • Questions for Young Families
  • Your kids grow slow just like God’s kingdom. So sit down around the dinner table and ask them how they think they have changed over the past few years, or months. Listen to their ideas. Then take time to bless them – literally. Share how you’ve seen them change, affirm the good things in them, and affirm where they are growing too. Because that’s God’s kingdom.

Weekly Challenge: Spread the seeds of the Kingdom in someone’s life and pray for them daily…

by Andrew Mills

Flirting with the Line

There is an expression “flirting with the line” where you get close to doing something you know you shouldn’t. This has new meaning for me after last night.

Open Confession: my wife always leaves the car on empty and it drives me nuts. It’s one of those things that’s my pet peeve. More often than not whenever I get into the car it is on empty. She loves to go as long as possible without getting gas, and it never bothers her. Mostly because she has an uncanny ability to pass the car off to me right when it needs gas. Needless to say this bugs me, but she never found it a problem until last night.

Last night I got a sheepish phone call from my wife. She had 42 km left before dead empty on our car, and went into work without filling up in our town. She then went to visit friends, again not filling up. She was “flirting with the line”, an empty gas gauge. She got right close to empty and found 2 things: a gas station, and the realization she had left her wallet 30 km away at home. So here she was with no money, and no gas. Hence a sheepish phone call to me.

Eventually when you flirt with something long enough, you fall into it. This is what happened to Krista – eventually hitting empty, and being stuck in an awkward setting. But this type of behavior doesn’t just happen with gas gauges, Paul says it happens with sinful behavior all the time. We might allow ourselves to flirt with the line of rage, jealousy, greed, hate, or lust. We sometimes like to get close without crossing over. We don’t want to fall into it, but allow the feelings to be there for just a bit. But eventually when you flirt with the line getting close again and again sooner or later you cross the line. You might find yourself filled with rage, letting jealously control you, unable to get out of greed, or have lust ruin relationships.

So my challenge for today is if there is something where you are tempted to “flirt with the line”, pull back. Why bother getting close? Why even let yourself go there? You are made for more than that. Why bother focusing on the line or what you can’t do? Why not focus on how you can be someone filled with peace, grace, generosity, love, and life. And maybe today it starts with just deciding not to get anywhere close to that line.

And for my wife, if your reading this, maybe that means filling up the car… 😉

by Andrew Mills

Building Altars

Today I got to my office and heard a siren going off. The only odd part was the siren was coming out of my laptop bag.

In it I found this red fire-truck.

Hudson, my little boy, must have placed it there for me to take to work. He often takes toys to daycare, so maybe he thought I’d like to play firetrucks at work (which coincidentally I do enjoy doing).

But it got me to thinking about altars. Yes I know an odd jump but not that odd for me, just ask my wife. In Genesis we find people building altars to God consistently. And part of the reason for building altars was to remember. They were visual reminders of God. They physical visual reminders of God’s faithfulness. They were objects that reminded people that God was with them.

Much like fire-trucks.

This little fire-truck reminded me of my son, how he cares for me, and made me feel close to him even though physically we were far apart.

So maybe building altars and fire-trucks aren’t that different.

My challenge to you then today, or this week, is to build an altar in your life. Find something physical, something meaningful, and something deliberate to remind you of God. Place it someplace prominent in your life. Maybe on your desk, maybe on your counter, or taped to your mirror. But find an object and make an altar to God to remind you daily that you are not alone, God is with you, God is faithful, and God is close to you even if you feel far apart.

For me, if you haven’t guessed, my altar will be a little red fire-truck with a siren…

by Andrew Mills

We Are to Be Sent ~ #missional

This upcoming Sunday we are going to be talking about movement.

Many things are based on movement, and momentum. For example, it’s almost impossible to learn to ride a bike if its not moving. Moving is part of its nature. The same applies to the church. The church is a movement. Part of its very nature is to grow, expand, and move.

So on Sunday we are going to explore the sent nature of the church. How just as God sent his son, he is now sending his church.

The question for us is where is God sending you?

We often think of “where” God is sending us. We focus on maybe going overseas, or on short-term missions, on being sent somewhere else. But we no longer need to go across an ocean to find people who need Jesus in their life. They are all around us. They are our neighbors, our co-workers, our family, and our friends. Now people of each tribe, nation, and religion are coming to live in and with us. So the question then isn’t “where” God is sending us; but to whom.

Who is God sending you to bless? Who is God sending you to give life?

Is it the person across the street, one cubicle over, or that friend at zoomba?

Because the church is meant to be on the move, we are sent to be a blessing. Not only across the sea but also across our street, backyards, and offices.

So who is God sending you to? Because make no mistake he does want to send you…

by Andrew Mills