Tag: Love

Teaching My Son to Pray…

A few nights ago I had a really special moment with my son Hudson. I always pray over him every night before he goes to bed. In fact after I pray he often says, “again daddy”. And of course I pray again. What could be better for a parent?

Well I found “better” a few nights ago. As I was leaving his room he called out and said, “Wait Daddy”. So I came back and said “What’s up buddy?” He looked up at me and said, “Daddy I want to pray”. I was so happy and excited so I said, “of course you can pray. Why don’t you pray right now.” He looked down though and was kinda sad and said, “But I not know how…

And so I got the amazing privilege to teach my son how to pray because he wants to know how to pray. I told him how we pray to Jesus who is our friend. I told him how Jesus cares about all we care about and how he prays about those things. I told him how when we pray we give thanks for things too. And so he gave his first nighttime prayer a shot. Here is what he prayed,

“Dear Jesus, I pray for mommy and daddy, and thank you…them. I pray to not pee the bed. Amen”

Pretty great first nighttime prayer right?

But here is the point for us. Why is Hudson asking to learn to pray? Because he sees me do it every day with him. Because this is an action that has been modeled for him. This is why Jesus says, wise is the person who hears my words, and puts them into practice. This is why our faith is not about believing just the right things, but living a certain way. Because our practices show our beliefs. And so I got the amazing privilege of teaching my son to pray, because prayer has been a part of his life now for a while.

So the point is this: that if we want to pass along our faith, we need to start to practice it consistently. Because our friends, family, and neighbors notice. They see when you pray, when you bless someone, when you forgive and reach out. And as you do these things consistently they too might be like Hudson, saying, “Will you teach me” And trust me, there is nothing more beautiful than being able to teach your son how to connect with God.

So this week make sure you practice what you believe. Make sure you act and live out your faith with those around you. Who knows, maybe God will use your example and model to influence and change others. Because that’s what happened with me and Hudson.

Oh…and by the way…Jesus answered both our prayers that night and our little boy didn’t pee the bed…

by Andrew Mills

Halloween, Hospitality, and the Theological Significance of Front Doors

Did you know what some of the first Christians we’re most know for? Radical hospitality.

This is something I think we should recapture. Because this is my honest belief: that the front door of our homes can invite and welcome people into the heart of the church. That when we invite and welcome people into our homes, and lives we are inviting people into the heart of the church. Because the church isn’t a building, it is a people. So when we as Christians, part of the body of Christ, practice radical hospitality we are not just inviting people into our homes but inviting people to experience church, Jesus, and God’s kingdom. This is a beautiful thing because I’ve found before people ever cross the doors of the church building where I work, they have often crossed my front door. Before they ever gather to sit and hear God’s story on a Sunday, they have sat on my couch and I’ve heard their story.

So how does this matter on Halloween?

Simple because people are coming to your front door, which can become a doorway to the heart of the church.

So this Halloween practice great hospitality, give out great candy, be warm, be friendly, be giving and generous because the next time a neighbor comes to your front door they might just cross it and eventually become part of the church.

So practice radical hospitality and who knows where it might lead…but my theological guess is it will lead to Jesus…

by Andrew Mills

The Depth of Love: Family, Faithfulness, and Hesed

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about love. And not so much the gooey, lovey-dovey feeling of love. Instead I’ve been thinking about love in the faithful, committed, covenanted, never give up, type of love.

In our church family there have been new babies born recently and each group of parents talk about how quickly they love their new little ones. Not just a “feeling” but also a firm resolve to protect them, care for them, be with them, guide them, and walk alongside them. I know that feeling from when Hudson was born, and I look forward to that experience again with our new baby due any day.

The amazing thing is that this idea of love as, deep loyalty, unending commitment, patient endurance, faithfulness, is what is found in the Bible. The idea of love in the Bible isn’t just a feeling but a commitment and a covenant – that never ends.

In the Old Testament when the Bible often uses the word “loving-kindness, mercy, steadfast love.” The word is “hesed” in Hebrew. It speaks of God’s commitment to his promises, to his people, and his plans because of his deep love, commitment and fidelity.

The idea is simple: love isn’t simply a feeling or a contract. Love, or Hesed, is a covenant promise that cannot be broken. This is why when the Bible speaks of God as love (1 John 4) the point isn’t just that God has loving-feelings towards us. No, it is so much more than that. God being love means that he is defined by a passionate commitment, unfailing fidelity, a covenant of mercy, and a faithful promise to keep choosing to love you each and every day. This gets to the heart of God, and the scandal of God’s love. God’s love goes beyond just feelings and moves into action and deep commitment. So when we speak of God’s unconditional love for us, it isn’t just never-ending, good feelings about his people. God’s unconditional love means that his posture to us is one of faithful grace, active commitment, purposeful mercy, and consistent care because that is his promise to us.

In 1 John 4:8b – 9 we read, “God is love. God showed us how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have true life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to rescue us from our brokenness”

This is love. Love that is about action. Love that is about commitment. Love that is about sacrifice, fidelity, and a decision to reach out and give while we don’t deserve it. And this is what makes God so beautiful.

And this is also what makes me excited, because soon I will have a new son or daughter. That deep connection and desire to be committed to them for life I now know isn’t a biological evolution thing, it isn’t a psychological phenomenon thing, it isn’t even a socially prescribed thing. That deep desire for life-long love and commitment is a God thing. It starts with God, comes from God, is modeled by God, and is given by God.

And that, my friends, is a beautiful thing….

by Andrew Mills

Prayer to Be Jesus’ Hands and Feet

This is one of my favorite quotes that I read in my morning prayer book a few days ago. It’s from Teresa of Avila and helps me to put things into perspective:

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out to the world; yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good; yours are the hands with which God is to bless people now”

Powerful isn’t it. Reflect on it a moment. Would people say your eyes have the compassion of Christ? Would people say your actions are the loving actions of our Lord? Would people say your hands are the hands that they receive the blessing of God from?

I know I rarely live up to that standard. So my prayer today, and maybe yours can be as well, is this. “God may I be your hands and feet today. May you take these hands and use them to bless. May you take these feet and help me to do your good today. And most of all may you change how I see the world and the people you love with only the compassion and grace you see them with. Amen”

by Andrew Mills

What’s Best About Our Church…

A few weeks ago at church I asked us to fill out a survey about our church. I was looking for feedback on our strengths and areas that we could improve. Some of the best answers though came from the question, “What is the best thing about PEMC”. So what I did was break down all the answers into word, and put into a wordle (which is the cool graphic below).

So if you attend our church my guess is that some of these words are the reasons. And if you don’t attend our church now you can know a bit about what the flavor is like here.

Church’s are meant to be a blessing to others. And this church has been a blessing to me. But regardless of whatever church you attend why not be a blessing back to your church? Take a moment and write to your leadership, your pastor, or person who you serve with sharing with them why you love them and the church. Share a blessing to the people and place who have blessed you…

Wordle: What PEMC Is...

by Andrew Mills

Bringing a Smile with You

Have you ever met someone who just makes you smile every time you see them? Have you ever connected with a person who just makes you feel better after every conversation?

Some people have an amazing gift of making you smile. My wife took this picture of my son and I think it’s amazing.

Here he is literally carting a smile around on his tri-cycle. And when I think about Hudson, this is what he is like for me. He is constantly making me laugh. At any moment he can make me smile, by a phrase, or an action. He’s in the stage now where he asks “that funny?” at so many things.

And if you say, “Yes that was funny” he puts his head back like this picture and just laughs and laughs. It makes me laugh every moment, mostly because he always laugh’s now with a delay. A funny action will happen, he will ask about it, and then laugh.

The point is though that Hudson is so connected to life that he brings me life. He is so connected to happiness, that he brings smiles where ever he goes. And whether you realize this or not, this is a lot like Jesus.

Jesus says that he is the way, the truth, and the life. What that means is that he is life. When we get connected to him, we are literally connecting to life. So as Christians we too should be helping people around us connect with life. After our conversations with others, life, smiles, and grace should linger. We should be the type of people who help people to better connect to life and love because of our connection to God.

This doesn’t mean that sometimes we don’t have deep, honest, and sometimes even difficult conversations. It also doesn’t mean we paint a fake happy face on what we are going through. But, if we, as Christians, aren’t carrying around some deeper joy, some deep smiles, and deep sense of life, then we’re missing out. Because our Savior is the life, the joy, and the grace of the world. The closer we get connected to the life, the more it will spread out from us.

The question is, what lingers in your relationships because of you?

Hudson does have bad days. He has difficult moments. But he is so connected to Jesus, that more often than not he is carting around a smile in his little tri-cycle. More often than not he will ask “that funny?” and we’ll all laugh. More often than not he’s willing to throw back his head and spread joy. This is like Jesus and I think it should be like us too.

So this week if you’re having trouble smiling, Hudson is willing to let you borrow his tri-cycle. Because no one can ride that funny, small thing, without smiling…trust me I’ve tried… 😉

by Andrew Mills

Let’s Talk About Sex…

Studies have shown that the more religious people are, the less comfortable they are talking about sex. This means that Sunday could be awkward because that’s what we’re talking about: sex.

The question is why are we nervous or uncomfortable to discuss sex? Why does everyone else talk about it but we don’t in the church? Why is sex used to sell soap but we become nervous to open a dialogue about it?

Well I think it’s because we get nervous and shy discussing the physical aspect of sex. But in reality sex isn’t just about connecting physically, it’s so much more than that. When you are discussing sex, what you are really talking about deep down is relationships because sex is relational first and physical second.

So on Sunday we are going to look at what does this physical act flow from relationally? How is it meant to function in a relationship? What is God’s plan and design for it? And how does it affect all of us? This sermon isn’t just for married people. This sermon isn’t just for people hoping to have sex. This sermon is for every one of all ages, stage of life, and statuses. This is about what sex says about us and how our relationships work.

So to begin, comment or send me your questions, perspectives, or opinions on sex and the Bible and on Sunday I’ll do my best to answer them and to discover God’s perspective on sex.

P.S. I promise it won’t be awkward for anyone other than me…because my wife’s grandparents are coming…

by Andrew Mills

Where I Saw Jesus this Week…

This week at church we had an amazing Sunday. We celebrated the anniversary of our church, and celebrated the volunteers in our church. Really they aren’t volunteers in the church; they are the church – demonstrating it by how they give. And so as we took time to recognize and thank them I saw Jesus in the little things on Sunday…

  • We had so many people stand to be recognized by how they give in both small, and great ways here at church. They give through their time,and effort, and don’t ask for a reward in return. We gave them a Wunder bar because of how “wunderful” they are. They even laughed at our pun. This is Jesus.
  • We have an amazing administrator here who gave so much and took no credit for a great Sunday. She organized it, got it together, picked up supplies, called people, cleaned up and did it all with a smile. This is Jesus.
  • I was given a hug on Sunday by someone who said this is for you simply because you deserve it. This is Jesus.
  • I have a mom who on Sunday’s when I am busy, and seeking to connect with people comes to me and asks, “Andrew can I watch Hudson for you for a bit?” That’s Jesus.
  • There we people who stayed behind to wash dishes with me laughing and trying to figure out the dishwasher. They served, gave of their time, and their friendship. This is Jesus.

So where did I find Jesus this week? I found him in people, his church. I found him in you. This is a beautiful thing.

So this week if you’re looking for Jesus you don’t have to look far. Look to the people who are walking with you. Pay attention and I bet you’ll find him…Because he isn’t hiding…He’s just so close to you sometimes he’s hard to see…

by Andrew Mills

Kissing Dirty Faces

Today I started thinking about messiness, and dirtiness. I am someone who likes a clean world. And I don’t really like messiness in general. But today my little boy ran up to me when I came home saying “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy” wanting a big hug and kiss.

The only thing was he had a really snotty face, his mouth was full of cookie, and when he gives kisses they are big open mouthed kisses. So did I ask him to clean his face first? No, of course not. I gave him a big kiss, runny nose and all.

The reason this struck me is because we all seem to have different tolerances of “dirtiness” in our lives. But the interesting thing is that depending on the person, our tolerance of dirtiness changes. Hudson running with a dirty face for a kiss gets one, if it was someone else it might not have happened. The point is that our acceptance of “messiness” affects relationships.

Do we allow people to enter our worlds who aren’t clean, perfect, and orderly? Do we actually invite people who are different, messy, and maybe even dirty and unkempt to journey with us? Would we be willing to kiss a dirty face?

This might seem like an odd question, but for the people of God it is a crucial question. The question of acceptance is critical for the church because Jesus demonstrates a radical acceptance of people just as they are. Jesus kisses people with dirty faces, and even dirty feet. People don’t need to change or to be cleaned up to come to Jesus or join his followers. Tax collectors, lepers, and prostitutes came and joined his group as they were without change. Jesus seems to be okay with a bit of dirt, and messiness. The question is are we?

Do we allow people to join with us, and belong without being clean? Do we expect people to behave like Christians before learning to following Jesus with us? Are we okay with some messiness, dirt, and grime in church? These are the questions we, as Christians, need to answer because if Jesus is okay with some messiness, we need to be too.

You know what made the difference for me allowing me to kiss my son’s dirty face? The simple fact that I deeply love him. Love changes how we see people. Love changes how we see messy lives, and broken hearts. Love looks past the outside, the dirt, the sin, the brokenness, and sees someone worth loving. That’s how Jesus sees us and we need to see people in the same way.

So the final question is this: are you looking on people with love? Do you see people as Jesus does? Are your actions those of Jesus, accepting people as they are and welcoming them in? Does who you welcome, and hang out with look like the same people Jesus welcomed and spends time with? Because if we want to learn to follow Jesus, we need to start being like Jesus. Spending time with dirty and broken people.

I can tell you when we start doing that we’ll discover Jesus in our midst. If you want to find Jesus, you need to go where he hangs out; and Jesus has always hung out where people with messy lives and dirty faces are. So why not join Jesus there, loving, accepting, and kissing a dirty face or two…

by Andrew Mills

Living in Light of Loss

This past week our church family experienced a loss. A friend, family member, and person who was a part of our community passed away and went home to be with Jesus.

Whenever loss happens to a community, it affects each person differently. Some are closely connected and deeply affected, others aren’t affected in the same way. But the point isn’t how we are affected but how we, as a community, respond. The point isn’t just how loss affects you or I, but how we, as a whole ,can act.

So what should a community do when loss occurs?

Well this is a time to support, share, and care. Andrew Root writes this  “God is present when death is shared, when suffering is joined”. This is so true. When you share in people’s grief, when you join their suffering, when you demonstrate you care, you make God real and tangible. God becomes present when we give food, write a note of encouragement, or ask someone for their favorite memory of their loved one. Because when we do that, we are no longer seeing them go through grief but entering it; we are no longer standing near them,but with them and that makes all the difference.

So today even if your community isn’t going through loss like ours is, remember this:  “God is present when death is shared, when suffering is joined”. Don’t shy away from people in need but join them. Church is a place where people journey together towards Jesus and in difficult times, it’s when this needs to be demonstrated most.

So today why not journey with someone. My guess is that you know someone who has experienced loss in the past few weeks, months, or years. Why not write them, call them, or text and let them know you are praying and thinking about them. Why not join them where they are at, and bring God with you.

Because that’s what a community does – joins together and find God in our midst, no matter what we are going through…

by Andrew Mills