Emotions

Feelings aren't important." "Emotions get in the way." "Don't trust your feelings." "Don't feel sad." "Just trust God."

Have you ever heard advice like this? I suspect you have because many Christians have a serious misunderstanding about the Christian life. They think Christians should live stoic-like existences, especially as far as strong emotions are concerned

In preparation for our message this Sunday did a short study on emotions. Did you know the Bible describes more than 20 different emotions that Jesus felt? And they weren't all happy feelings either! Among others, Jesus felt affection, anguish, anger, compassion, distress, grief, gladness, indignation, joy, love, peace, sadness, sympathy, troubled and weary. If Christ is our model of perfect spiritual and emotional maturity, perhaps we can learn by taking a look at a few of Jesus' emotions!

Compassion If we asked Jesus' disciples for the one word that best described His feelings for the multitudes of people He encountered throughout His public ministry, they would reply, "compassion." It is the emotion most frequently attributed to Jesus. Matthew 9:36, for example, tells us, "When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Jesus fed the four thousand because they hadn't eaten for three days and He had "compassion on these people" (Matthew 15:32). He also healed the two blind men beside the roadside out of compassion (Matthew 20:34). As a compassionate person, Jesus was profoundly moved by the sufferings and troubles of those He encountered.

Love If compassion characterizes Jesus' feelings toward the multitudes, love epitomizes His relationships with those closest to Him. John the hot tempered, impulsive follower who eventually became known as the Apostle of Love, tells us that as Lazarus lay dying, his sisters, Martha and Mary, sent this word to Jesus: "Lord, the one you love is sick." Then John records, "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus" (John 11:3-5).

"Jesus didn't try to be less thanhuman by shielding Himself from grief and pain. He allowed Himself to suffer these normal human emotions. "

Joy On two occasions Jesus described himself as joyful. Both are recorded by John. The first instance follows Jesus predicting His betrayal. Jesus said, "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete" (John 15:9-11).
Jesus connects His joy (which He wants His disciples to share) with remaining in the Father's love and obeying His command-ments. Jesus' joy, in other words, comes from a loving relationship "specifically, His relationship with His Father" regardless of His temporary circumstances.

Grief and Sorrow Jesus was pained when He saw others suffering or missing out on all that was available for them. In one of the most poignant moments of His public life, John tells us that when Jesus saw Mary weeping over Lazarus' death, "He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled." Then, as Mary and Martha were taking Jesus to the body of Lazarus, "Jesus wept." He didn't try, as we sometimes do in times of sorrow, to be outwardly "strong" and hide or deny His feelings. His strength showed through His tears. He had the strength to care enough to weep.

Jesus also wept over Jerusalem as though His heart was breaking. And when He healed the man with a shriveled hand on the Sabbath and the Pharisees disapproved, He was "deeply distressed (grieved) at their stubborn hearts (John 3:5).

Jesus didn't try to be less than human by shielding Himself from grief and pain. He allowed Himself to suffer these normal human emotions.

Anger Just as Jesus' compassionate nature at times led Him to grieve and sorrow, it also led Him to be angry. Perhaps the best known expression of His anger was when He drove the money changers out of the temple in Jerusalem at the Passover. John describes it this way: "So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves He said, 'Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!' " (John 2:15-16).

Think, too, of Jesus' interactions with the religious leaders of His day. They were periodically punctuated by assertive conflicts and sometimes angry confrontations. Jesus was angered by the callous legalism that led the Pharisees to be more committed to fulfilling the letter of the law than to lovingly doing good by healing or helping others on the Sabbath.

Like Christ, mature Christians will experience angry feelings, but those feelings will be stimulated by a love and concern for others and for righteousness rather than by the frustration of our own desires.

Peacefulness Along with love and compassion, one other emotion of Jesus seemed to have a unifying effect upon His entire personality. That is the emotion of peace. As Jesus prepared to leave His disciples in death He told them, "But a time is coming and has come, when you will be scattered, each to His own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:32-33).

Have an awesome day!

Worship Weave?

This last week-in, our message looked at the golden nuggets found in Psalm 139.

There is a year's worth of inspiration and messages a pastor can dig out of this one song.

In my study, I cam across an article that talked about the word "weave". The author was suggesting that the word not only communicated the process, but also the type.

Here is his concluding paragraph.

Psalm 139, then, is picking up on a known thread of imagery when it compares the formation of an infant in the womb to his being "woven" like a tent curtain. In the womb, the Lord weaves the tent that the infant will "wear" until he puts it off at death. With its allusions to the roqem work of the tabernacle, the Psalm goes further, implying not only that God has made the infant in the womb, but also that the infant is being woven into a dwelling for God. Abortion attacks not only a creature of God but a house of God.

The abortionist's instruments pierce through the unfinished roqem curtains and tread on holy ground. We are talking here not only about slaughter of the innocent but about sacrilege, a direct attack on "space" claimed by God. That is the most serious offense possible. Paul's warning hovers ominously over our nation: "If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy
him, for the temple of God is holy."

Another thought for you to meditate on this week.

David

Why Complain?

At The Chapel this week, we talked about the fine are of complaining. The topic came up as we looked at Psalm136 were David and the nation of Israel had all the rights to complain about the resent history, but choose to praise God for the things He gave them. Far more then we like, instead of thanking God for his blessings, we turn to complaining.

listed to what a young person by the name of Julia said about complaining.

People today are always complaining about this or that going on in their community. People feel the constant bubbling of frustration in their bellies but what does complaining and being frustrated do for these problems: nothing. People need to rise up and let their voices and opinions be heard. If people cannot devote time to their cause - to the struggle - then one is not helping. If a person is against/concerned about the ongoing cloud of racism hovering over us they can
a) join a group that takes action (rallies, pickets, marches),
b) read a newspaper or magazine about racial incidents so they know exactly what they're talking about when they march,
c) do community service once a week or month.

If a person is concerned about the homeless problem they should

a) talk to some of the homeless people on the street (not all of them are drunks, junkies, etc.),
b) work at a homeless shelter, helping to clean it up, etc.,
c) donate some of your old clothes to organizations that help the homeless.

The list could go on and on because there are so many concerns. But the simplest thing to do, which few participate in these days, is reading the newspaper. There are so many different problems circulating in our world today that people need to be educated. There are problems ranging from here to Kathmandu, Nepal, literally! People must daily read the newspaper and watch the news. Watch the news with your family; watch the morning news before school. Complaining and being frustrated does not help anyone or any cause. Doing it, fighting for your cause will do something. Each person has a voice, and it's loud and powerful and needs to be heard, not only by your friends but by your community.

These are words from a youth, a challenge to change your environment through action.

The Challenge that came to The Chapel yesterday was to choose to reduce your complaining. One of our Chapelities expressed to me after the service that to help him reduce the complaining we would simply say when someone asked him how his day was going, he would say "I can't complain". If pushed we plans on saying . . .my Pastor told me I can't complain, so, I can't complain.

Well, one way or another, my call to you is not to complain and do something about any injustice that you see going on.

Thoughts on Worship

I read a artical by Pastor Jim Shaddix challenged participants with his

“Top 10 Commandments” for setting a theology of music in worship.

Here is what he head to say.

10 Commandments for setting a theology of music in worship.

1. Thou shalt worship God, not worship worship.

“We are a people of extremes and we have a hard time maintaining a biblical balance,” Shaddix said. “A long time ago, people were nervous about the charismatic movement, so worship services became like funeral services. Now the pendulum has swung all the way to the other side and we have hand raising and clapping but lyrics without correct theology. In the revival of worship and the reaction of what we’ve seen, our focus is on the style rather than the object of our worship” God.

2. Thou shalt worship as a lifestyle and not as a music style.

“If there is a disconnect in what happens at the church event and what is happening in people’s daily lives, there is a problem,” Shaddix said. “That needs to be more important than if people are singing on the right key.”

3. Thou shalt make the Divine Seeker comfortable first and foremost.

Shaddix warned about trying to make seekers comfortable first and foremost rather than God, who seeks after non-Christians. Citing 1 Corinthians 14:23-25, Shaddix noted, “If the presence of God is thick in a place and His Word is communicated clearly, seekers will be transformed.”

4. Thou shalt use music as a sacrifice of praise, not as a synonym for worship.

Shaddix challenged today’s definition of worship as music only. Worship should include preaching and not be limited to music alone.

5. Thou shalt be theologically equipped.

As a former professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Shaddix shared his conviction that seminaries tend to give the impression that the study of theology is less important for those serving as ministers of music rather than senior pastors. “We’ve compartmentalized theological education and raised worship leaders to believe it isn’t important to know theology. Therefore they aren’t able to filter out songs that don’t accurately represent God.” He encouraged worship leaders to pursue the study of
theology in addition to technical skills.

6. Thou shalt reflect a holistic theology in worship content.

“Celebration is not the only kind of worship,” Shaddix said. “The Bible speaks of worship involving all seasons of life. Is there a place in our worship for saying, God, I don’t understand”?


7. Thou shalt worship in a rhythm of revelation and response.

“There is no worship without revelation,” Shaddix said. “God reveals Himself most clearly through His Word. We can’t separate the music from the preaching event. We have nothing to worship if God doesn’t reveal who He is.”

8. Thou shalt employ lyrics that reflect communal identity.

Shaddix encouraged the use of songs that represent worship on behalf of the entire church body rather than only individuals by incorporating songs that include “we” in the lyrics rather than “me.”

9. Thou shalt use technology with theological and pastoral sensitivity.

Shaddix agreed that the Bible speaks of worship including clashing cymbals and loud music. However, “Hearing others sing encourages worship. If amplification is so much that you can only hear the sound on stage rather than the people singing beside you, that isn’t good.”

10. Thou shalt foster worship that reflects the diversity and unity of heaven.

Shaddix encouraged worship leaders to keep the end in mind. “God is honored in worship when we strive to accomplish ethnic diversity and congregational unity.”

You can read the full article here at the Florida Baptist Witness Website...