Faith Like a Child

Rev. Frank Harmon December 7, 2016

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. ~Matthew 18:1-5

I know it is the Christmas season and I should have something “Christmasy” to write about. I will get there, but you’ll have to bear with me…because I want to start off by talking about a little girl. Those who come to the 10:00 am service might notice her. Every time she enters the sanctuary I can’t help but watch and smile.

I remember the first time I noticed her entering the sanctuary because she came running in, not like most kids running crazy to the playground, but ran in with an eagerness and joy in her eye. As she entered worship, I looked to see where her mom was, as I did not see her. Sure enough, a few seconds later her mom came following behind. I didn’t say anything, but for some reason it made me smile. The next week the same little girl came running into the sanctuary with the same joy and eagerness in her eye, and a few steps behind her was her mom.

For the next few weeks I found myself looking for her to enter the sanctuary, and one week I finally had to say something to her mother. So, I stopped her and said, “I just want to let you know how much joy it brings me to see your daughter enter worship. I wish everyone entered this space with the same joy and excitement each week that she does.” Her mom responded by saying, “Every week she is so excited to come to church. She can’t get enough of it, whether on Wednesday night or Sunday morning, she just loves being here and learning about God.”

Every time I see this little girl I am reminded of Jesus’ words to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Often times we hear this or read it and think, “This is not me - I am not a child, I am an adult”, or, “I don’t have time to act like a child.” We think this way because we confuse being like a child with being childish. See, there is a huge difference in being like a child and being childish. I know many children as well as adults that are good at being childish. Childish is being selfish, self-centered, and having a feeling of entitlement - things appropriate for children. When we read Jesus’ teachings, we learn that being childish is the furthest thing away from what He teaches.

However, to be like a child means to see everything with joy and excitement. It is as a child on Christmas morning, seeing the spender and magic of what took place the night before. To be like a child means not being cynical or feeling like we have to know it all. Children aren’t born with a sense of fear or hate - it is something they learn. To be a child means to have big dreams, to believe that God can do anything, to not fear judgment, ridicule or even failure.

So, when Jesus tells us to be like a child, He is telling us we should love more than hate, dream more than fear, trust more than be cynical. Being like a child means that when we come to worship, we come in awe and wonder of a God who created the heavens and earth - not to be entertained, out of a sense of obligation or because it is routine.

I had a pastor friend who would randomly ask youth and children, “Do you know what today is?” and without fail, they would say, “Monday” or “Sunday” or whatever day of the week it was. To that, he would say, “No…today is the day that the Lord has made, so we should rejoice and be glad in it.” As Christians, every day is the Lord’s day and we should live every day filled with wonder and joy. We get to live our lives in relationship with the creator of the universe, who was born in a manger and died on a cross, all so we might know Him and love Him.

Let us be more like a child and less childish in our relationship with God and in our relationships with each other. If you need help figuring out what I am talking about, I would encourage you to come early to the 10:00 service and look for the little girl running into worship with a sense of joy and excitement on her face Then you will know.

Category: Children, Faith, Advent, Joy, Jesus

Advent

The Joy of Anticipation

Rev. Frank Harmon December 18, 2013

Joseph [and Mary] went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David…While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ~ Luke 2:4,6

I can remember a little over 4 years ago our excitement as we anticipated the birth of our daughter Savannah. We would talk about what she was going to look like. We talked about if she would be a boy or a girl, we didn’t find out until she was born. (We both were hoping for a girl). There was a sense of excitement that came along with having a child, but there was also fear.

We had already had Trey and we were very comfortable in our lives. A second baby was going to change our comfort level. We were just starting to get 7-8 hours a sleep again, but that was going to change. Trey had been the center or our lives for the previous 2 years and that was going to change for him. As parents, we were going to go from two-on-one to man-to-man defense. Despite the fears and the uncertainty that we faced, we also had much joy.

As Becca’s due date came closer so did uncomfortable nights. The excitement of the day that we would meet our child grew and grew, just like a little child waiting for Christmas, but the day the doctor guessed that Savannah would be born came and went, and she didn’t come. It would be like telling a child that Christmas is on December 25 only to wake up on the 25 and be told you will have to wait another day or two. The excitement of waiting slowly started to fade and the discomfort for Becca continued. As one day turned into two and two into a week, we wondered if this little person inside Becca was ever going to come out. As we passed the 10 days late point, the joy of waiting had all but disappeared. We just wanted the baby to come out so we could meet her. Because we were done waiting, we tried all of the old wives tails you could think of, running, walking, cleaning, walking up stairs, we even started going to certain restaurants that had labor inducing salads or pizza. Nothing worked. As we were approaching 14 days late, our doctor said that we would have to induce if she didn’t come on the 14^th day.

On day 13 with no signs of labor we had all but given up on Savannah coming on her own and started to prepare for induction the next day. It was that night that Becca went into labor. Savannah came the next day and all of the discomfort and pain that Becca had gone through seem to fade with the joy that Savannah’s birth brought us.

Often in our lives we don’t like to wait. We want things to hurry and get here. We are so ready for the end to arrive that we forget to enjoy the journey along the way. With just one week left until we celebrate Christmas, it won’t be to long before stores forget about Christmas and point us to Valentine’s Day. Let’s us not rush through Advent, let us enjoy what time we have left as we anticipate with great joy the coming of our savior. Let us enjoy time with our family and friends and truly savor the moment, and not just rush through the motions. Because if we take a step back and take in our surroundings, who knows where joy might come this Christmas season?

Category: Advent, Christmas, Rev. Frank Harmon

Advent

Serving in the Kingdom: “You can’t feel grateful for something you feel entitled to”

Dr. Richard Wright December 4, 2013

I am so grateful for my ministry at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church.

Years ago, in a sermon, I heard the Word of God written by the Apostle John. I became aware of the gap between the Word and the results in my life. I had abandoned the dreams of doing good things for God. I was a pretty good person, but a complacent Christian. I came to realize that nothing that you have is something that God needs, but everything you have is something God can use. So, I entered seminary. Then, in seminary, I came to understand that the Bible described a system of evil based upon the interplay of the world, the flesh, and the devil. I was then sent out to understand how those who believe in the Bible can exist in this system.

This is a system where good enough leads to complacency; where abuse by those who are trusted is suffered; where shame can tether, like an anchor, to sins of the past; where rising above good enough leads to endless frustration; where opportunities are missed, yet their memories remain; where the memories of the hell of the trials of life can also remain vivid and fresh; where cynicism can increase with aging; where success on earth brings no eternal reward; where the dreams which you had for yourself no longer occur; where the greatest moments of life are past (not present or in the future); and where a life can be spent in aimless journey through …(fill in the blank).

I was sent out by my seminary…but I was “called” by Pinnacle Presbyterian Church. I was literally called by Shelly Core who knew me through her involvement with the Presbytery of the Grand Canyon. She made me aware of the opportunity of PPC and suggested I consider this congregation. In response to her “call” I met a “dream” mentor who would teach, coach, pray, praise, listen, smile, tolerate, and correct. I observed his integration of deep faith strengthened through intellect, scholarship, humility and the power of the Holy Spirit. When he is in the pulpit his amazing communication truly reflects the Cross behind … a Cross that stretches upward from humanity to God and outward from one to another to bring us into the arms of God and each other.

Following our worship and during the week, in our life together, we are strengthened to live in the system.

Upon the completion of my training I received the honor to be asked to remain with the congregation to participate in our life together during the week. I have provided a ministry to reflect the presence of God’s love and join in prayer. We are together in the presence of God in hospital rooms, surgery waiting rooms, emergency rooms, recovery and rehabilitation centers, care centers, memory units, hospices, home hospices and in the residences of the home-bound. For the remainder of the Senior Adults of PPC I have been present in Bible study, Spiritual Development, theological discussion (caffeine powered for Senior Adults and ethanol fueled for the 21-50 groups), fellowship, celebration, and mourning.

What I take with me is the experience of saints (those who believe) and martyrs (those who witness). Those who believe display their belief in their lives and in their lives with others. They witness their belief privately in their life and publically in their worship.

I have come to know that it was not my ego that had brought me here…it was God.

At the Christmas worship service, in service of the Lord’s Supper, I presented “the body of Christ, broken for you” to the faithful. These faithful are God’s creations that publically appear and partake…these are the body of Christ…the Church…Pinnacle Presbyterian Church. In a difficult world…our system… in an act faith in God, and a belief in salvation we are filled. It is an action. It is an act of God. From this action I am made right with God. As a part of this worship experience I felt grateful…it was nothing I was entitled to…it was grace. My understanding of the words of the Apostle John came in the faces of these witnesses. This understanding then brought tears of joy.

Advent is upon us again and I am so grateful for my ministry at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church. It was nothing I was entitled to.

Category: Advent, Reflections

Advent

Serving in the Kingdom

Dr. Richard Wright December 4, 2012

I have stated the similarity of Pinnacle Presbyterian Church and the early church in structure. In Advent I see a similar longing to that which was present two thousand years ago. There is a God. God is manifest in Jesus, in His resurrection He came to those who believed and those came together in community forming the body of Christ… the church. Together they pondered how can we live the ideal Christian life? Is it possible? Do we reject society? Do we embrace society? Can we live a Christian life in an anti-christian culture? Can we live in the world in the presence of temptation? These questions are in our longing as well and, in addition, we face the seduction of the affluence of our secular culture with its competing voices.

How hard is it to enter the Kingdom of God. For some it has been a blinding light and voice (Paul), a child's voice (Augustine of Hippo), a soft voice for listening (Elijah), but for many it is so hard to hear. The root of the word obedient is the word for listening. Jesus was always listening -- and the core of His prayer seems to be in solitude, in silence, and in the presence of God -- a time and a place of God and God alone. In Advent we are in a time, in a place, in preparation, and in waiting. Unlike the Desert Fathers and Mothers of the east we will not sell everything and live in solitude and silence in a cave (Antony), live in a monastic cell (Pachomius), live on top of a pillar (Simeon the Stylite), or live chained to a tree (David of Thessalonica). Yet we still seek space in which to listen. A spiritual life requires human effort to bring us closer to Jesus. It is hard to hear in a society where voices everywhere claim, "We can take care of ourselves. We are working on it. We are in control. We don't need spiritual answers to practical questions. We do not need God or Church.

Our search is a need to know the heart of God, a heart that forgives, cares, reaches out, wants to hear, wants to give love and receive love in response -- the heart of Jesus. We are disciples, and discipline is required for disciples. In the Advent Book Study, we examine the widespread hunger of and expanded spiritual life, meditation, reading, prayer and public worship. Discipline is required in the face of rationalism, technology-induced dislocation and stress, superficial values, and fear. We should expend effort both to enhance our relation with God and our sense of meaning and purpose as God's creation. It's a tough world out there… it was then and it is now… Jesus did not send disciples out alone… and we are in relationship to one-another and to God. Pinnacle Presbyterian Church is such a "big tent". Let us find someone and reach out during Advent… we know the wait is worth it… let's wait together.