Pastor’s Notes 3/22/2024

As our Lenten series shifts into Holy Week, sometimes Peter will play a major role and at other times he isn’t mentioned at all, leaving us to fill in the gaps with our imaginations. The Palm Sunday story in John 12:12-16 leaves us imagining where Peter might be and how he is participating.

On the day when Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time, we are often charged to consider where we would be in the crowd. Are we singing praise? Are we joining in, or standing back? This year, we are invited to imagine where Peter is in the parade. To do that, perhaps we must remember all the events that have led up to this point.

Our series began with an abundant catch, and a charge to drop everything and follow. Peter has walked on water and clung to Jesus for rescue. He has pronounced his faith confidently and been called Satan and told to get out of Jesus’ way. He has asked questions and learned about the expansiveness of grace.

And now, the end is near. Peter stands among the crowds as they sing songs of loudest praise. The odds are good that Peter is experiencing the full spectrum of emotions and feelings. This roller coaster ride of Spirit won’t get any easier for him in the days ahead.

Following Jesus requires strength, courage, patience, and trust. Peter’s Holy Week journey runs the gambit of human experience. And yet, Jesus builds his church upon the faith of disciples. May we, as followers of Christ, live and love to the best of our ability.

Just a reminder that we will worship at Desert Garden UCC on Maundy Thursday at 5 pm and then on Good Friday we will be in our sanctuary at 4 pm

Pastor’s Notes 3/15/2024

In the commentary from our Lenten Devotional by A Sanctified Art this week, Dr. Terence Lester teaches us:

In Matthew 18:15-22, Jesus teaches about community and repair. Peter, eager to learn, asks him a follow up question. Jesus gives an expansive answer, emphasizing the abundance of forgiveness. This story shows the importance of asking questions and expanding our faith, especially when we’re comfortable not having all the answers and we’re open to seeing the world in more nuanced ways.

Jesus’ response to Peter’s question about forgiveness highlights the ambiguous math of grace. Peter learns about abundant grace. It’s about letting go of rigid limits and embracing the limitless possibilities of forgiveness and repair.

If I have learned anything about faith, it is that I always seem to have more questions than I do answers. In fact, my questions tend to lead to more questions. The good news is that I am comfortable with the mystery of belief.

For faith to truly work, we must always be open to learning something new. The best way to learn is through asking questions and then staying open to whatever answers we receive.

Peter continuously asks questions and seeks deeper understanding. In this text, it is the topic of forgiveness that causes him challenge. May we keep our hearts open to the possibilities God presents to us and may we learn something about ourselves and our relationship with the Holy.

See you Sunday.
Brett

Pastor’s Notes 3/8/2024

As the authors from A Sanctified write in the sermon preparation material for this week, there are a few texts many preachers dread, and Matthew 16:21-23 might be one of them. To go from Jesus praising Peter as the rock of the church to declaring, “Get behind me, Satan!” certainly feels like whiplash.

One idea that surfaced in their theme-planning discussions is how this interaction between Jesus and Peter shows us the intimacy and trust that they shared. Jesus rebukes Peter because he loves him deeply, and because he has high expectations for him as the “rock” of the church. Perhaps we are even witnessing Jesus’ grief as he declares, “Get behind me.” This is an idea that many of us could empathize greatly with Peter on. Who doesn’t want to avoid pain and suffering?

Ultimately, this week’s text shows us that growing in our faith inherently comes with challenges and complexity. In the midst of grief and hardship, can we stay rooted in our convictions while also loosening our grip on control? If we are in a stage of deconstructing our faith, can we move through that season with an open heart and open hands?

I look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday as we continue to wander the Lenten journey with Peter finding his place as a follower of Jesus. May we also, better understand our purpose and calling as the body of Christ.

Brett

Pastor’s Notes 3/1/2024

Greetings Sun City Christian Church.

It is good to be back home from vacation and praising God together with you sin this season of Lent. Our theme for this season is “Wandering Heart: figuring out faith with Peter.” With the help and wisdom of A Sanctified Art worship resources, we are focusing on the life and faith of one of Jesus’ most famous disciples.

In Peter, we see a person who is both steadfast and unsteady, a dear friend and a betrayer, a follower and a wanderer. In Peter, we often see ourselves. By following Peter’s journey, we watch the story of Jesus unfold through the eyes of a very normal human trying to figure it all out- just like us.

The goal of this series is to affirm that faith is a constant journey of steadfast pursuit, one that ebbs and flows. That wandering is exploration, not necessarily distance from God. We want to affirm the ways Peter keeps going: he drops his nets, he walks on water, he runs to the empty tomb, he swims to shore to meet the risen Christ. He keeps searching and yearning and loving, even after missteps or mistakes.

Ultimately, in Peter’s story, we are reminded that God loves imperfect people—in fact, time and again, that’s precisely who God claims and calls. This Lent, we will look for ourselves in the stepping stones of Peter’s story. We will reflect on the stages of our own faith journeys as well as who and what has shaped us along the way. As we wander, let us tune our hearts to sing God’s grace. May we rest in streams of mercy, never ceasing.

As we connect the theme phrase, “Praise the mount” from the hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing to our featured text of Matthew 16:23-30, we will think about the proclamations of faith that we are willing to make. It is easy to be hesitant when talking about our faith, but together in our act of worship we will find the comfort necessary for us to find strength in our convictions and proclaim Jesus who we know him to be.

See you Sunday,
Brett

Pastor’s Notes 2/2/2024

Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.
– Acts 2:46–47

Love God/Love Neighbor

This Sunday we will continue our dive into to what it means to live out what Jesus refers to as the greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God will all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as you wish to be loved.” Our attention this week is on loving God by loving our neighbor.

Loving our neighbor might be the hardest thing we are called to do, especially the neighbors we don’t understand, know, or like. Jesus was no fool and when folks attempt to trip him up, perhaps like the teacher in this story, Jesus could respond with his understanding of scripture. To which, the teacher knew Jesus was correct.

As Mark 12:34 teaches, “When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.”

I find the humor and anxious response of the people comforting in Mark’s Gospel, noting that no one dared ask Jesus any more questions. Jesus confirming that loving our neighbor is the second most important commandment, is a tough reality to sit with. If I am not ready to live with the answer, I shouldn’t ask the question.

My Grandma would remind me that if following God’s commandments was easy, God wouldn’t need to remind us to do it. To love our neighbor as we wish to be loved, we must start close to home. Focus on the needs nearby. My Grandma would probably also remind me to “Eat the low hanging fruit before picking something I must stretch to reach.”

A supporting text for Sunday will come from Acts 2:42-47. The early church came together and shared their enthusiasm and all that they had and all that they were to serve Christ together. In the sermon we will explore the ways we too come together in our discipleship. We will bless the commitments we prayerfully chose to make as a congregation in 2024. During the congregational meeting we will approve a slate of leadership as well as a budget to guide us in the coming year.

Please note that the memorial service for Diane Wallace is scheduled at the church for February 24th at 2 pm.

Pastor’s Notes 1/5/2024

He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?  – Luke 2:49


“I have an idea.” 

“Here’s a thought.” 

“I wonder.”

I like those sentences. I will drop whatever I am doing and pay full attention every time someone (especially a member of Sun City Christian Church) has an epiphany. This is who we are and what we are called to do: manifest Christ into the world through our ability to love.

The season of Epiphany is about recognizing that Christ has come to the world for all. God’s love is greater than any power or might that humanity could wield, and it is available to all who wish to receive it.

I really wrestled with scripture passage to utilize for Sunday. Do we focus our epiphany energy onto the Magi finding the Christ child and paying him homage? Do we follow the lectionary and celebrate Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist? Both of those scriptures regularly appear this time of year, but I was drawn to another passage, Luke 2:41-52.

As we continue in Luke’s gospel, immediately after Jesus is dedicated in the temple, we find him back in the Temple 12 years later. After having journeyed to celebrate the Passover with his family and community, Mary and Joseph fail to recognize that he is not with them on the return journey.

“Where else would I be?” Jesus responds to his parents. Engaging about deeper questions of faith in the Temple was the obvious answer and the ah-hah moment for us readers as to what the following stories of Jesus’ life would hold in store.

Together we will explore our ideas for how to love fully as those who believe in Jesus. We will begin to give shape to our calling and purpose for loving others with all our mind, body, and Spirit.

As we forge ahead into a new year, we will do so together in worship and in prayer! See you Sunday in the Chapel as we will continue to worship there until further notice.

Brett

Pastor’s Notes 8/25/2023

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace…
– Ephesians 4:1-3

Our sermon theme (Eph 4:1-16) for this Sunday is that the plan of God has implications not just for past estrangement but present and future growing up into Christ. The point being, we must choose to give of ourselves as Jesus did in servanthood to others. We must do it! Our initiative is the major implication of God’s plan: humanity will need to carry the load of loving like Christ in the world. The choice of how to live is ours to make. Are we making choices grounded in a Christ-like love and grace?

In her commentary for this series, Mary Hinkle Shore mentions that Ephesians is ostensibly written by an imprisoned apostle Paul, and here the prisoner in the Lord implores his readers to live worthily of their calling to life without dividing walls or prison bars. The center of the text, however, is not an imperative, but the story of Christ’s astonishing freedom and willingness to descend to earth with the gifts of heaven. We know this plot line from Philippians 2. He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. He emptied himself.

May we as a congregation continue to discover those ways in which we are willing to empty ourselves for the fulfillment of others.

See you Sunday and if you haven’t told me, texted me, called, or emailed the office to let me know you have been reading this weekly column, do so to receive a prize!

Brett