|
|
|
Most recent blog entries |
 |
|
| Sunday July 26, 2009 "This I Pray" Ephesians 3: 14-21 | Brad's Blog Brad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on7/28/2009 1:08 PM | |
| Today’s scripture is sometimes called “the Apostles Prayer” and is nothing short of a great example of how we are to pray for one another. It is found in the letter to the church at Ephesus, generally attributed to the Apostle Paul.
There is much evidence that the writer of this letter did not personally know the people to which the letter is addressed. The form of greeting and the message is general and not pointed at specific issues and problems like so many other of Paul’s letters. We know that Paul had spent time in Ephesus; there is good reason to believe that he was actually imprisoned in Ephesus, but this letter does not indicate a familiarity with the people of the Ephesian church. But the people of the church in Ephesus knew of his missionary activity. Paul understood his mission to be aimed primarily at people like those who lived in Ephesus. He believed that the mission upon which he embarked was to make Christ known among the Gentiles and to encourage the Jewish beli ... |  | |
| More... |
| | God of Wonder | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on7/22/2009 3:21 PM | |
| Greetings on this grey morning,
One of the things that seems to fade as we get older is our sense of wonder. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe we have seen too much, understand too much, become too logical, too cynical. Whatever it is, we just seem to not be as surprised or delighted by things like we did when we were younger. Or maybe it’s because we don’t take the time to be in awe of the amazing things that go on around us.
I am willing to bet that for anyone around my age or older, we did share an awe inspiring moment of wonder on July 20, 1969. On that day, 40 years ago Monday, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first two humans on the moon. Very late on that day, they emerged from inside their space capsule and walked on the surface of the moon. I can still remember the day vividly, and I can still remember my feeling of absolute wonder and awe at the scratchy scenes that were unfolding on our black and white television set. After years of study a ... | | |
| More... |
| | Sunday July 19, 2009 "Promise Made...Promise Kept" 2 Samuel 7:1-14 | | Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on7/21/2009 1:11 PM | |
| David’s story fascinates me.
Embedded in his story are all the important elements of a great novel. There are heroic acts and selfless deeds. There are power struggles and divided loyalties. There are examples of true friendship and true villainry. There is sex and violence and great public pronouncements and gentle private crises. There is abject failure and total and complete redemption. It really is an amazing story.
We remember David as a boy, the shepherd boy who was tapped as the eventual King of Israel at a very young age. He was the heroic youngster who risked life and limb to defeat the Philistine Goliath, trusting always that God would be with him. Later, he became an enemy of the king and resorted to leading a ragtag band of guerrilla warriors until such time as he emerged as King of the united Israel.
He vanquished the reigning king and restored the people of Israel to their rightful place as God’s chosen. He brought the ... | | |
| More... |
| | Do No Harm | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on7/15/2009 12:01 PM | |
| Greetings on this beautiful summer day!
It’s funny how things pop up at just the moment you need them. Yesterday afternoon I broke my rule about listening to talk radio and was bombarded by caustic comments, subtle and not so subtle putdowns, outright questioning of someone’s patriotism and an absolutely obnoxious discussion/rant/argument about the merits of different college football conferences. And I didn’t have the radio on for more than about 5 minutes! I know, I know, it gets me every time! I should know better, and I have promised myself it will be a long, long time before I fall into this trap again.
This morning, I picked up a book off my desk that had been sitting there about a week. It was a little book that I picked up on sale at the Christian bookstore because the title intrigued me: “Three Simple Rules”. It was written by a minister who had done some research on the 18th century theologian John Wesley and found embedded in his theology what he ... | | |
| More... |
| | Sunday July 5, 2009 "Prove It" 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 | | Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on7/15/2009 11:56 AM | |
| Paul is certainly an interesting character.
Oh, the Bible is full of interesting characters, but none of them are quite so fascinating as Paul. Moses is interesting in his way: a man of quick temper and strong faith. Job perseveres like no one I have ever encountered. Jonah is about as stubborn as anyone could be. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the obedient servant who bears her burden with grace and dignity. Jesus is a fascinating study of what humanity is at its best. But Paul…well, the complexity of the man is almost overwhelming.
Remember Paul’s story: he was born Saul, a devout Jew who made a career out of putting down and shutting up those who would challenge the Jewish leaders, those whose blasphemy could not be tolerated. He had been especially effective at rooting out the followers of Jesus, those people who had the audacity to declare that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the dead, the messiah come to save Israel.
Saul came b ... | | |
| More... |
| | Spreading the Good News | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on7/9/2009 3:00 PM | |
| Greetings!
For those of you who were not in worship this past Sunday, you might not have heard that our partners in the International Christian Church will be leaving us near the end of summer. They have found some property north of Atlanta nearer to a larger Cambodian community and have decided that they need to strike out to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to that population. I cannot express how sad I am to see them go, but neither can I hide my pride and joy at their decision. They are doing what we are all called to do: move into the world and be witnesses of the grace of God.
We have much to learn from our ICC brothers and sisters: perseverance in overcoming the most dire of situations; faith in the face of great adversity; the ability to continually trust to God’s grace and keep moving forward; the joy that comes from finding peace in the community of faith; the desire to serve others, first, last and always. We may have helped them with a place t ... | | |
| More... |
| | Sunday July 5, 2009 "No Longer Strangers" Matthew 25: 34-40 | | Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on7/6/2009 12:32 PM | |
| Preaching on Independence Day weekend is a challenge for me. It is a wonderful celebration that I am glad to be part of, but it can raise special concerns when our worship of God is mingled with our love of country. Don’t get me wrong, I am overjoyed to be an American, but as a preacher of the gospel, I need to be careful not to let patriotism guide my faith. In fact, it should be the other way around.
I do get a little concerned when people start talking as if our country is the promised land, ordained by God and protected by God’s special grace and will. What does that say about other lands, other people? Are they out of God’s favor? And so, in general, I have tried to keep the two separate. But today, I want to deviate from what I had planned to preach on (I’ll save that until next week) to tell you a story that is an example of what has made America great, and at the same time teaches us a great lesson in what it means to be Christians.
In the late ... | | |
| More... |
| | Service | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on6/24/2009 3:24 PM | |
| Greetings on this beautiful day!
So, who says things slow down in the summer? You’d never prove it around here! So far this summer we’ve had Family Camping Fun, Pink Flamingo Flocking Season has begun and several of our kids have already had a great time at Camp Christian. Then of course there is the work going on around our building and grounds and the preparation for even more work late in the summer or early in the fall. And in mid July we will welcome Theatre Camp for kids of all ages and grades into our facility. We also will most likely be serving as overnight hosts for a group or two on their way mission trips on the gulf coast. Whew!
But in the midst of all this activity around and in our church, there are always opportunities to make sure we step away from our own place and space in search of what Jesus called the “others”…the widows and orphans, the dispossessed, the lonely, the elderly, the sick and those who simply need to know that someone car ... | | |
| More... |
| | Sunday June 21, 2009 "Why Are You Afraid?" Mark 4: 35-41 | | Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on6/23/2009 9:31 AM | |
| Several years ago Carol and I joined a group for whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River. I had been canoeing several times in my life, usually on some fairly sedate rivers, but I did have some experience with whitewater. But not a lot.
When we arrived at the drop off point, our guide got us all outfitted with life jackets, which I expected, and helmets, which I did not expect. Now, you have to understand to me, helmets mean that something bad can happen and it tends to heighten my fear response.
And that is what happened that day at the Ocoee River. The launch point emptied immediately into our first white water rapids, and as I looked at some of the friends with us, I could see the fear in their eyes that surely was in mine, too. The last thing the guide said to us was, “There is nothing to be afraid of.”
I remember thinking, “Really? Nothing to be afraid of? How about death or dismemberment?”
We arranged ourselve ... | | |
| More... |
| | Community | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on6/11/2009 1:09 PM | |
| Greetings on this beautiful day,
Community is a wonderful thing. In fact, I think community is crucial to getting through this thing called life. I have known people who believed that they were “self made” but I really don’t think that is entirely possible, and if it is possible, I can’t imagine it feels very good. We need others to help us in the rough patches in our lives, we need others to share our joys and celebrate with, we need each other to balance out our weaknesses and our strengths, we need others to simply have someone to share the ride with.
I learned about community at an early age through the folks in my neighborhood and my church. I continue to revel in the fact that I am part of such a wonderful community as BCC.
Lately I have been thinking about a community that was once very important to me, and if truth be told, still is. I am from Detroit, and every Detroiter will tell you, if we don’t stick together, no one else ... | | |
| More... |
|
|
|
 | |