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| Ministry | Brad's Blog Mid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on1/27/2010 2:17 PM | |
| The process of transforming the sanctuary continues, and trust me, it is an amazing process! While the physical transformation of the sanctuary will be impressive, there are other things that connect to that renovation that continue to amaze me.
I have already shared with you my conversation with the electrician who said he enjoyed working on churches more than most jobs because he felt like he was doing something special in helping to beautify the Lord’s House. Since that time, I have had 3 other conversations with folks from Choate Construction and some other sub-contractors. They have had questions about the church, who we are and what we believe. These are guys who have seen me every day that they have been working here, guys who have greeted me and asked what I thought about the work they were doing. But after a couple of weeks, the conversation got away from the work on the sanctuary to the work of the church. In my experience, this is not that unusual. Folks have to get a ... |  | |
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| | Good Stewards | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on1/26/2010 2:12 PM | |
| One of the great things about working at the church these days is that I get to watch as the changes in the sanctuary take place. First, the stripping away of everything not needed, or that will be renewed or replaced. Then, the slow buildup of new things, the replacement of worn things, the renewal of things that still have much life in them. And it is very hard for me not to understand that what is happening in the sanctuary at BCC is also what happens in our lives when we set our minds and our hearts on renewal. It is the great gift that we can do that whenever we choose.
I was chatting with one of the electricians the other day about the work he does and he said at one point, “I really like it when we get to work in churches – it makes me feel good to know that I am helping to beautify God’s house. I like that.”
And he’s right: the sanctuary and the rest of the church building may only be bricks and mortar like every other building in town, but it is some ... | | |
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| | Overcoming Fear | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on1/26/2010 2:11 PM | |
| Well, it seems as if Carol and I got out of town at the right time! We missed all the snow and ice – although the bitter cold did find us everywhere we went! While it was nice to miss all that, the trip itself was without a doubt one of the most moving experiences of my life – cold or not. I am still sorting through all the experiences packed into those four days: the people, the places, the sharing, the learning, and most of all, the incredible feelings of our Civil Rights Tour.
Over the course of the four days, we traveled to sites important to the Civil Rights movement in Charleston, S.C., Johns Island, S.C., Savannah, GA, Albany, GA, Montgomery, AL, and of course, Atlanta. Being at those places – the churches, the meeting houses, the homes that were bombed, the gathering places – was incredible, but what was even more incredible were the people who talked to us at every stop. The leaders of the movement, the ones who did the hard work and put their lives on the line. And here ... | | |
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| | Adjusting | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on1/26/2010 2:06 PM | |
| Well, things are picking up steam as far as the renovation to our sanctuary goes. Choate Construction has been on-site all week, taking down old lights, getting ready to put up new ones, working on the outside coverings for the stain glass windows on the outside walls, pulling out the pews, getting ready to work on the front wall and the expansion of the chancel area. The new stain glass will be made shortly, and the new front wall cross will arrive in the next week or so….whew, there is a lot of activity going on! Not sure how long it will actually take, but it is exciting to watch what is already going on.
Of course, this activity is what is making it necessary for us to worship in the fellowship hall. We have had 3 services and a Christmas Eve service in the fellowship hall and there is definitely a different feeling when we worship there as opposed to the sanctuary. Not worse, not better, just different. We are doing our best to adapt to our situation, which means changing som ... | | |
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| | Sunday January 24, 2010 "Honoring the Gift" 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 | | Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on1/26/2010 1:24 PM | |
| One day a few years ago my mother and I were sitting in the kitchen talking. We were talking about when my brother and sister and were young, reminiscing about things we had done, laughing about trouble we sometimes got into. It was a chance for me to ask a question I was really curious about.
“How,” I asked her, “did you and Daddy manage to make us all feel special, all feel loved, and all feel like we could do what we wanted to do, without a hint of favoritism?”
My mother did not hesitate for a second. “Oh, it was easy to not play favorites and to make each of you feel special, because the three of you were so different! You needed different things, you excelled at different things, you had different personalities, so there was no worry about treating you “the same”. The fact was, you weren’t the same, so we didn’t have to treat you the same!”
"You all had different gifts,” she continued, “So the best thing we could do you was to encourag ... | | |
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| | Sunday January 17, 2010 "Where to Start?" Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22 | | Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on1/26/2010 1:22 PM | |
| Have you ever been so ready for something to happen, but weren’t sure where you were to start to make it happen?
The people who knew John the Baptist were ready. They were ready for something, they just weren’t exactly sure what it was they were ready for. They were ready for the appearance of a messiah, a messiah that would lead them out of the oppression that they felt on a daily basis. They were ready to be able to fully and completely live out their religious and civic desires.
Oh, they were ready.
They just didn’t know where to start.
They looked at John the Baptist, and they wondered, “Is this where we start? Could John be the messiah?”
I’m not sure whether the question “could John be the messiah?” is a hopeful question or a question that is filled with some trepidation. The same question might be asked differently: “You don’t really think John could be the messiah, do you?”
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| | Sunday January 3, 2009 "Beginning Again" John 1: 1-18 | | Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on1/26/2010 1:19 PM | |
| Sunday January 3, 2009
“Beginning Again”
John 1: 1-18
As we move through the Christmas season – and no, Christmas is not quite over – we have lots of opportunities to reflect on everything that has gone on over the past few month. The things we have talked about in worship and in our bible study classes; the gatherings with friends and families; the gifts exchanged; the relationships renewed; the stresses and strains that come with all the activity.
We have spent the better part of Advent and Christmas doing our best to reconnect with “the reason for the season” and celebrate the amazing story that surrounds the birth of Jesus. But, still somehow, we get to this point as Christmastide begins to wind down and the question still lingers: “What was that all about, anyway?”
The writer of the Gospel of John gives us a resounding, emphatic answer. John’s eloquent reply nearly thunders across the centuries: “In the begin ... | | |
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| | Sunday December 20, 2009 "Daylight Again" Isaiah 9:2-7 | | Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on12/23/2009 12:11 PM | |
| The prophet Isaiah had seen darkness.
Isaiah, son of Amoz, prophesied in the latter half of the eighth century BC and witnessed the rise of the second Assyrian empire. Under the aggressive policies of it’s king Tiglath-pileser III, Assyria eventually conquered or annexed much of Syria and its neighbors, including the kingdom of Israel and it’s capital. In opposition to the growing Assyrian presence, Kings of the region formed a coalition to resist the encroaching empire and to fight together. King Ahaz of Jerusalem refused to join in the fight and was immediately overrun by this new coalition.
Rather than wait for God’s promised deliverance, Ahaz sided with the Assyrians and became a protectorate of Assyria. But this meant bowing to the dictates of Tilgath-pileser and led to the wholesale deportation of Israelites into forced exile.
This is what darkness meant to the people of Isaiah’s time: total domination by the Assyrians and strai ... | | |
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| | Merry Christmas! | | Brad's Blog
| By Brad Miller on12/23/2009 12:04 PM | |
| Greetings!
As we move quickly toward Christmas Eve and the celebration of the birth of Jesus, I would like to share something with you that was first brought to my attention by Rev. Jennifer. I think it contains both some practical advice about being a Christian in today’s world, and a challenge that all of us could probably take on. I hope you like it, it is called “ A Christmas Letter from Jesus.” Author unknown…or could it really be from Jesus?
Dear Children,
It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking my name out of the season. Maybe you’ve forgotten that I wasn’t actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate my birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. Whatever, I don’t mind… I appreciate being remembered anytime.
How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood b ... | | |
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| | Anticipation | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on12/17/2009 10:57 AM | |
| Greetings on this chilly day,
As I was getting ready this morning, I was ticking off in my head the things that I still need to get done before Christmas. Suddenly a thought occurred to me: I wonder what Mary and Joseph were doing all those years ago a week before Jesus was born? They both had visits from angels – Mary in Nazareth, Joseph in a dream – so they knew something very special was about to happen, but had no clue as to exactly how that would all play out.
Were they planning their trip to Bethlehem to register for the census? Was Joseph finishing up a woodworking project for a client? Was Mary making sure that all was in order for their journey – extra clothes, food to be packed on the mule? Were they talking about what an exciting time it would be when the baby was born? Were they planning? Were they gathering the things they would need to welcome this new addition to their household? Did they dream together of what their child would become? ... | | |
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