Friday, March 30, 2012

Word on the Street

March 30, 2012

The drama of our salvation is relived and renewed again this week. Holy Week is not just the days before the BIG Easter Celebration. Holy Week is what makes the Easter Celebration BIG.

I was taught long ago that there is no resurrection without death. Jesus died, plain and simple; and he died for our sins. We cannot mask that or hide that fact. It may seem unpleasant or terse but we will die. The glory of Easter is that Jesus was raised from death by God's power and so are we.

Before we get to the joys and signs of new life like lilies, eggs, butterflies, and bunnies, we must experience the drama and emotion of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Without these Holy Week experiences our Easter observance is little more than a secular holiday.

I hope you will join me and my family as we take the time necessary to experience and appreciate all that God has done for us through the gift and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

This year, will your Easter merely be a one day event?

With you on Grace Avenue,
Billy Echols-Richter
Pastor

Friday, March 23, 2012

Word on the Street

March 23, 2012

Last week during my message I lifted up 27 common expressions we get from the Bible. The last one, "The Writing's on the Wall" was directly tied to the message from Daniel 5. If you would like to see all 27 CLICK HERE.

After almost every service someone reminded me of an expression that was not in my list of 27. They were great and I thought I would share them here.

Baptism by Fire - Luke 3:16
Double- Edged Sword - Proverbs 5:4, Hebrews 4:12
Forbidden fruit - Gen. 2: 16-17
Nothing new under the sun - Ecc. 1:9
Pride goes before a fall . - Prov. 16:18
Scapegoat. - Lev. 16: 8, 20-22
Turn the other cheek - Matt. 5:38

The best messages are the ones that are finished after we leave church. Thanks for these great additions.

How are you finishing the sermon this week?

With you on Grace Avenue,

Billy Echols-Richter
Pastor

Friday, March 9, 2012

Word on the Street

March 9, 2012

Benjamin Franklin is credited with many inventions. He invented many things we still use today including bifocal glasses, the lightning rod, the odometer, the catheter, and the glass armonica. Most of these inventions were not new ideas but were ideas that he improved and enacted. To that end Franklin was as much an innovator as an inventor.

To innovate means literally "to renew". This is what the Lenten season is all about. Lent is a time to renew our faith and "discover" much of the grace of God that we have been missing because we give so much attention to other things. Lent, like Spring, is not a time of depletion but a time of new possibilities through faith in Christ.

This weekend is the beginning of Daylight Savings Time (Remember to Spring Forward). Many believe that Benjamin Franklin invented DST. He did not. He was merely an innovator of that idea. Daylight Savings Time actually came into being in the early part of the 20th Century. Franklin believed that the day could be renewed during the Summer by maximizing the long hours of sunlight. Beginning this Sunday, think of all the wonderful things we do outside after 6:00 or 7:00 pm.

The pathway of faith is similar. Before we invent new ways to practice our faith, we must find ways to renew our faith. This is why I give thanks for the season of Lent.

How are you innovating your faith this week?

With you on Grace Avenue,

Billy Echols-Richter

Friday, March 2, 2012

Word on the Street

March 2, 2012

Beginning March 1st Grace Avenue UMC is participating in a program called The Bible in 90 Days. You read 12 pages from that Bible every day and in 90 days you've covered it all from Genesis to Revelation. Over 130 people from our church have signed up to take on this unique challenge and opportunity. I am extremely excited to be a participant in this program.
Some have asked why reading the Bible is so important. What role does, and should, the Bible play in modern life? Terry Carter tells of having a conversation with a former navy diver about diving deep, really deep underwater.
"He told me that he had been in situations so deep and dark that it was almost impossible to keep from becoming disoriented and confused. What a terrifying feeling -- being underwater, unable to see your hands in front of your face, not knowing which way is up, panic engulfing you. I immediately interrupted my friend, 'So what did you do?'

"'Feel the bubbles,' he said. 'When it's pitch black and you have no idea which way to go, you reach up with your hand and feel the bubbles. The bubbles always drift to the surface. When you can't trust your feelings or judgment, you can always trust the bubbles to get you back to the top.'"

"Apart from the experience of scuba diving, we need a way to determine what is real and true ... In the 66 books of the Bible, we have a reality library -- stories, letters, guidelines and examples from God that tell us what is true and real."
The Bible provides a point of reference and guides our lives like nothing else can. When you have lost your way; when you have no point of reference; when you have no idea which way to go; where do you turn?

By the way, it is not too late to sign up for the Bible in 90 Days. You can still get you materials this weekend at church (or CLICK HERE) and catch up on the first two or three days without any problem. Also I hope you will be in worship this weekend as we start this new series: "The Bible Tells Me So".

With you on Grace Avenue,

Billy Echols-Richter