Pastor Jeremy's Lenten Preparing to Worship

As part of North Street's 40 Days of Lent, every Saturday, Pastor Jeremy is sending out a "preparing for worship" reading.

Have you ever seen the movie, The Wizard of Oz? Maybe you've even read the book. But what a lot of people don't know is that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is actually just the first of fourteen books by the original author, Frank L. Baum. When I was a kid, I enjoyed reading them all. I think it was sometime after I'd already read the Chronicles of Narnia three or four times and I was looking for another fantasy land to get lost in. Of course, Baum's Oz doesn't have the blatant Christian themes that Lewis' Narnia does, but they are nonetheless still good stories. And where there's good story, there's often good truth for life application.

If you remember, Dorothy and her companions are all headed for the Emerald City of Oz to find a great wizard who will be able to help each of them, namely Dorothy in her quest to return home to Kansas. Along their journey, they learn about how great this wizard is - he just appeared in the sky one day, and all the inhabitants of Oz fell before the great wizard from the sky as his power was obvious to them. And Dorothy and her friends reach the Emerald City and find the "great" wizard, who dupes them at first, but whom they soon find out to be nothing more than a normal man from Kansas who has hid behind some pretty cool tricks and schemes to conceal his true identity.

Before they found out who he really was, the wizard told them to come back before he could help them. He seemed powerful, but he couldn't deliver on their wishes and their needs - he couldn't do anything to help them. But as soon as he's found out, he finds that he can actually help each of them, giving them their respective needs.

It was only when he stepped out from hiding behind his curtain that he could be who he needed to be.

I've heard someone say that the greatest thing that could ever happen to an individual would be for his (or her) sin to be exposed on the evening news. Can you imagine it? You turn on the television to find out who's winning the latest primary, but instead of seeing Clinton or McCain, you see your own picture. And with your smiling face there for all to see, the news anchor is rattling off all the things you think no one knows about you: your sin, your past actions, your temptations, and perhaps even things a little more recent...perhaps something you did today. It would be horrible...at first glance. But if we really think about that, the situation would lead us to rely on nothing else but the grace and loving forgiveness of Jesus Christ. And isn't that where we're supposed to be anyway?

I think that this is why confession has been an important aspect of the life of a follower of Christ for most of the history of Christian tradition. We protestants don't do this very well though, and especially us, as people of the holiness tradition. We faithfully profess that we're saved and sanctified by the grace of God, but it too often ends up causing us to rely on an act or decision we made years ago, rather than a daily reliance on God's grace. When we acknowledge who we are and what we've done, we must rely on the grace of God, instead of whatever walls and pretenses we build up for ourselves.

This has to do with honesty - honesty with God and honesty with ourselves. And this is where we'll pick up tomorrow from the Word. In the meantime, ask yourselves: "What does it mean to live in spirit and in truth?"

Perhaps you'd pray this prayer, one written by Stanley Hauerwas and adapted by my friend, Christy Gunter-Leppert:
"Lord of all life, we come before you not knowing who we are. We strut our stuff, trying to impress others with our self-confidence and in the process we hope to actually be what we pretend and fake to others. Save us from this, so that we might learn who we are through trust in you, to make us more then we could imagine or fake to anyone else."

Our passages for this week, February 24, are Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95, Romans 5:1-11, and John 4:5-42. Click here to read them.

I look forward to worshiping with you tomorrow,
For & Through Christ,

Jeremy

North Street Update

The 40 Days of Lent
We are on day 9 in our journey through the forty days of Lent. How are things going for you? Drop Pastor Jeremy an e-mail and let me know how this journey is or isn't speaking to you. If you haven't begun, it's not too late! Here's what you need to know:
Lent 2008 Explanation
Lent 2008 Schedule

A NEW WORSHIP GATHERING -
The Remembrance

This Sunday will bring us the first of a new worship gathering North Street is embarking on. Christ said few things about our corporate worship gatherings. But one thing that he did say is that when we gather together for communion, we are doing it "in remembrance of him." We'll look together at what this "remembrance" means and what it might look like. A word of expectation: this worship gathering will be quite different than what most of us are used to. Everyone is invited to come. Expect little, but expect to worship as the gathered body of Christ.

Gathering to Fellowship (Potluck!)

This is the third Sunday of the month, and we will gather to eat and talk together after we worship in the morning on Sunday. Bring your favorite dish or something you've been wanting to try out for a while.

...on the calendar
As always, you can keep up-to-date with North Street happenings, including all of the Lenten events, by using our on-line calendar (click here).

Pastor Jeremy's Lenten Preparing to Worship

As part of North Street's 40 Days of Lent, every Saturday, Pastor Jeremy is sending out a "preparing for worship" reading.

For Sunday, February 10th
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11


Giving and Receiving? Not just about money...

A few years ago, Meghan and I bought the extended DVD versions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy movies. We had seen at least two of them in the theater and got swept up in the "greatest trilogy of all-time" fervor. They are indeed incredible movies.

Ever since we got them, I've wanted to take the time to watch them back-to-back-to-back. It's probably not going to happen for a few decades though, as together, the three movies are 683 minutes long (yeah, that's close to twelve hours!). But over the last several weeks, I've been watching just a bit of them as I head to bed each night (I've only just finished the second movie). They've kind of been my own little bedtime story.

Anyway, one of my favorite scenes is toward the end of the first movie. For those who don't know the story: in short, the main character - Frodo - has a ring with a horrible history and future tied to it. His mission is to travel long distances, through dangerous areas, and through all sorts of difficult trials to be rid of the ring. He is accompanied by an assortment of characters at different points.

At this one point in the first movie, a good wizard named Gandalf is sitting with him. Gandalf is like what you might imagine in the typical wizard - old, long white beard and hair, walks with a staff, and very knowledgable. He always seems to know what's going to happen next and has sage advice for Frodo and others. As they sit together, Frodo is obviously troubled by the task ahead of them. Frodo says, "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."

And Gandalf replies, "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

So we're in the season of Lent. Lent is greatly concerned about time. The choosing of a 40 day period is very intentional. It reminds us of great periods of time in scripture - the 40 days and nights of cleansing during the Great Flood, Moses' & Elijah's periods of fasting, and of course the 40 days that Jesus Christ spent in the wilderness, often looked at as a time of preparation for his ministry.

One common problem amongst today's followers of Christ - especially those of us living in America - is the tendency to rely on God most only in times of great need. Obviously, we should do so: when times are rough, we should certainly turn to God for his power and Spirit, asking for wisdom & discernment, help & understanding, and grace & peace.

But times of need would be easier to deal with if we've been listening to God the whole time anyway. Life will indeed have its ups & downs, times of distress & times of celebration. However, the majority of life is "ordinary time." And it is what we do to prepare and strengthen ourselves in the ordinary times that will greatly determine how we fare in the tough times.

Three tidbits:
  • I've heard before that followers of Christ in communist China pray for revival to come to their Christian brothers and sisters in America. Think about that for a second...
  • It is said that Edmund Burke penned these words: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing."
  • Have you ever watched an hourglass? A couple of years ago, I asked Meghan to buy me one for my birthday. We got two. We have one sitting on our desk at home and one is in my office at the church building. An hourglass serves for me as a very visual reminder of time.
As you prepare to worship tomorrow, do two things:
1. Ask yourself: How am I doing with the time given to me? Am I relying on God all the time or just when I think I need God? Could I be doing better with intentionally seeking God and his discernment in my life?
2. Read our scripture passages for tomorrow. You can read them here.

I look forward to worshiping with you,
For & Through Christ,

Jeremy

The 40 Days of Lent, 2008

Today, Ash Wednesday, begins again the 40 Days of Lent.

We invite you again to join the North Street Community during this important season in daily intentional and formational activity. The Season of Lent is the forty day period (minus Sundays) prior to Easter Sunday. It's a time of reflection on the passion and death of Christ, and a preparation for the Resurrection Sunday. It is a time of focused spiritual formation. We will be intentionally preparing ourselves for Holy Week and Easter through these daily activities:


Daily
- Scripture Reading & Reflection
Mondays
- Individual Prayer
Tuesdays - Fasting
Wednesdays - Corporate Prayer
Thursdays - Corporate Scripture Study
Fridays - Personal Acknowledgment
Saturday
- Preparing to Worship
Sunday - Corporate Worship

In addition, we will be gathering together on special occasions, beginning this evening:

Wednesday, 2/6, Ash Wednesday Gathering, 7:00 PM

Sunday, 2/17, Gathering to Fellowship, 12:15 PM
Sunday, 2/17, The Remembrance, 6:00 PM
Sunday, 3/16, Gathering to Fellowship, 12:15 PM
Sunday, 3/16, The Remembrance, 6:00 PM

Thursday, 3/20, The Passion of the Christ, (RSVP to Pastor@northst.org)
Friday, 3/21, Good Friday Tenebrae Gathering, 7:00 PM
Friday, 3/21,
The Passion of the Christ, (RSVP to Pastor@northst.org)
Saturday, 3/22, The Passion of the Christ, (RSVP to Pastor@northst.org)
Sunday, 3/23, Easter Sunday Sunrise Gathering, 6:30 AM

Stay tuned for more information on these future gatherings (The Remembrance, viewings of The Passion of the Christ, etc.).

The very first activity together is corporate prayer today at 2:00 PM in the Newell Gathering Room. If you're not busy then, come and pray with us. If you are at work or school or home or wherever, take a few moments to pray at 2:00, knowing that there are a couple of us praying together in Hingham. And then, again, this evening, we'll gather for a short Ash Wednesday service, marking the beginning of Lent (7:00 PM).

For more specific information, a printable schedule, see the links below:
Lent 2008
Schedule
A Brief History of Lent