Pastor John’s Blog

I’m guessing that most of us were rather generous yesterday, giving gifts to many friends and family members. Find some time today to simply discuss as a family some of the ways you are grateful for Christ in your life, how He has forgiven you and loved you even when you felt you didn’t deserve it. I think the more we focus on how much we’ve been forgiven, the more naturally generous and serving we become.

Not too long ago I was riding my bike down a lonely country road. Normally I would be enjoying the crisp morning air, the beautiful scenery, and moments of prayer and reflection. But this day I was struggling to turn the pedals, trying to find the willpower to keep pressing forward, feeling kind of alone in my misery. At least I thought I was all alone, but then out of nowhere I felt the presence of a car looming behind me. Normally people zoom past or stay pretty far back, but this person kept inching closer and closer, eventually coming alongside me. Their window was down, and I thought, “Oh no, they’re going to yell at me for getting in the way and making them slow down.” I tried pedaling faster but the body wasn’t responding. So I waited for the verbal barrage to come, and as I glanced over at the woman, seeing her take in full lungs of air to yell her loudest, I heard an energetic, “KEEP GOING!!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!”

I remember a time when I felt probably the most in need in my life. It was my first year of college. I had just wrecked my dream car, a 1981 Malibu low-rider with custom paint and interior. The car was totaled but somehow I escaped serious injury. I was in between jobs and low on cash. My spiritual life was struggling as well. I was living at home during college, so my dad was able to take me to school. As he was dropping me off one day when I was feeling particularly low, he stopped me as I was stepping out of the car and handed me a crisp $20 bill. That may not seem like much now, but it felt like the keys to Ft. Knox to me at the time.

Last week our church lost one of our most faithful members. Emogene Clay was a member of Valley View for over SIXTY years, having joined the church in November of 1958 (Eddie Lee looked it up). Her life and service here sums up the phrase “Long obedience in the same direction.”…I pray we are all able to somehow model Emogene’s faithfulness in our lives.

It’s hard to transition from a heavy movie like that back to everyday life. The walk from the theater to the car was more solemn than normal. My hope is that his life would serve as a reminder that following Christ calls us to live differently, to stand out, and as we saw in 1 Peter Sunday, to remember that this is our calling. Come join us this week as we study 1 Peter 3:13-17, where we will see how our lives can point others to Christ. There is a cost to following Christ, to being his disciples, and yet there is great reward. Our prayer is that all of the South End of Louisville would come to know Christ because of our testimony of faithfulness. 

Our theme as a church for the coming year is to Grow into Oaks of Righteousness. Psalm 92 also emphasizes growth like a palm tree and cedar, flourishing that will still “bear fruit in old age.” Psalm 92 was written as a Psalm for the Sabbath, and my encouragement to those in their sabbath years was that sabbath, or rest, doesn’t mean finished. God still has work for all of us to do. Those who are growing and flourishing bear fruit, even in old age. And what is the key in this passage to flourishing and bearing fruit? Verse 13 says, “They are planted in the house of the Lord.”

Shortly after arriving they took him back for emergency surgery. He is a few years younger than I am and has young kids at home, so he asked the doctor, “How serious is this?” Before the doctor could answer, he added this: “I’m a Christian, so I’m not worried about dying. But for the sake of my family should I say goodbye?” And then in our phone call he began quoting at length from Philippians 1, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain… My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account…” He quoted much more to me than what I captured, and it was these verses that he was meditating on while waiting on the doctor’s response, praying that God would allow him to survive for the sake of his family and their progress and joy in the faith.

Seth did me a favor. Until then, I hadn’t realized I was a grumbler, but his rebuke made me aware of a blind spot in my character. I now know to work on it—with God’s help, of course. King Solomon was indeed correct when he said “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Proverbs 27:6). Instead of tearing down (e.g. complaining), we can use our tongues—our words—to build up, encourage, worship, pray, and, yes, even to rebuke (2 Timothy 4:2). 

I’ve turned to Arnold Schwarzenegger as a source of entertainment, but I never thought I’d use him as a source for the reason why you should go to church. In a recent version of his daily “pump club” email, he said this: 

“Research suggests that having more quality social connections decreases your likelihood of heart disease by 30 percent and also reduces your risk of dementia by 50 percent… researchers found that feeling isolated can speed up aging as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”

If you find yourself being stifled by fear this week and leading up to the election, write out the creed of 1 Peter 2:17, and put it on your mirror or dashboard, or on the back of your phone and repeat it often. “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God, Honor the Emperor.” At the center of this creed is the fear of God, not the fear of man.