That’s Just Sunday Around Here

Sunday, April 21st, 2024.

9am: Our first worship service begins led by our modern band, with Josh, a college student, on drums; college students Ioanna and Lilly on vocals, and Ben, a high school student, playing bass.  Jesús is leading the tech team, with high school students Josie running the video screens and Christian running the lights, and middle school student Luke operating the gimbal camera.  Paige, a former intern and current college student and leader at the FSU Wesley Foundation, is home from school for the weekend and is in attendance.  During the service, 9-year-old Maddox receives his 3rd grade Bible, and several high school and college students are leading in our children's ministry.

10am: Middle School, high school, and college students are among those who spring into action, led by Ioanna, to convert the sanctuary from the modern to the traditional service.

11am: Our second worship service begins.  Jesús again is leading the tech team, this time with middle school student Mason running the video screens.  Elementary school students Chloe, Ty, and Jaiye are serving as acolytes.  High school student Ryan begins the service with the call to worship.  College students Taylar, Ioanna, Kendrick, Troy, and Kaitlyn sing in the choir, and perform the Beatles’  “Let it Be” together.

12pm: Pastor Matt's “Gen Z College and Early Career” Bible class gets through about 20 verses in an hour and a half as they ponder dozens of their questions, theories, and possibilities together.

2pm: Heritage becomes scout troop central as scouts and troop leaders fill the fellowship hall, main hallway, and parlor for their next event. 

6pm: About 150 church members and friends gather on nearby Honeymoon Island to cheer on the middle schoolers of our 2024 confirmation class as some are baptized and others reaffirm their baptism ahead of this coming weekend’s Confirmation Sunday.  While out there other students chose to reaffirm their baptisms or be baptized for the first time as well!

An outside observer might ask, was this a “youth Sunday”?  Those who know us would respond simply, “Nope. That’s just ‘Sunday’ around here.”

It continues to be a privilege to tithe alongside you to keep on making Sundays like that one happen weekly at Heritage United Methodist!  

Confirmation Crosses

You may have noticed the wall of crosses in the narthex above the table where you get your coffee or hot tea on Sunday mornings.  It’s easy to see them and think that they are just a design choice that someone made to fill up that wall.  And while the crosses are beautiful, and certainly have begun to fill up that wall, you should know that each cross is unique in design and was selected with intention.

Each cross represents a student that has gone through the confirmation process.  In 2022, our current Student Ministry Director, Peggy Ingram, began this new tradition.  She, along with one or two staff members, use their knowledge about the confirmation students and select a cross that they believe the student would like, but that also represents that student’s personality.  

But let’s back up just a minute.  Peggy and those staff members also reach out to various small groups, teams, or individuals, to ask if they would agree to pray over each confirmation student as they go through the process of confirmation.  Each student is assigned an individual or couple within the church that dedicates their time to pray for the student. Those prayer partners receive the cross that is selected for the student and they pray over that cross.  They pray for that student’s wisdom, family, grades, and anything else that the student might need prayer for.  It is a worthy and humble calling.

On Confirmation Sunday, these crosses are presented to the students.  However, the students do not take the crosses home.  The crosses are hung on the cross wall in the narthex as a visual reminder to us that these students are the next generation of the church, to continue to pray for them as they prepare to transform the world.  When these students graduate from high school, they will be given their individual cross to take with them wherever they go next with the knowledge that this congregation has faithfully and ceaselessly prayed for them.  And when these students look at their cross, they will know that they always have a home at Heritage.

So, the next time you walk by that wall, pause for a moment and look at those crosses.  Really see them.  They aren’t just decor.  They are students that we are raising up to transform the world with the love of Jesus.  

Lent@Landmark: Day 40

Jesus’ ordeal hanging on the cross began around 9am. About two hours later, he spoke to the thief on the cross beside him, and entrusted his mother to John’s care. At noon a strange nightfall took place, lasting until Jesus died, at around 3pm. The mid-afternoon daylight returned, and soon after, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea arrived with Pontius Pilate’s permission to bury Jesus. John, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary the wife of Clopas (Mary’s sister and brother-in-law, Jesus’ aunt and uncle), and Mary Magdalene were already there.

Anyone who’s lost a close friend or relative knows the experience of having the grief put on hold while the funeral tasks are done. The feelings of busyness gives the feelings of loss a place to hide. Perhaps the last six people with Jesus experienced the same thing. Climbing, holding an arm or leg while the nails were removed, preparing a place to lay his body, discarding the crown of thorns, wiping away blood, applying the spices Nicodemus provided. Then they carried him to the tomb, rested him inside, and rolled a stone over the entrance. They went home to prepare the concoction that would mask the smell of death and decay for when they would go back to the tomb. And then… nothing.

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. (Luke 23:55-56)

There was nothing they could do. It was the Sabbath day, and they were literally not allowed to be busy. They had a whole day of doing nothing but sitting with the loss, replaying the last few days. How did things fall apart so fast? They were so sure he was the Messiah—how could they have been so wrong? What would they do now? Would anyone else ever make them feel how Jesus made them feel, or inspire them the way Jesus inspired them?

They had a whole day to sit with these thoughts, a whole day to let it sink in—Jesus was dead. That second day would have been a very long, sad day…

Lent@Landmark: Day 39

Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. (Matthew 271-5)

This is a part of Good Friday often overlooked. The focus is on Jesus, as it should be, but it’s a part of the story that does grasp for our attention.

It seems that he did not expect that Jesus would be condemned. It is unclear what Judas expected—perhaps he was given assurances by the chief priests that something less severe would happen to Jesus? His first step once seized with remorse is to return to them and change his story.

On some level, I feel that this is something of a redemption story for Judas. It removes him from the plot—once the chief priests got what they needed from Judas, they cut him loose, even though he recanted his testimony, and proceeded in seeking Jesus’ crucifixion.

On another, this is a story of terrible loss. Judas has realized his addiction to money, realized the effects of his greed, and confessed his sin. Imagine the moment of forgiveness that could have happened after the resurrection. Imagine the relief Judas could have felt upon seeing Jesus alive again! May we all learn from Judas that we should never see reconciliation as out of reach. —MH

Lent@Landmark: Day 38

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.

This is just such a slimy moment, isn’t it?  Jesus has just preached about the Kingdom coming on Earth as it is in Heaven.  He paints a picture of justice and compassion--of care for the outcast, the sick, the poor, the imprisoned.  He points towards hope in the face of oppression, but then, the oppressors take notice.  

The religious authorities who benefit from the situation they’re in decide that they need to get rid of him, but they also keep an eye on the public relations aspect of it!  They decide to wait until crowds disperse from events leading up to Passover.  After all, some of these people had hope now, perhaps for the first time in their lives!

Humanity’s capacity for selfishness is great. Our capacity for selflessness is greater through faith in Jesus Christ. —MH

Lent@Landmark: Day 37

I love watching CBS’ show Undercover Boss. In each episode a high ranking executive of a company goes "undercover," wearing a disguise to conceal their true identity.  They then give up their desk at the corporate office for a few days and work some shifts alongside the front line employees of the company in their actual restaurants, retail locations, convenience stores, etc.

Each episode is a transformative experience as they gain a better understanding of what life is like for the people who really make the company's work happen. Then they return to their regular role, hopefully with their leadership enriched by the experience.

The thing that hovers over the whole show, however, is the impending “reveal.” You know that this Harvard MBA graduate washing lettuce in the back of a restaurant will eventually return to their normal life. It’s a tough transition, but it’s just a few days.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. (John 13:3-5)

It’s hard to miss the stark contrast between what an “Undercover Boss” does and what God did for us in Jesus Christ. There was no question about who Jesus was and the authority He had, but the incarnation was not for one episode. It wasn’t an out of the ordinary few days. God spent an entire lifetime with us. In the moments when it was most difficult, he didn’t take off a disguise and roll the credits. He didn’t demand better treatment. He didn’t ask, “Don’t you know who I am?” He stayed at it, even when the front line people he came to live and work beside turned on him and killed him.

What are the limits to your humility? Where do you draw the line? Where do you stop and declare, “No, this is beneath me”?

Fortunately for us, God’s love for us knows no such limit. -MH

PS. One of the biggest gifts of Undercover Boss was the very funny Saturday Night Live sketch in which Adam Driver reprised his role as Star Wars’ “Kylo Ren,” and went undercover as the boss of the “Starkiller Base.” Click here to have a look.

Lent@Landmark: Day 36

I feel that there are a few things that come flying at us out of the Bible over and over again. One of them is this: God is not in the business of “lowering the bar.”

And now the LORD says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—he says, "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." (Isaiah 49:5-6)

Another is this: God picks us up. God holds onto us with a firm grip. God jumps over the bar. God, then puts us back on the ground to tell the story of how we miraculously got over that impossibly high bar.

Get ready. When God raises the bar, you’re about to have an awesome story to tell. —MH

Lent@Landmark: Day 35

One of the little bits of Bible trivia I’ve picked up along the way in my travels was that one of the guys walking the “Road to Emmaus” was Jesus’ uncle, a brother of Joseph. The uncle was married a woman named Mary, who was actually one of the remaining handful of people still present with Jesus when he died on the cross. They don’t get much mention in the Bible, but they must have obviously been very close to Jesus, which adds another interesting layer to the Emmaus Road story that follows Jesus’ resurrection. As He’s breaking bread with them, Luke tells us:

“And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” (Luke 24:31)

One of the most important prayers we should pray is for our eyes, for it is abundantly clear that we don’t see the way Jesus did. We are distracted by things that don’t matter, and often can’t see past them to the things that do.

What is it that God wants you to see? —MH

Lent@Landmark: Day 34

“I don’t get it.”

It’s the worst response when you tell a joke, tell a story, tutor someone in school, etc. It means our first try didn’t get through. It made sense to us, but that doesn’t matter much if the point is getting it to make sense to someone else, so it also means that we’re going to have to try explaining it a different way.

(Unless you were telling a joke. If you have to explain a joke, the moment is pretty much lost, I’m afraid…)

I confess that my second attempt at explaining is not always my best. I am probably a little stunned by the ineffectiveness of my first, thinking something like, “What do you mean you don’t get it?” “What don’t you get?” “That joke is hilarious—maybe you just don’t have much of a sense of humor.”

My second attempt, therefore, may lack effort or creativity. I might just say the same thing again, or I might say it again, but slower. I have been known to talk fast on occasion. After my third or fourth attempt, it begins to occur to me that they aren’t the problem, and that maybe I don’t get how to explain this very well.

“Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” (1Corinthians 1:26-27)

Before we let ourselves get frustrated by those we think can’t keep up with us, introspection is in order. Being in the lead does not make us a good leader—helping people keep up with us does. Knowing a lot does not make us a good teacher, helping others know what we know does. —MH

PS. It’s also possible that the joke just wasn’t that funny…

Lent@Landmark: Day 33

Bethsaida was a town with an intermingled population of Jews and Greeks, or “Gentiles.” As John mentions it in his Gospel, we’re reminded of the advice previous generations gave us, and that we’ve all given to the generations after us.

“It’s all about who you know.”

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. (John 12:20-22)

At some point these Greeks got talking about Jesus, and how they’d love to get to meet him. Along the way they got the same advice we all got—it’s all about who you know. Someone must have told them, “Hey, I know a guy… when you get there, ask for Philip…”

Are there any people in your life that, if someone told them they wanted to know more about Jesus, they’d send them to you? If so, keep up the good work! If not, ask in prayer that you’d become that person to whom people are sent when they want to get to know Jesus. That’s a prayer God would love to answer. —MH

Lent@Landmark: Day 32

Jesus didn’t beat around the bush.

That’s an odd expression, isn’t it? We all know that to “beat around the bush” means that we’re not being direct, skirting an issue rather than taking it on head first. It actually comes from medieval times, when hunters would hire people to go into the woods with sticks and beat the ground around the bushes to chase the game out. However, you wouldn’t hit the bushes directly for fear of injuring the game before the hunter who hired you got a crack at it, or for fear of hitting a bees nest, which of course could bring an end to the hunt in a hurry.

That’s why it’s “around” the bush—fear of what my happen. And that’s why Jesus didn’t do it—he wasn’t afraid, and so he said what needed to be said, like John 12:25, for example.

“Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25)

That’s a tough one, right? I feel a desire to spin that one into something a little more palatable, which reveals, upon careful introspection, that I am afraid of what might be revealed (or what might jump out of the bushes where it’s hiding) if I said that, or if someone said it to me.

It’s best to just face the question, then. Where have I drawn the line regarding what I’m willing to give up to become more like Jesus? Do I hold out a hand toward the Lord and say, “Stop right there, God. I love these things too much to offer them to You.”

Of course, we probably wouldn’t say it that way. We’d probably beat around the bush. —MH

Lent@Landmark: Day 31

I’ve watched a few post-game press conferences at the end of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s March Madness Basketball games the last few weeks. 18 to 22-year-olds are thrust into the limelight with cameras broadcasting their wins and losses to the entire world, and then microphones and cameras are thrust into their faces seconds after the last buzzer sounds as reporters asking them all about it. They’re usually still catching their breath from the end of the game as they answer questions!

The questions are worded in a variety of ways, but they tend to ask for the same thing: “Tell us about how awesome you were in this game, because we all watched the game and thought you were awesome.”

The beautiful thing about these moments have been the ways that these young players deflect this praise away from themselves and onto their coaches and teammates. It’s reminded me of Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth.

He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." (1Corinthians 1:30-31)

In an era so full of voices proclaiming their own greatness and constantly seeking “likes” and “follows,” these student-athletes have been a great example to us all. May we all remember the many shoulders upon which we stand in our own moments of success! —MH

Lent@Landmark: Day 30

This is what drew the Palm Sunday crowds.

“Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.” (John 12:1)

Lazarus was dead. Then Jesus showed up. Jesus told Lazarus to come back to life, and he did.

I’ve wondered… what would have been enough? What would Jesus have had to do for the outpouring of praise he experienced on Palm Sunday to hold up, rather than turning into calls for his crucifixion?

There wasn’t anything that would have been enough, because what we want from our leaders is to make our lives easier—Jesus wanted to make our lives better. Those are rarely the same thing. —MH

Lent@Landmark: Day 29

For today's Lent reflection I ask you to read a newspaper article: “This Texas Teen Wanted an Abortion, Now She Has Twins,” by Caroline Kitchener in the Wall Street Journal.

I share it not to solicit commentary and arguments over the issue of abortion, but as a pastor of a church called to shepherd disciples of Jesus Christ, to challenge my fellow Christians to think about two things:

(1) all of the moments in this young woman's 18 years in which we COULD have been present to love, support, and serve her, and

(2) the few moments we DID choose to show up--which were opportunities to use her life when it served OUR interests and helped us raise money.

Click here for a link to the article. After finishing the article, then read below.

---

As we continue in the season of Lent, what would it look like for us to repent of those things in the church that don’t reflect the heart of Christ?

As Easter approaches, what would it look like for the church to be resurrected to new life?

Let us pray that we would more closely follow the Savior who stepped out of the comforts of eternity and into the lives of people of all ages—to be present in every kind of moment; whether in the deepest darkness, the greatest joy, or every other kind of moment in between.

As Easter approaches, let's us not invite people to our churches to boost our attendance numbers, but as an opportunity to create growing communities in which we are present for one another—at any time in any situation—as Jesus was present for us.

Lent@Landmark: Day 28

I was driving down a hill one rainy day in Tallahassee, which a strange phenomenon to those of you in Pinellas County, I know. I wasn’t even going very fast, but but when I saw brake lights ahead and tried to slow down, my tires didn’t seem to care. I began a slow-motion slide closer and closer to those lights. I was about to have a tough decision to make, and groaned, “Oh… this is gonna hurt.”

'After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”

When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ' (Acts 21:10-13)

Paul’s decision had much higher stakes—life and death stakes—to be exact. Would he stay away and choose safety, or was he willing to put everything on the line for the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

When you face that kind of decision, which do you choose? The safer one that keeps your faith to yourself, or the riskier one that might cost you something—that might even hurt?

It was a two-lane road with cars coming in the opposite direction, so there was no escape to my left. There was a ditch along the side of the road on my right, so no escape there either. Straight ahead, there was a green Honda Civic stopped behind another car that was waiting to make a left turn at the bottom of the hill. The choice that would cause my car the least damage was probably to just let my car rear-end the Civic since I wasn’t going all that fast.

One problem, however, was that I knew the driver of the car in front of me. I’d been following her from our church to a restaurant to meet people for lunch.

Another problem was that I had a serious crush on the driver. And if that wasn’t enough, I was engaged to be married to her.

So, I chose the ditch.

Sometimes love makes us do things we might not normally do. When we love Jesus, the kinds of things we do tend to change the world.

Lent@Landmark: Day 27

Luke wrote the book of Acts somewhere around a decade or two after the events they describe, such as this moment when he is giving advice to the Ephesians at the end of his final visit to them.

“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:29-31)

Those hearing the Book of Acts read to them know that this has already happened. They know who the “wolves” were who tried to steal people away from the Ephesian church for their own benefit. It sounds like Paul did all he could to contend with these wolves, and all he could do to prepare the Ephesians to contend with them.

This passage reminded me of today’s distracting, invented controversies like which Bible version to use or which worship style is the right one.

But then, an odd finish. “…I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” It’s a window into the heart of Paul—and into the heart of the Gospel—full of love and compassion; with a genuine, earnest desire for people to encounter the risen Christ who loves them.

When you talk about those with whom you disagree, is the disagreement over something that matters?

If so, do you mock them, berate them, belittle them, or dehumanize them; or do you try and compassionately connect with them… perhaps even with tears?

The way we disagree says a lot about our hearts. What does the way you disagree say about yours?

Lent@Landmark: Day 26

In my reading travels recently I was struck by a quote from John Grisham, “The art of the skilled conversationalist is to keep the other person talking.” 

It can be a challenge to truly listen rather than simply waiting for our turn to talk.  As someone who’s been a teacher, and now a preacher, I confess it can be difficult for somebody in the talking business to make that switch!  Isaiah 50:4 is an important reminder God has pointed out to me:  

The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens--wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. (Isaiah 50:4)

Whether we’re preachers, teachers, supervisors, mentors, parents, friends, coworkers, or anything else that requires us to impart wisdom to others–morning by morning God calls us to start with listening and learning.

What would change if your ears were awakened?

What might you hear that you did not hear before? —MH

Lent@Landmark: Day 25

In many cases we may say we find ourselves conflicts because of our convictions, more often than not it’s because of our commitments. Consider Judas Iscariot’s journey:

Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. (Matthew 26:14-16)

Judas had convictions. He believed that the Messiah would lead the Jews in war against the Romans to reclaim their rightful ownership of the Promised Land. That conviction led him to a commitment to Jesus for a time, but then he made his commitment to the chief priests. “And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.”

His entire approach to every moment was now different because of this new commitment.

Convictions are supposed to help us see what is wise vs. what is foolish, helpful vs. unhelpful, or constructive vs. destructive. Groups can form around convictions, and commitments to them can be helpful as long as the convictions remain central. Once the commitment takes center stage, however, convictions become flexible, and all we can see is us vs. them.

Nothing could be more contrary to the mind of Christ than that.

Lent@Landmark: Day 24

Continuing the passage from Day 23 a little further…

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” (Philippians 5:3-8)

He “emptied himself.” This is a core idea of the United Methodist doctrine of “Christian Perfection.” It is emptying ourselves of the selfishness where sin breeds, and replacing it with love for God and for our neighbors.

To follow Jesus is to become like Him. Where is the place in your mind where you’ve drawn a line? “This is as much as I’m willing to humble myself. This is as far as I’m willing to go to be a servant of others.”

Jesus doesn’t seem to draw that line. Neither should we.

Lent@Landmark: Day 23

“What were you thinking?”

Have you ever asked that question? Ever been asked that? I wonder if there’s actually a satisfactory answer to that question, one that would make me say, “Oh, well, if that’s what you were thinking, then okay. No harm done.”

We ask it because we know that words and actions come from someplace within—“from the overflow of the heart,” as the Bible says.

As we spread the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ, we’re building a world in which we’d never have to ask each other that, because here is the goal:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5)

Think of all the problems around the world that will solve! —MH