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	<title>First Presbyterian Church Birmingham Michigan</title>
	
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		<title>The Church of the Living Dead</title>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 12:02:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cfischer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sermons]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/?p=1300</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Rev. John Judson
	Scripture Reading: Revelation 3:1-6 

&#8216;And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:&#8216;I know your works; you have a name for being alive, but you are dead. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Rev. John Judson<br />
	Scripture Reading: Revelation 3:1-6 </p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>&lsquo;And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:&lsquo;I know your works; you have a name for being alive, but you are dead. <!-- <WW>2</WW> &#8211;>Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is at the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. <!-- <WW>3</WW> &#8211;>Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. <!-- <WW>4</WW> &#8211;>Yet you have still a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. <!-- <WW>5</WW> &#8211;>If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. <!-- <WW>6</WW> &#8211;>Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. </em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>and Micah 6</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Hear what the Lord says:<br />
		Rise, plead your case before the mountains,<br />
		and let the hills hear your voice.<br />
		Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord,<br />
		and you enduring foundations of the earth;<br />
		for the Lord has a controversy with his people,<br />
		and he will contend with Israel.</p>
<p>		&lsquo;O my people, what have I done to you?<br />
		In what have I wearied you? Answer me!<br />
		For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,<br />
		and redeemed you from the house of slavery;<br />
		and I sent before you Moses,<br />
		Aaron, and Miriam.<br />
		O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised,<br />
		what Balaam son of Beor answered him,<br />
		and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,<br />
		that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.&rsquo;</p>
<p>		&lsquo;With what shall I come before the Lord,<br />
		and bow myself before God on high?<br />
		Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,<br />
		with calves a year old?<br />
		Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,<br />
		with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?<br />
		Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,<br />
		the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?&rsquo;<br />
		He has told you, O mortal, what is good;<br />
		and what does the Lord require of you<br />
		but to do justice, and to love kindness,<br />
		and to walk humbly with your God?</p>
<p>		The voice of the Lord cries to the city<br />
		(it is sound wisdom to fear your name):<br />
		Hear, O tribe and assembly of the city!<br />
		Can I forget the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,<br />
		and the scant measure that is accursed?<br />
		Can I tolerate wicked scales<br />
		and a bag of dishonest weights?<br />
		Your wealthy are full of violence;<br />
		your inhabitants speak lies,<br />
		with tongues of deceit in their mouths.<br />
		Therefore I have begun to strike you down,<br />
		making you desolate because of your sins.<br />
		You shall eat, but not be satisfied,<br />
		and there shall be a gnawing hunger within you;<br />
		you shall put away, but not save,<br />
		and what you save, I will hand over to the sword.<br />
		You shall sow, but not reap;<br />
		you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;<br />
		you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.<br />
		For you have kept the statutes of Omri<br />
		and all the works of the house of Ahab,<br />
		and you have followed their counsels.<br />
		Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of hissing;<br />
		so you shall bear the scorn of my people.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It was supposed to be an easy walk. I was 13 and my family was taking their very first vacation to Colorado. We had been there a couple of days when my father asked the Park ranger what would be an easy hike. After a few moments the Ranger said, &ldquo;Flattop.&rdquo; It was only about four and half miles and only about a 3,000 foot elevation rise. Great my father said, and he packed up my older brother, my mom, me and himself for the hike. When we arrived at the trail head I said, &ldquo;This is great,&rdquo; because we were surrounded by lakes, aspen trees and animals of every kind. What only dawned on me later was that this short walk began at 9,500 feet and ended at 12,500 feet. So about half way through the hike, when we had cleared the tree line and all you could see was rocks and I was sucking wind big time, I said to my mom, &ldquo;Are we there yet?&rdquo; Smiling she said, &ldquo;John see those tiny specks way up on the mountain?&rdquo; &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; I replied. &ldquo;Those are people and that is where we are going.&rdquo; It did not take me long to process that information and I said, &ldquo;This is too hard,&rdquo; sat down and told my mom that I was done.</p>
<p>
	Have you ever been there? Have you ever done that? Have you ever started something and far too soon discovered that it was not as easy as it looked and said, &ldquo;This is too hard.&rdquo; Maybe it was playing an instrument; you got to chop sticks and then just gave it up. Maybe it was golf and after a few lessons and shooting a two hundred&hellip;on nine holes&hellip;said, &ldquo;This is too hard.&rdquo; Or perhaps it was calculus, or bio-mechanics&hellip;or it does not matter. Most of us have probably come up against that moment when something is simply too hard to want to continue. If you have then you know how the people at Sardis thought about following Jesus. From what we can gather about this church the people began their relationship with Jesus in a very positive way. When they discovered that there was a God who loved them they said, &ldquo;This is great.&rdquo; When they learned that God&rsquo;s son Jesus had come to give them eternal life they said, &ldquo;This is great.&rdquo; When they discovered the joy of living in a caring family they said, &ldquo;This is great.&rdquo; Everything was great and so they got a reputation for being alive. But then something happened. Something made them change, &ldquo;This is great&rdquo; into &ldquo;This is too hard.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
	What the church at Sardis discovered was that while following Jesus was great, it was also very hard. When they discovered that their friends no longer liked them because they were different, the Sardis believers said, &ldquo;This is hard.&rdquo; When they were expelled from their trade guilds, meaning they could not longer earn a living, they said, &ldquo;This is hard.&rdquo; When the government began to see them as threats, they said, &ldquo;This is hard.&rdquo; What happened then is that they gave up. Like me on the trail to Flattop the members of the church in Sardis quit working at being believers. While they had started strong they chose not to finish the life of Christ. We know this because in verse two we hear Jesus telling them, &ldquo;Wake up and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in my sight.&rdquo; And the word &ldquo;perfect&rdquo; does not mean without flaws, it means incomplete. In other words the works that they had once done as Jesus followers they were doing less and less, rather than more and more. Like a plant that is not being fed they were dying. They were the church of the living dead because they said, &ldquo;This is too hard.&rdquo;<br />
	This letter is a powerful reminder that the church was never intended to be one more self-sustaining social institution. We were created, called out to be a living community in which people were trained, equipped and sent out as Jesus people, living a particular kind of life which reflected the love and grace of God in Christ. We were to be a people who worked at releasing, renewing and restoring God&rsquo;s world. We become the church of the living dead when we forget our purpose and become more interested in the institution than in the mission. So how then does a church regain its life? Can a church be resurrected? Can a church once again say, &ldquo;This is great&rdquo;? </p>
<p>
	The answers are yes, yes and yes. Jesus tells the church at Sardis how to do it. We begin by remembering the stories we have already been told. &ldquo;Remember then what you have received.&rdquo; What they have received are the stories about the life and work of Jesus. They know what it is that Jesus has done for them and what it is that Jesus expects of them. These were the stories that they first heard that made them say, &ldquo;This is great.&rdquo; In fact how many of you have a favorite Jesus story? What Jesus asks of us is that we remember those stories and let them inform us as to how we are to live and love others. The second piece of this is that we are not only to remember but that we are to do what it is that we remember. When we think of how Jesus lived&hellip;he fed the hungry, he forgave those who hurt him, he helped people find God, he loved children, he cared for strangers and those who were not popular. He told us to clothe the naked, feed the hungry and house the homeless. See if we remember we know what to do and we can do these things and say, &ldquo;This is great.&rdquo; To use a more modern term, &ldquo;This is not rocket science.&rdquo; This is intentional faithful living.</p>
<p>
	I sat on the trail for about twenty minutes trying to catch my breath and thinking that reaching the top was impossible. But then something wonderful happened. Even as my father and older brother disappeared from sight up the trail my mother wandered back and sat with me. She said it was up to me whether to go on, but that she was sure that the destination was worth the effort. With her patience and encouragement I made it&hellip;barely&hellip;but I made it. And she was indeed right. When I finally got there and saw the view I said, &ldquo;This is great.&rdquo; The same is true of our following after Christ. It is not always easy. It is often hard work that calls for difficult choices. But in the end, if we are willing to be a church alive, it is worth it&hellip;for we will say at the end, &ldquo;This is great!&rdquo; because we have discovered the joy of being those who helped change lives and the world for Christ and we will hear Christ confess our name before God above.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Truth and Consequences</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FirstPresbyterianChurchBirminghamMichigan/~3/jzYYDrE9utw/</link>
		<comments>http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/truth-and-consequences/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 11:42:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cfischer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sermons]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/?p=1297</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Rev. Dr. John Judson
	Scripture Reading: Revelation 2:18-29

&#8216;And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze:
		&#8216;I know your works&#8212;your love, faith, service, and patient endurance. I know that your last [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Rev. Dr. John Judson<br />
	Scripture Reading: Revelation 2:18-29</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>&lsquo;And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze:</p>
<p>		&lsquo;I know your works&mdash;your love, faith, service, and patient endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first. But I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practise fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her fornication. Beware, I am throwing her on a bed, and those who commit adultery with her I am throwing into great distress, unless they repent of her doings; and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call &ldquo;the deep things of Satan&rdquo;, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden; only hold fast to what you have until I come. To everyone who conquers and continues to do my works to the end,<br />
		I will give authority over the nations;<br />
		to rule them with an iron rod,<br />
		as when clay pots are shattered&mdash;<br />
		even as I also received authority from my Father. To the one who conquers I will also give the morning star. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. </em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>They really did not know what to do. Everything they had tried failed. Their son was out of control. At first he had just been defiant. Then it was sneaking out of the house. That was followed by his drinking with friends and staggering home. Then it was shoplifting, stealing money from his parents&rsquo; wallets, taking their credit cards and charging what he wanted. Then there were the drugs; pot, cocaine and more. The older he got the more difficult it became. They gave him consequences. They sent him to counseling and even a boot camp program. Nothing worked. Finally the day after his seventeenth birthday the phone call came. The police had picked him up for drug possession and he wanted his parents to come and bail him out. Jim and Tweenette talked about it and simply said, &ldquo;No. You have made your choices and you will now need to live with them. We are done.&rdquo; They were offering their son tough love&hellip;tough love that said he would have to take responsibility for his own life. I have found it interesting over the years how many people, like Jim and Tweenette&rsquo;s son believe that while others may have to live with the consequences of their actions, they do not. Just ask Tiger Woods and Governor Sanford to name just two who were much older before this idea dawned on them.</p>
<p>
	I raise this issue of consequences because ultimately that is what this morning&rsquo;s text is all about. It is about the fact that there are consequences in our lives that are the outcome of the choices we make about how we follow or do not follow Christ. The Spirit in its words to the church at Thyatira offers both positive and negative consequences. The letter begins with positive behavior. &ldquo;I know your work &ndash; your love, faith, service and patient endurance.&rdquo; The letter ends with the consequences of such positive behavior. &ldquo;To everyone who conquers and continues to do my works to the end, I will give authority over the nations.&rdquo; In other words if we live our lives in accordance with Christ&rsquo;s commands to love one another and live out that love through service and compassion we will become servant leaders of the new creation with Christ. I know that the image here of ruling with a rod of iron and shattering clay pots may appear to be violent and not peaceful, but it is simply a coded way of saying that the powers of this world will ultimately be broken by the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ and a new world order of peace and justice will take its place. So we begin with positive consequences.</p>
<p>
	The second image offered is that of negative consequences. And the way I would like you to see this portion of the text is as God&rsquo;s tough love with those who are living self-destructive lives. I say this because when we read about fornication and eating food sacrificed to idols this is not merely about another result neutral, life-style choice. This is about leading lives which move people away from love, faith, service and perseverance and toward a life totally centered in selfishness and power. It is leading to the kind of life Jim and Teenwette&rsquo;s son was moving of death and not life. So God warns the people that there are negative consequences to these choices while at the same time reminding them that God had given them time to change their minds. &ldquo;I gave her time to repent.&rdquo; God reminds them that there is still time to change their minds. &ldquo;I am throwing her followers into great distress unless they repent of her doings.&rdquo; See God is the loving parent who desires that all of God&rsquo;s children find life and life abundant, but ultimately like a loving parent offers tough love and allows us to suffer the consequences of our choices. In other words God will never force us to love and serve, even while desiring us to do so.</p>
<p>
	I realize that many of us are uncomfortable with any image of God that is more than a benevolent parent who accepts anything and everything that we as God&rsquo;s children do. The image of God as someone who holds us accountable for our choices is a bit unnerving. But what kind of parent does that? What kind of parent who loves his or her children simply says, &ldquo;Sure you can go and play in the street&rdquo;&hellip;&rdquo;go ahead and take drugs and destroy your life.&rdquo;? We don&rsquo;t because we love those around us. We make every effort to guide them to life giving ways of being. And the same is true of God and there is not greater demonstration of that love than this table that is set before us this morning. For what this table represents is God&rsquo;s willingness to lay down God&rsquo;s own life in order to break the power of sin in the world so that we, God&rsquo;s children, can find forgiveness when we have made poor choices and the power to make better choices in the future. God loved us so much that God would go to any lengths to make sure our life&rsquo;s journeys could be ones that lead to life and death.</p>
<p>
	So this morning here is the challenge I lay before you, to ask yourself this question, &ldquo;How are the choices I am making leading me toward or away from the life God offers?&rdquo;</p>
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		<title>Tuesday Book Club Update</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FirstPresbyterianChurchBirminghamMichigan/~3/rYGCd6GHm0E/</link>
		<comments>http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/tuesday-book-club-update/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:14:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Book Clubs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/?p=784</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Tuesday Evening Book Club meets in the Fireside Room on the second Tuesday of the month from 7 to 8:30pm.  The schedule for the coming months is:
January 12: The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
February (no meeting)
March 9: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
April 13:  The American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
May 11: [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Tuesday Evening Book Club meets in the Fireside Room on the second Tuesday of the month from 7 to 8:30pm.  The schedule for the coming months is:</p>
<p>January 12: <em>The People of the Book</em> by Geraldine Brooks</p>
<p>February (no meeting)</p>
<p>March 9: <em>The Help</em> by Kathryn Stockett</p>
<p>April 13:  <em>The American Wife</em> by Curtis Sittenfeld</p>
<p>May 11:  <em>Traveling with Pomegranites</em> by Sue Monk Kidd</p>
<p>Contact Ginnie Axon for additional information.</p>
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		<title>Orchards Children’s Services Needs Coats</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FirstPresbyterianChurchBirminghamMichigan/~3/kqEXkKzqdJY/</link>
		<comments>http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/orchards-childrens-services-needs-coats/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:19:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Community Service]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/?p=692</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Orchards Children&#8217;s Services is looking for donations of gently used coats.  They are in need of children sized coats, but also teenager sized coats as well.  (Young adults.)  If you would go through your closets and clean out any coats that you wish to get rid of &#8211; please bring them to First [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.orchards.org/" target="_blank">Orchards Children&#8217;s Services</a> is looking for donations of gently used coats.  They are in need of children sized coats, but also teenager sized coats as well.  (Young adults.)  If you would go through your closets and clean out any coats that you wish to get rid of &#8211; please bring them to First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham and drop them off with Kim McGlynn.  If you have any questions, please email Kim at <a href="mailto:%6B%69%6D%6D%63%67%6C%79%6E%6E%40%66%70%63%62%69%72%6D%69%6E%67%68%61%6D%2E%6F%72%67"><span id="emob-xvzzptylaa@scpovezvatunz.bet-68">kimmcglynn {at} fpcbirmingham(.)org</span><script type="text/javascript">
    var mailNode = document.getElementById('emob-xvzzptylaa@scpovezvatunz.bet-68');
    var linkNode = document.createElement('a');
    linkNode.setAttribute('href', "mailto:%6B%69%6D%6D%63%67%6C%79%6E%6E%40%66%70%63%62%69%72%6D%69%6E%67%68%61%6D%2E%6F%72%67");
    tNode = document.createTextNode("kimmcglynn {at} fpcbirmingham(.)org");
    linkNode.appendChild(tNode);
    linkNode.setAttribute('id', "emob-xvzzptylaa@scpovezvatunz.bet-68");
    mailNode.parentNode.replaceChild(linkNode, mailNode);
</script></a> or call her at 248.644.2087 x138</p>
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		<item>
		<title>The Fall</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FirstPresbyterianChurchBirminghamMichigan/~3/2zrWUdgDVU4/</link>
		<comments>http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/the-fall/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:18:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Weekly Updates]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/?p=652</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So what went wrong?  That is the question that should be asked by everyone who reads the first two chapters of Genesis.  As we left the story last week we were offered two very different, yet very convergent pictures of creation.  God created all that is, including humanity, and declared it to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So what went wrong?  That is the question that should be asked by everyone who reads the first two chapters of Genesis.  As we left the story last week we were offered two very different, yet very convergent pictures of creation.  God created all that is, including humanity, and declared it to be good.  Humanity had all that it needed: place (Eden), provision (food to eat), purpose (to care for creation) and companionship (Adam, Eve and God).   God was still interested in and connected with humanity and God’s creation.  Yet as most of us will admit, much of what we see around us is not “good” in the fullest sense of that word.  So what went wrong?</p>
<p>The third chapter of Genesis attempts to give us an answer to our query.  The story centers on a tree (of the knowledge of good and evil), a talking snake (a very clever one at that) and our two humans (Adam and Eve).  Adam and Eve had been commanded not to eat of the tree.  This is often a bone of contention for 21st Century people.  We ask, “Why shouldn’t they know the difference between good and evil?”  The answer is relatively straightforward…we ought to depend on God and not creation for our moral guidance.  The tree symbolizes out desire to ignore God’s life giving guidance and follow instead our own life limiting choices.  Our choices are life limiting because we cannot clearly see either the motives for or consequences of our choices.  God on the other hand knows us and our needs perfectly.</p>
<p>The narrative opens with a very bright, yet canny talking snake approaching Eve and asking a question.  The question is, “Did God say, ‘you shall not eat of any tree of the garden? “ (Which introduces an element of confusion.)  Eve’s response, while partially accurate, “…but God said you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge”…” is also partially inaccurate, “…neither shall you touch it lest you die.”   (more confusion) The talking snake then offers a 180 degree different take on what God had told Adam and Eve.  “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  What is introduced here is an element of doubt about what God said as well as God’s motive for saying it (God isn’t all that smart and is jealous of humanity).  This sets us up the eternal struggle for humanity: shall we trust God or ourselves (or a talking snake) for deciding what is good or evil?</p>
<p>The consequences of the choice Eve and Adam make, to trust in their own ability to be moral guides has disastrous consequences.     Not only are they removed from Eden, a place of perfect connection with God, one another and creation, but they usher in physical pain and struggle, murder (Cain slaying Able), wickedness (you name it humans did it), and ultimately an attempt to storm heaven and overthrow God (the Tower of Babel).  In other words, trusting in self rather than God leads to death dealing and not life affirming ways of being human.</p>
<p>My guess is that as we look at the world around us (hatred, war, AIDS, poverty, drugs, etc.) we would agree that the choices that humans often make are indeed death dealing and not life affirming.  While the story of the Fall is not an historic depiction it paints a clear picture for us of what happens to creation when human beings fail to listen to God.   Humanity becomes enmeshed in continuing cycle of self-destructive behavior (sin) which threatens the good world God has created.  Fortunately as we will discover, our death dealing choices are not the last word in the matter.  God has something else in mind.</p>
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		<title>It All Begins at Creation</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FirstPresbyterianChurchBirminghamMichigan/~3/AdjdBgVn9cA/</link>
		<comments>http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/it-all-begins-at-creation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:16:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Weekly Updates]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/?p=650</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It all begins at creation.   The story we have come to know as the Bible begins its long journey in a two chapter account of creation.  Chapter one is a marvelous poetic description of God powerfully “speaking” creation into being.  The culmination of this creating is the making of human beings [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It all begins at creation.   The story we have come to know as the Bible begins its long journey in a two chapter account of creation.  Chapter one is a marvelous poetic description of God powerfully “speaking” creation into being.  The culmination of this creating is the making of human beings in the image of God.  “So God created human beings in God’s own image; male and female God created them.”   Along the way God had declared each part of the creation “good”.   The closing words of this act have God declaring that the entire creation, taken together, is better than good; it is “very good.”</p>
<p>The second chapter offers us a very different look at creation.  In this story we find ourselves in an earth that looks more like the moon.  There are no plants or animals…just a rocky landscape.  God then causes the rains to come (bringing plants forth) and creates a perfect environment for humanity, Eden (delight).  From the dust of the earth (the name Adam is closely related to the Hebrew word for dirt) God creates the first man.  The man, Adam, then works alongside God to name all of the creatures God forms to help Adam in his job of watching over the creation.  None of these animals are adequate co-workers so God takes a rib from Adam and makes the primordial woman (the Hebrew for woman is “ishshah” meaning the one who came from man “ish”).</p>
<p>Though there are Christians around the world who take these stories at face value (those who believe the earth was created in six 24 hour days; that the earth is only 10,000 years old; and that Adam and Eve were the two original instantaneously created humans) the Bible makes no internal claim that these stories are historically and geologically accurate. They are instead presented as theological explanations of who God is, who we are, and what our task is to be as God’s creatures.</p>
<p>We discover who God is.  God is the one who creates.  God is not a created being, but the one who has the power and inclination to create all that is.  God is the one who chooses to create and personally interact with human beings.  God is not “the force” from Star Wars.  God is not a feeling.  God is powerfully and personally connected to all that God has created; humanity and the physical universe in which we live.</p>
<p>We discover who we are.  We are part of creation.  We are loved by God and have been declared to be “good”.  We are not God or gods.  We are creatures who are different from other creatures only because we are made in the image of God.  Being made in the image of God does not give us special privileges; instead it gives us special work to do.</p>
<p>We discover what our task is.  We were created for a purpose.  Our purpose is to steward (care for) God’s creation.  This means caring for both one another as well as caring for the world in which we live.  We are able to carry out this task only by being in relationship with and God, with one another and with creation itself.  Our relationship with God is the primary relationship because God as creator show us how to care for one another and our world.</p>
<p>As we close these chapters we are presented with an idyllic vision of how the world could be.  The next chapter in the Bible story shows us that humanity is responsible for derailing this idyllic state through its failure to listen to God’s loving directions.</p>
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		<title>7:00am Bible Study Community</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FirstPresbyterianChurchBirminghamMichigan/~3/0FXXyfw0FN8/</link>
		<comments>http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/700am-bible-study-community/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:37:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Tuesday Bible Studies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/?p=617</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The 7:00am Bible Study Community meets in 141-142 from 7:00am to 8:am on Tuesdays.   All are welcome any time.  There are no pre-requisites and it is easy to join at any time.  John Judson has been meeting regularly with us.  Normally we provide hot (regular) coffee and rolls or cookies.  The study has just finished [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The 7:00am Bible Study Community meets in 141-142 from 7:00am to 8:am on Tuesdays.   All are welcome any time.  There are no pre-requisites and it is easy to join at any time.  John Judson has been meeting regularly with us.  Normally we provide hot (regular) coffee and rolls or cookies.  The study has just finished Isaiah 1-39 from Walter Brueggemann&#8217;s book and we are starting Luke from N. T. Wright&#8217;s study book.  Books have been shipped and should be available very soon.</p>
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		<title>Tuesday 9:00am Bible Study Community</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FirstPresbyterianChurchBirminghamMichigan/~3/5E8YrbmhzSk/</link>
		<comments>http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/tuesday-900am-bible-study-community/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:31:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Tuesday Bible Studies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/?p=615</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tuesday 9:00am Bible Study Community meets in E. Library from 9:00am to 10:00am.   All are welcome any time.  John Judson has been meeting with us regularly.  We are now finishing Genesis from Walter Brueggemann&#8217;s book and will start Luke about Thanksgiving.  No homework is required although most of us use scripture and the text book [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Tuesday 9:00am Bible Study Community meets in E. Library from 9:00am to 10:00am.   All are welcome any time.  John Judson has been meeting with us regularly.  We are now finishing Genesis from Walter Brueggemann&#8217;s book and will start Luke about Thanksgiving.  No homework is required although most of us use scripture and the text book at our own discretion.   Please note that current notice that this group meets on Thursday on the FPC web site is in error.</p>
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		<title>Website Updates for the Week of 10/26/09</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FirstPresbyterianChurchBirminghamMichigan/~3/inFdySD28iY/</link>
		<comments>http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/website-updates-for-the-week-of-102609/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:04:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Website Updates]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/?p=587</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You can now register for the upcoming Theologian in Residence lecture series online.  To register for any or all of Dr. Brueggemann&#8217;s lectures on December 4th or 5th, please visit our Guest Theologian page.
First Things for Sunday, November 1st is now available online.  Click here to view it online or to print.
The calendar for the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You can now register for the upcoming Theologian in Residence lecture series online.  To register for any or all of Dr. Brueggemann&#8217;s lectures on December 4th or 5th, please visit our <a href="http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/events/theologian-in-residence/">Guest Theologian</a> page.</p>
<p>First Things for Sunday, November 1st is now available online.  <a href="http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/First%20Things/First%20Things%20Current.pdf">Click here</a> to view it online or to print.</p>
<p>The calendar for the week of November 2nd is now available online.  <a href="http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Calendar/Weekly%20Calendar%20Nov%202%2009.pdf">Click here</a> to view it online or to print.</p>
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		<title>Where Does Vision Come From?</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FirstPresbyterianChurchBirminghamMichigan/~3/MuU9NWLY1nI/</link>
		<comments>http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/where-does-vision-come-from/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:57:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Weekly Updates]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.fpcbirmingham.org/?p=547</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So where does vision come from? Over the past couple of months we have been talking about vision as coming from the churches previous statements and from the Book of Acts (the story of the church in its infancy). While both of those sources offer us insight into what our vision ought to look like [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So where does vision come from? Over the past couple of months we have been talking about vision as coming from the churches previous statements and from the Book of Acts (the story of the church in its infancy). While both of those sources offer us insight into what our vision ought to look like at FPC Birmingham, the larger question is where did those visions come from?</p>
<p>The answer to that question is that they came from the larger story contained within the Bible. I realize that even as I type out those words…the larger story contained within the Bible….many of you don’t know what I am talking about. And that is OK. It is OK because the church has not been very good about helping people see that the book we call the Bible is not only a compilation of stories, sort of like a book of short stories, but that it is also one story to which all of the smaller stories contribute.</p>
<p>My belief is that if we understand the larger story, or as I have called it elsewhere, the meta-narrative of God’s people, then all of the smaller stories will make more sense. Additionally, if we understand the larger story it will offer us a vision of who God is, who we are supposed to be and how we are to live out our lives as God’s people. In other words, it will offer us a vision for our life together.</p>
<p>Background: The Bible and the story it contains are organized around a series of major movements (literally and figuratively) and a major theme, the blessing of God. The Old Testament story begins in Eden, moves to UR, then on to the Holy Land, then to Egypt, back to the Holy Land, then to Babylon and back to the Holy Land. Each of these moves offers us a chance to know God, God’s people and God’s desires for our lives in a more complete manner.</p>
<p>The theme of blessing begins with the opening words of the Bible (God’s good creation) but becomes clearly expressed when it is given to a man named Abram (Abraham). This promise of blessing was one that was not only for Abram and his children but was to be shared with the whole world. During each move we watch as the promise of God’s blessing becomes endangered by human actions but is then saved by God’s faithfulness.</p>
<p>The New Testament story begins with the announcement of Jesus’ coming, his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension (the fulfillment of God’s promised Blessing). The New Testament continues with the giving of the Holy Spirit and the spread of the church (how the promise of Blessing goes to all people). All of the letters that follow the book of Acts (from Paul, John and others) are intended to help this fledgling group of Jesus followers become people of the blessing.</p>
<p>The difficult part of gaining a foothold in this meta-narrative (like the way I slipped that in again?) is that it occurs in places, times and with people with which we are mostly unfamiliar. It seems very ancient and often confusing. Thus it makes it even more difficult for us to draw any coherent vision from it.</p>
<p>My goal over the next several weeks is to help us rediscover the story (the meta-narrative) in such a way that we can not only understand it, but that it will help us more clearly take hold of the vision God is offering us as people who are called not only to be blessed but to be a blessing to those around us.</p>
<p>Next week: The Story Begins in Eden.</p>
<p>Grace and Peace,</p>
<p>John</p>
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