The Unity of the Church -- Jesus is Our Lord!

A friend of mine posed the question and it really made me pause to consider it.  “There is a lot of talk these days about the purity of the church, but what about the peace and unity of the church.  Where are the peacemakers and the brothers and sisters striving for unity?”

Certainly, peace and unity are things that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ values highly, according to the Scriptures, and in any discernment process we need to consider what the Word and our confessions say about these two foundational areas in considering all that God reveals to us in the Word.

The unity Christ prays for in John 17 concerns the Kingdom of God, and the one “holy catholic church,” and is broader than any one denomination. Nevertheless, as Presbyterians, we have committed to our particular Presbyterian expression of the universal church.  Unity and peace here in our part of the whole can also bring glory to God.

In the PC (USA) we are deeply connectional, in response to what is revealed in the Bible: We are called on by God for the service of all people, for the up building of the whole church, and for the glory of God.  Elders, Deacons and Ministers of Word and Sacrament, as ordained officers of the PCUSA, have vowed to be governed by our denomination’s polity, to be subject to its discipline, and to work for the peace, unity, and purity of the church.

Surely much has been written about different viewpoints on the purity of the church and reasons to leave our fellowship, especially in regards to Amendment 10A. But God has moved me, and others, to encourage us to think together on reasons to stay in our Presbytery fellowship of churches and believers.  I hope many of you might see the need to uplift peace and unity as part of our overall discussion and discernment on issues that tend to divide us.

In that light this simple blog is alive for the purpose of highlighting the unity of the church and expressing reasons to stay in our presbytery and the PC(USA).  It is called a The Unity of the Church -- Jesus is Our Lord! and can be reached http://unitypcusa.blogspot.com/

If you or anyone would like to contribute a blog posting on the unity of the church or reasons to stay in the presbytery, please send them to me at glennwilsonusa@hotmail.com  Also, if you come across a good article, bible study or video clip, please send it along to me. 

Perhaps this website might help us as we discern what unity and peace of the church means to us as God moves in our hearts in our time and places, even as we consider the questions of purity, and just what that means to us as sinners saved by Christ’s grace.

Please pray for our presbytery, our committees, our churches, our ruling elders and teaching elders, and the peace, purity and unity of the church.

IN CHRIST.

Glenn Wilson

Moderator, Committee on Ministry

Give Thanks With Grateful Hearts and Remember the Poor and the Disadvantaged in the Struggle for Economic Justice

November is a month full of transition from fall to winter, punctuated by Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent.  It is also a time when many of our churches

emphasize stewardship, and sessions plan their budgets for the coming year.

Christian stewardship is a way of living in which we recognize that everything belongs to God. We contribute a portion of the resources God gives to us to be used for God’s glory, in God’s mission in our world, and for the common good of humanity in the good works we are called to do.  God gave us life and the gift of eternal life. God created us for God’s self, and God wants our total person (Mt. 19:16-24). How we use the resources in our control expresses our gift of self to God. In short, God doesn't just want a portion of our resources, God wants us to be committed to God with all of who we are.

Stewardship is guided by careful prayer and discernment. It is a reaction to God’s call for stewardship in all areas of our life and society. 

During this time of talking and preaching about stewardship and budget, let us not forget our mission to pray for and to help those in need, as the number of poor in our nation has grown in recent years, as income inequality and the great recession have taken a terrible toll on many of our neighbors. The Bible reminds us that “A person that gives to the poor shall not lack: but a person that hides his eyes shal or her eyes from the poor shalll have many a curse.” (Proverbs 28:27)

The Bible contains more than 300 verses on the poor, social justice, and God's deep concern for both. A central theme of the Scriptures also speaks against the rampant sin of greed. The book of Amos, which emphasizes social justice and concern for the disadvantaged is a good one to read and study this time of year.  We need to remember we are also called to be prophets for the Lord in our day, echoing the themes we find so clearly revealed in the Bible.

So may God guide and bless each session and congregation in our presbytery as budgets are developed, and stewardship pledges are made.  "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7)

IN CHRIST,

Rev. Dr. S. Glenn Wilson

Moderator, Committee on Ministry

A Glimpse of Heaven in the Midst of Our Struggles, As Unity is Evidenced in the Worship of God

Reflections on the Presbytery Meeting

at the Presbyterian Camp on Okoboji

Presbytery meetings can be marvelous events.  Sure, most people joke about boring business meetings, but they are much more than that.  God’s glory shines through in all of the proceedings, although we may see God’s majesty more clearly at certain times, such as in worship, and approvals of ordinations and installations, and in the fellowship that such meetings encourage.

The meeting this past weekend at the Presbyterian Camp at Okoboji was one of those remarkable moments in time that God brings us, and we stand amazed.

Preceding the Saturday business meeting was an education event featuring one of the great leaders of our denomination, Dr. Bonnie Sue Lewis of the University of Dubuque, and current Vice-Moderator of John Knox Presbytery.  She shared God’s Word with eloquence and vigor, taking us deep into the verses of Scripture the Lord had put on her heart.

On Saturday, at the business meeting, we began with a beautiful worship service, with Dr.  Lewis preaching, and a number of pastors and elders from our presbytery working together to lead other parts of the service. It was a glimpse of the eschaton, with and almost audible echo of angel’s wings as we sang God’s praises.

One of the sweetest things we do at a Presbytery meeting is to celebrate the Lord’s Supper together, united in our love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Though we have differences (that is how God created us) we have so much more in common as receive the bread and the cup of the new covenant in Christ.

In the business meeting we dealt with both joyous and difficult issues with mutual respect and compassion.  We approved a budget with some planned cuts in years to come so that we stay within our means.  We diligently did the business of the presbytery, in a manner that was both decent and in order.  And, through it all, we had church, and it was good.

We gladly welcomed Rev. Brice Hoyt of Traer as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the PCUSA (he was originally ordained in the Reformed Church in America),we approved Emily Heitzman of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Waterloo as a candidate for ministry.  We also affirmed the ordination of Sarah Feltman Hegar, daughter of our General Presbyter, David Feltman. 

It was a tremendously emotional time for David, as his dear older brother Dan died on the Friday before the meeting.  But David was with us Saturday, and he continued to serve the presbytery well, even in such a demanding situation.  Our Stated Clerk Blake Wood recently lost a favorite aunt to death, so he was also leading us with a heavy heart.

One of the changes that came out of the meeting was a title change for our General Presbyter, from the title we have used in the past to Pastor to the Presbytery. It is a fitting title for David, for this is what he does.  He is an intentionally pastoral leader and he cares about all of the churches, sessions and pastors of our presbytery deeply.  This is one of the great reasons we have such a wonderful presbytery.

IN CHRIST,

Rev Dr. S. Glenn Wilson,

Moderator, Committee on Ministry

Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart

What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love, No Not Just For Some, But for Everyone!

If We Are The Body - Why Aren't His Arms Reaching?

Christian Love is Foundational to Christian Unity

Living Out the Command to Love One Another

We need to express our love. We are called by Christ to live in love.  They will know we are Christians by our love.

In John 15:12-13, Jesus says we can do better: "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."

That's the type of love we are to love each other with. How does God love us? What is His love like? God's love is unconditional. God always loves us. No matter what we do or how we act or what we say God always loves us.

The Old Testament gives us ways to express our love.  Proverbs 17:17. It says A friend loves at all times. How much of the time? All the time!

And Who is our best friend? God! So, how often does God love? God always loves you. You can do nothing to stop God from loving you. The highest lesson you can ever learn in this life is that God never stops loving you, no matter what you do. He loves you with an unconditional love. That is just how we must love one another. That's how we should love each other in the home.

We must allow the Holy Spirit to purge the cold from our hearts and letting the warmth of Jesus love take charge in our life. And I will tell you that if your heart has a lot of harshness in it, a lot of foulness in it, a lot of anything but love in it, you can cleanse all that if you allow the Water of Life, Jesus Christ to flow into your life and cleanse away all of the things that are in your life that ought not to be there.

Love puts others first. Real love thinks of others first. -- Love is not selfish.

• Love is slow to demand. -- Love is quick to give.
• Love is slow to belittle. -- Love is quick to appreciate.
• Love never harms -- it never controls.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Our love needs to be lined up with Jesus and then it will be the right kind of love. How can we come to church and sing songs of love and praise and then go home and with the same mouth yell out hate at each other? If that is happening to you, then you need to get your life in alignment. We do that with the wheels on our cars.

1 John 4:7, 8  states “Dear friends, let us love one another. This is almost like begging, isn't it. "let us love one another. for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

In Matthew 22:39, Jesus gives his summation of the Ten Commandments that Jesus is saying. "The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." affection were given to the neighbors next door.

Love imitates. If you love someone you will naturally attempt to replicate what you admire. We need to imitate Jesus, as much as we possibly can. 

This principle is aptly stated in 1 John 3:16. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers”.

Jesus laid down His life for us. So, what should we do? We should lay down our life. Do you see how love imitates? If you love Jesus, you find out what He did, you do the same thing. That's how it works. Love models what love respects. This is the precise reason we preach from this pulpit that the best way to have good works is to fall in love with Jesus. That's how that happens.

How should we love? As Jesus loves us, so we ought to love each other.

1 John 3:18. Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.

Love is:

• Slow to Suspect -- Quick to Trust
• Slow to Condemn -- Quick to Justify
• Slow to Offend -- Quick to Defend
• Slow to Expose -- Quick to Shield
• Slow to Belittle -- Quick to Appreciate
• Slow to Demand -- Quick to Donate
• Slow to Hinder -- Quick to Help