A Quick Heads Up

There are lots of things in life I don’t love doing.

I don’t love when I have to deal with car problems.

I don’t love when I have to pick up our dog’s “gifts” she leaves us in the backyard.

I don’t love when I have to share difficult words with people.

I don’t love when I have to organize paperwork.

Unfortunately, part of life is sometimes doing things we don’t love because they are necessary.

We cannot escape all the obstacles of life, all the challenging things, all the difficult or annoying responsibilities.

Sometimes you just have to do them.

Our kids are always surprised when we tell them to brush their teeth and take showers.  As if this is the first time they’ve heard us tell them.

I honestly don’t think they love it because they haven’t quite realized the repercussions if they don’t do those things.

They’ve had a cavity or two, but they were on baby teeth…and they fell out.

They don’t sweat too much, so even if they don’t shower, they aren’t disgusting.

They haven’t yet had to deal with expensive dental procedures or being the stinky person in class.

If I don’t brush my teeth and shower everyday, I might as well go back to zoom meetings, because no one will want to be near me.  Maybe that is my own self consciousness speaking loudly over reality…but I’m pretty sure I stink most of the time.

I remember being in elementary school or middle school and suddenly thinking, I don’t want to be gross.  I started wearing copious amounts of deodorant, taking showers everyday, and focusing on brushing my teeth well.  Lets be honest, I didn’t want to be rejected by a possible lady because I smelled or had bad breath.

While at the same time, those things, that many kids don’t want to do, regardless of social status or potential relationships are actually good to do…even if kids don’t love showers or brushing their teeth.

Every time we do those things, they are building habits and rhythms.  We start to make those practices a regular part of our routine in life.

If you’ve been with us the past few weeks, we are journeying through the Sermon on the Mount.  This is an incredibly important, foundational teaching Jesus gives where he lays out the framework of what it means to live out the Kingdom of God, on earth as it is in heaven.  His teachings are so good…and yet lots of it are challenging and we don’t always love it.

As for the guy who is teaching it…I don’t love teaching about anger or lust or divorce or oaths or retaliation or love for my enemies.  I love teaching about it just about as much as you love hearing me teach about it.  They are not fun lighthearted teachings…unfortunately following Jesus is sometimes taking a look at things, doing, and living out things we don’t necessary love, but are necessary.

We cannot escape all the obstacles of life, all the challenging things, all the difficult or annoying responsibilities of how we are called to live as followers of Jesus.

But it turns out, when we wrestle with these ideas and live out the ways of Jesus it actually makes a difference in our life and in the lives of those around us.

Our obedience, or lack there of, towards God and the calling God puts on our life is not isolated to us, but ripples out to those around us.

So when we follow after Jesus, it should not only bless us, but those we interact with.

When we follow our wants and desires or choose destructive ways to live and act in the world, it will not only harm us, but those we interact with as well.

Therefore, taking a look at the sermon on the mount is not necessarily the most fun thing in the world, but it changes everything.

I tell you this for a few reasons.

This Sunday is Memorial Day and the unofficial kick off to summer.  We will undoubtedly have a big turnout for worship on Sunday.  Also, we have reached the point in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus teaches on lust, divorce, and oaths…you know…real crowd pleasing topics.

If you’ve heard me teach before, I trust you know that I will handle these topics with care, and I will work to make sure all ages can learn and grow from the teaching, while also not having to shield anyones ears.  I promise to be as faithful to these scriptures and teachings as possible and also make sure any kid or child in the room, any person that has been through or is going through divorce, and anyone who has felt the repercussions of those things will still feel loved, welcomed, and will not have to cover their ears or the ears of little ones.

Earmuffs!

But I totally get if this is a difficult Sunday and a difficult teaching.

Hear this, we can’t change our past.

We can’t change where we’ve messed up, who we’ve hurt, or the trail of destruction behind us; done to us or caused by us…

But we can live differently moving forward, we can work to not hurt others or ourself from now on, and we can work towards healing and restoration in our own life and in the lives of people around us.

This will be a great Sunday and a great memorial weekend.  I hope you will join us for worship at 10am at The Chapel.

And even if you hate everything I say or you squirm in your seat because you feel awkward, just know you can feel comfortable knowing that at least I showered and brushed my teeth before showing up…I cannot make the same promise about the rest of my family.

Just a warning, it will be a busy and hot weekend.  Lots of people will be in town.  So I would encourage a few things.

• Walk or bike if you can to save on parking and getting in and out of Seaside.
• The Seaside shuttle is also a great option or of course you can do the paid parking option on Smolian Circle and other areas around Seaside.
• There also is the Watercolor/Seaside free parking lot that is just a short walk away.
• If you can sit outside, it will be a great weekend to do that, to free up space for others inside.
• If you really want to sit inside, you will want to get there early.  We usually fill up inside by about 9:50 on a normal Sunday, so on a busy weekend, I anticipate that closer to 9:45.
• If crowds or content this Sunday are a struggle, you can always watch online.  We stream our services on our website and Facebook page.

Let us know if you have any questions or need anything and we look forward to gathering with you this Sunday at 10am.

Blessings.

Andrew