This March 26-30, 2007, a mission team from Evergreen and Chehalem Valley is visiting our sister congregations Cristo Cambia la Vida (Santa Ana Tepetitlan) and Cristo Redentor (Bugambilias), both in Guadalajara. Our aim is to strengthen relationships between our congregations and to help with the children’s ministries and church planting efforts of our Mexican sisters and brothers. (more…)
This past week I had the privilege of connecting with Kim Alphandary (she is the sister of Evergreen member, Sally Mehler). Check out Kim’s painting at http://www.unknownnews.org/050712a-ka.html. Kim asked me to collect some Christian prayers to accompany her painting in her art show in Los Angeles this coming January. I gladly did so and have enjoyed interacting with her. Kim does not claim to be a Christian and readily admits her ignorance concerning the Christian faith and Scriptures. I am drawn to her sense of justice and her mission to promote peace and safety in the world. She is a journalist writing mostly about South American political issues. She is also a painter and she is presently working on a series for this show in early 2007. (more…)
Remembering the Covenant
Deuteronomy 27
We have arrived at the main section of Deuteronomy prompting me to title my sermon series, “Remembering the Covenant.” The theme of remembrance is strong in Deuteronomy. Moses instructs Israel to uses visual, artistic memorials. Large stones are to be positioned throughout the Promised Land. Israel is to plaster the stones, making them smooth surfaces upon which the law of God is to be written. Moses is a catalyst for written language added to an oral tradition. He is also a pioneer in script as an art form. The classic art of Islam is confined exclusively to the Arabic script. It is a beautifully intricate art form. The origins of this art form are much older than the founding of Islam. The origins are traced to Moses. The intricacy of this genre of art often disguises the words and thus the meaning. At first glance the pleasing pattern, the graceful swirls and shapes command attention. The viewer must work to discover the word and identify the message. In (8) Moses instructs Israel to clearly write the law of God upon these stones. The primary purpose of this art form is to present the law of God clearly, as a remembrance in public space. (more…)
“The Two Mirrors” Romans 4: 13-16
(a sermon preached by Nathan E. Lewis on Reformation Sunday 2006)
We have been making our way through the Book of Deuteronomy, all 34 chapters, and I must say that the weight of the Law has been overwhelming for me. Moses convincingly presents God’s law as good for us. The Law does deter evil and it does promote right behavior. The Law also drives us to believe that Jesus Christ is our only hope for righteousness and favor before a holy God. While the Law serves all of this good work in our lives, it is nonetheless powerless to save us, to actually produce perfect obedience in our lives. God did not design the Law to be our Savior. Rather, God designed the Law to show us our great need for a Savior.
The Law is like a mirror. If I look into the mirror, I see myself, warts and all. The mirror renders the clearest, most honest reflection of me possible. I look into this mirror and there is no question that I am a member of the fallen human race in desperate need of a makeover. (more…)