Losing loved ones is painful. The psychic pain can at times be quite severe and unwelcome. This is especially so of loved ones we lose in death, but it is also true of loved ones we lose by many miles between us. The ever present temptation is denial. “We’ll be back together again”, etc. Maybe. Maybe not. But denial does not help in any separation. We do better to face the realistic facts from the start. We may never see each other again in this life. Present pain over a separation is a constant reminder of how good our togetherness was while it lasted. It endears is to each other even in separation. It keeps us aware of the finiteness and limitations of our earthly existence. And it keeps alive the one realistic and sure hope our confidence of seeing our loved one(s) again when we are all together with them in our new heavenly home, where “goodby” and “so long ” and “later” have been dropped from our vocabulary.

Rev. Dr. Richard L. Shaw Pastor

A rather new – or at least amplified – temptation common to the technological age in which we live is to allow our “smart” phones and computers to replace face to face, person-to-person, body-to-body, communication.  It’s so easy to text someone, or email them, and even send them pictures via the cell phone, that more intimate communication is falling behind. This is a serious deprivation of interpersonal friendship, and an aberration of the purpose of our Creator in fashioning us for personal interchange.  God made the human body – and the bodies of Christians are temples of God, his dwelling place among humanity, the place where God lives in our neighborhood. We cannot reflect God over the phone. We cannot love others, reach out and touch them, hug them, or, when helpful, hold them. God gave us a body for a reason. We should be neither so “Puritanical,” on the one hand – or so overly zealous of the human body, on the other hand – as to deny or distort the true bodilessness of God’s human creation. We should, as Christians, recognize, celebrate, and strengthen all that God has created the human body for. At the same time, we recognize the limitations of some in this area, and don’t insensitivity break through protective barriers. Recognizing differences, in education, temperament, up-bringing, good, and bad experiences, helps us as a body of Christ to be open and loving while being sensitive and understanding. Let’s not let the wonderful conveniences of modern technology, nor the inhibitions of a distorted background, minimize the purpose of godly and loving personal interaction and communion.

REV. DR. RICHARD L. SHAW, PASTOR

Distractions occur constantly in this journey we call life! They may be from our own thoughts and concerns or from outside stimuli. One area where they can be extremely bothersome is in a church service. We have instant replay in sports, pause, and rewind on our television remote, but if we are unfocused at a moment God directs His word toward us, we may have lost an insight, a glimpse of an eternal truth! A glimpse that, at that very moment, may have created a spiritual connection with eternity. We should all come to service with the anticipation of being spiritually nourished, yet we allow so much to interfere! Was that song too fast or too slow for our personal taste? Look who’s sitting up front why they have a lot of nerve. Is the (fill in your own pet peeve)? Maybe our minds are still at home, “Did I leave the coffee pot on?” “Did the kids lock the door?” “I need to get out early today – I have company coming over!” or “I hope the message isn’t too long – the game starts at 1:00 “Ever have one of those thoughts? The apostle Paul, in Romans 12:1 encourages us “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, (and sisters) in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship”. We are told over and over in Scripture to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Jesus even calls this the greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38) His word when spoken forth will accomplish it’s purpose and not return empty (Isaiah 55:10-11), yet if we are not receiving it properly – it’s purpose may be fulfilled through someone other than ourselves. Don’t be the one spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 13, who receives the word spoken but doesn’t let it take root, or who allows the worries of life to choke it. Prepare your hearts to receive it and have it produce a crop. That word, as it grows in your heart, will allow God to use you to nourish others and be drawn closer to Him!

Rev. Larry Sassmann

As much as we like to boast about our individual independence, we are really created for community.  We are born dependent on others, and we rely on relationships throughout our lives.  In a very real, though not absolute sense, community is the essential form of reality. One of the hardest things for the naturally self-centered human heart to realize is that we are here for each other. Christians must avoid ” Burger King Christianity ” (have it your way)  and see that it is as we put others’ interests and needs and honor above our own that we can fulfill our calling to be individuals, yet not allow our individualism to trump our being for the other. Many things in our society militate against this sense of community and relationship.  We have been inculcated with a rugged sense of individualism in our Western world drama and education so true community is hard to come by.  We are also so accustomed to big government taking care of the needy that we have almost forgotten that government handouts can never replace person-to-person giving, receiving, and sharing. Further, the exponential use of technology in the last years built barriers between people as they find their communication via cellphone or other computers, and often virtually ignores communication by old-fashioned talking face to face, eating meals together, playing games together, even arguing the issue of the day. And, not surprisingly, the Bible is decidedly community and relationship oriented.  The Trinity is himself community of three without obscuring the individuality of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Most of the New Testament letters and exhortations are directed to the Church as a body.  Much of the rebuke pertains to the unity and community of Christians.  Of, salvation is personal and individual, but once one is born again, he or she is to be a vital, functioning, loyal, faithful participant in a group of united people called the church, the People of God, the temple, the holy nation, the family, and other definitions that describe Christians as a relating group of loving people with an experience.

Rev. Dr. Richard L. Shaw, Pastor

What is morality? What is the moral life? We are so used to thinking of morality solely in sexual terms, that we miss the full, deep, broad meaning of morality.  Of course it includes sexual responsibility and obedience to our Creator’s standard of sexual fidelity.  But it is much more than that.  Morality is the concern for the respect of another’s life, well-being, flourishing.  When we injure others, steal what belongs to them, or cause them to fear or be insecure, on the one hand. Or, negatively, when we simply fail to help others when they are in distress and we have the resources and capacity to help.  When we fail to teach others and show them how to flourish, we are acting in an immoral way.  And these inner compulsions regarding attitudes and behaviors toward others are universal.  No society is without them.  This is what the philosopher Emanuel Kant called “the moral imperative.”  It separates human from the beast. It serves to verify one aspect of being created in God’s image, so it is a strong point in Christian Apologetics, the discipline that points to the reality of God and the supernatural dimension.  Morality also calls the Christian to faithfulness in leading others into the Christian way of life.  It demonstrates, as do many other data, the superiority of Christianity and its perfect “fit” in our universal society.  And morality illustrates Paul’s words in Romans 1:19-20, “…what may be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what he has made, so that people are without excuse.”

Rev. Dr. Richard L. Shaw, Pastor

The wise man spoke wisdom when he declared, Where there is no vision, people perish.”  Sober, visceral words.  “People perish.”  Have we really thought through the terrible implications of those two words?  People — eternal souls created in God’s image, yet forever missing all that God created them to do and to be.   Perish — forever separated from God, and all that is good and beautiful.  Do we at Calvary have the kind of vision for God’s work, his kingdom, eternity, precious souls for whom Jesus died, that will lead us to put God and his work and his worship, above everything else?  Family – friends – pleasure – reputation – career – money – convenience — all that pertains to human existence? Luke 14:26 merits much careful meditation — “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple.”  Of course, we cannot understand such radical statements with only Western mindsets. Would the One who taught us to love everyone, even our enemies, tell us to hate our own loved ones?  Of course not! In the hyperbole of his day and culture, Jesus is saying that our love for our loved ones must seem like hate compared with our love for him. Pretty clear claim to Deity — also a clear call to discipleship.  Do the claims of family, friends, etc., supercede Jesus’ claim to our radical, no-holds-barred love and commitment? Let’s ask God for a vision that comes from truly loving him. Then we will see our church filled with people finding God, loving God, serving God.  But only if we love him above all else.

Rev. Dr. Richard L. Shaw, Pastor

America is in deep trouble! We keep hearing about the terrorist army called ISIS, and now we hear that several more similar terror groups have formed. As I write, ISIS is five miles from Baghdad, and possibly, by the time this is read, the city will have fallen to the brutality of ISIS. And the terror groups are not being stopped, and, in fact, barely slowed in their bloody conquest.  The U.S. and the rest of the world is standing by, doing virtually nothing to stop them.  It is incredible that we could sit by doing nothing while they behead, crucify, bury alive, and in other ways brutalize thousands of innocent people. Wasn’t the United Nations organized to stop this very thing from happening? Why do our leaders maintain their denials regarding the advances the terrorists are making throughout the mid-East? It is time they acknowledge that we don’t have the terrorist groups on the run, that they are not deluded “JV teams,” but present a real threat to the entire world.  And this plea is not “political.”  It is moral.  It is time the Church throughout the world also wake up and cry out against the brutality of the terrorists and the indifference of the rest of the world.  We are reminded of World War II when much of the European church was silent while Hitler murdered millions of Jews, Christians, and Gypsies.  We need more Martin Niemollers, Dietrich Bonhoeffers, and Karl Barths who had the courage to speak out against Hitler’s atrocities.  America, wake up!  Church, wake up! They’re here, too.

Rev. Dr. Richard L. Shaw, Pastor

The precision of the Greek language is remarkable! Take, for instance the word love – it can carry so many connotations when you say I love you to someone, yet in Greek, there are four distinct words and meanings  used for love. Eros is the intimate love that God ordained for a husband and wife. Phileo – the brotherly love for friends. Storge is the word for love between family members, and Agape represents the unmerited gift the love that gives without receiving or expecting and isn’t qualified like the other three. Eros is qualified by physical attraction, which we all know can wain over time – hair grays, wrinkles appear, our faces show wear, stomachs sometime enlarge beyond our belt lines. Phileo is usually based on mutual likes and dislikes, friendship is also limited by circumstances and as time proceeds we can lose touch with some, meet new, and yes – keep connected for long periods with some. Phileo does not need Eros to survive, yet Eros is short lived without friendship. One of the main causes of divorce in our society is Eros without Phileo. Storge – the family love also changes with time and circumstances, brothers, sisters and other family members move, acquire new and different interests. The bond usually always exists but tends to fade to occasional phone calls, holiday or birthday cards, or a few days visitation on vacation. Storge can continue – yet with Phileo has a much better chance of functioning continually rather than intermittently. Now we come to Agape. With this love all the others, not only survive – they prosper! Eros is enhanced, because with Agape we look deeper, to the heart and soul. Phileo and Storge are more real, for now the relationships are enveloped in a lasting concern, not based on the action of the other person. With Agape, we look beyond the temporal and see with eternal eyes. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13 describes this love (Agape). As we read, let us pray that God, through His Spirit, helps us to incorporate this love into the other three and every aspect of our lives. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 ” Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it’s own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” (NAS)

Rev. Larry Sassmann

Love is a theme that pervades all of the Bible.  The Old Testament (Hebrew language) word for love is “ahabah” and to love is “aheb.”  The Greek language (New Testament) for love is agape (a ga pa), and to love is agapan. The words for New Testament “love” are rare in writings outside the New Testament, and when agape is found, its meaning is primarily emotional, sexual, or ecstatic. The agape love of the New Testament is a new creation of Christianity. The New Testament takes an essentially pagan word and instills it with new meaning.  This New Testament love is unconditional, indifferent to prior value. It is the love God has for all of us, and the love to which he calls all of us. Nothing we can do can make God love us any more or any less. It is love that represents the power of  God’s kingdom. It is love that places the welfare of the other above the interests and welfare of the self — the one who loves. It is not without emotion but it above all shows itself in the act of will and concern for the good of others. The supreme paradigm of love therefore is the cross. There God in Christ gave his all for the benefit of the entire human race through all time. Thus, love abides as the character of heavenly existence. It is therefore to be the mode of life for all of God’s people in all circumstances. It is not an unattainable and ideal goal for the redeemed of God; it is that stance and attitude of life to which we are called. And that to which God calls us he provides our enablement to do. A community (church) of agape love is one where each one is more concerned for the blessing, giftedness, joy, comfort, and advancement of the other than for him or herself.  It is a community bereft of competitiveness, rivalry, possessiveness, defensiveness; and one characterized by rejoicing in the talents, gifts, and advancements of all the others. If our church does not radiate these latter qualities, then we are light years away from the church Jesus envisioned when he declared, “On this rock I will build my church.”

   REV. DR. RICHARD L. SHAW, PASTOR

It is safe to say that no one alive today has seen the world in such turmoil, and it shows no signs of letting up.  All indications are that it is getting worse by the day.  Our great country seems to be paralyzed, unable to respond effectively to the mounting crises.  Suggestions for stopping the brutal and murderous ISIS, for example, lead only to endless circular debate as to the best way to accomplish this.  If we don’t soon stop them in the mid-East, we will be fighting them for our very lives on American soil.  And it’s not about “fighting someone else’s war.”  Everything ISIS does is with the aim of taking down the United States as a necessary step to taking the total world, which is their ultimate aim.  Radical Muslims, followers of the religion of ISIS, believe they are pleasing Allah when they kill “infidels” (non-Muslims), thus fulfilling Jesus’ words, “It shall come to pass that they will think they are doing God a service when they  kill you.” John 16:2. This kind of religious fervor is hard to counteract.  All of this, in addition to many other factors, is indicative of Jesus’ return to earth.  It all cries out to the world, “Get ready!” And to every born-again believer, pray earnestly for a great spiritual revival. And evangelize.  Be diligent and faithful in your Christian witness. Ask neighbors and others to join you at your church for our Second Year Celebration and Visitors’ Sunday, September 14.  Coming soon! Tell them they can stay and join us for lunch – on us!

Rev. Dr. Richard L. Shaw, Pastor