Aug
2
2010
Leaning On False Walls
2 Corinthians 12:7-9
Pastor Carlyle Naylor
Communion, August 1, 2010
Jun
13
2010
Good Ole Days
Pastor Carlyle Naylor
Luke 9:51-62
The Good Ole Days… What does Jesus say about them from Luke 9:51-62?
Apr
5
2010
Reimagining
Feb
2
2010
A Night of Remembering
Jan
11
2010
Communion: A Night of Devotion
Pastor Carlyle Naylor
Tina and I went to the Fiesta Bowl. We were in the midst of the wild fans when we met Tina’s cousin and her husband. Tina and I met at Boise State, and her cousin and her husband met at Texas Christian, so we wanted a picture.
I asked a woman to take the picture and she agreed—until she saw Tina’s cousins in TCU purple. She politely, respectfully, and certainly refused to take the picture. She could not even consider being a part of anything that was not a part of building up Boise State. She took BSU football that SERIOUSLY!
What if I was like that with God. What if we were like that with God? What if we were that devoted to Him—to knowing Him, to living with him and for Him.
People involved in Missional community are developing that kind of devotion to God. Missional community is made up of people who are deepening in their devotion to Yahweh and His word. That kind of devotion is the focus of our communion tonight.
There was this devoted man in the Old Testament.
- He was devoted to finding out the answer to that age-old question—what is the meaning of life
- He had many RESOURCES: money, intelligence, people to help him, even God’s blessing.
- He was HONEST—reverent before God, but also questioning—not careless or gratuitous questioning; but respectful and purposeful questioning.
- He was REAL—relevant before man, but also cutting – not leaving anything out—even considering unorthodox and sinful pursuits as answers to this question of meaning
- He was REMINISCENT—reviewing things that seemed to matter once, but didn’t matter anymore
- He was RESPONSIBLE—wondering about his spiritual and physical legacy he was leaving to his children and their children.
- He was FUTURISTIC—fearless before both man and God—wondering about the after-life—if it even existed.
When it was all said and done, he came to a conclusion. We find the conclusion in Ecclesiastes 12:13:
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
This is a cool and succinct verse. The last part of the verse that does not translate well to English—the word DUTY is added to help us make more sense of it. This can be important to know because it emphasizes the meat in the middle of the verse.
When all was heard the conclusion is to do two things—ONLY two that we can be devoted to. Those two things bring wholeness, completeness and even perfectness (as that word is used at times in the Bible): Fear God and Obey His commandments.
When we fear God, we can do that same thing—put Him on the shelf. If we understand “fear” better, God won’t have to stay there.
- Fear can keep our perspective healthy and fear can keep us from accessing and relating to God
- Fear has a few synonyms from how it is used in other places in the Bible that can help us:
- Revere—elevating or placing Him high in our esteem—There is no One higher
- Respect—being sensitive to and considerate of His place and role—We submit to Him
- Agreement that He is sovereign—We can trust Him
- Acknowledgment that we fit into His scheme of things—This is His Story
That’s all we have to do—BE SERIOUSLY Devoted to God.
Commandments—this word’s root in constitute—or the things that God is made of. God’s commandments are part of God—his essence, His nature, His character. Knowing them is knowing Him.
We are to KEEP his commandments:
- Seeking—more of what needs to be present
- Sense of Diligence—expecting to hear from God
- Sense of regularity—doing it often
- Guardianship—of what is already present
- Sense of innateness—cting Godly become more and more instinctive.
- Sense of normalcy—acting, or being Godly becomes our norm and our reputation
So after all is said and done: Fear God & Keep His commandments. In those is the WHOLE of you!
Dec
7
2009
The Best Christmas Gift
Jun
17
2009
Building Bridges
Communion, June 7, 2009
Pastor Carlyle Naylor
John 21:15-17
Becoming Missional Community ― Part 2 of A Continuing Communion Series
We are in the 2nd part of a 5 part series on learning how to become a missional community at RMCC. When Pastor Bob started the current series we are on entitled “What Matters”, he said this statement is a good description of the goal of the series. It is also the goal of Missional Community. Here it is:
The ultimate blessing from God is the opportunity to make a statement by words and actions that helps intensify another’s experience of His presence and His truth.
Missional Community bridges activities and relationships to something that is next. I think that is supposed to be part of our walk with Christ too. As an example, let’s consider this passage:
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
- Do you love me more than THESE?
- What did Jesus mean?
- Don’t we do the same? The challenge we can get from this is.
- We must be careful not to love the circumstances or the people in our lives more than we love Jesus.
- Comfort is not Jesus’ goal for us.
What is the difference between a “lamb” and a “sheep” and “feeding” and “tending”:
- Lamb – a baby/infant sheep; a suckler – they are spiritual seekers.
- Sheep – a mature(ing) sheep; a walker (grazer) – they are believers in Christ.
- Feed – to fodder; to provide prepared /supplemented food.
- Tend – to shepherd; to provide more than just food.
- FEED MY LAMBS ― A young, suckling lamb that is also eating fodder.
- TEND MY SHEEP ― Providing more than just food for maturing sheep.
- FEED MY SHEEP ― Provide supplemented food for maturing lambs.
The challenge I would like us to focus on as we take communion is this: There is always something or someone next ― for all of us!
The challenge is not to remain in your comfortable and manageable fishing boat. Everything can lead to something with Jesus!
Jan
8
2009
Why We Don’t Observe Communion on Sunday Mornings
Pastor Carlyle Naylor
I recently answered this question via email and I thought I would post it for all to read.
The reason we don’t observe Communion on Sunday mornings is two-fold.
The first reason has to do with who is supposed to take Communion ― believers in Christ as the means for their salvation. On any given Sunday morning, we expect (and do receive) visitors ― not just to our church, but to Jesus. What I mean is that people come on Sunday morning who are seeking God ― or Christ and may not be “saved” yet.
They may not have come to a point in their faith where they have acknowledged their need for Christ as the Savior of their soul and life. Scripture is clear that Communion is an act of worship for believers (1 Corinthians 11:28-29). We don’t want to put anyone in a position to take Communion when they may not be clear about what they are observing/participating in or they may feel a little awkward for not knowing and feel some pressure to participate anyway.
The other reason is that taking Communion should be a deliberate act of worship and not routine. We try to make Communion more deliberate and not an add-on to the Sunday morning worship experience ― since the goal of Sunday morning is different. We pay particular attention to Communion by having a dedicated service where we are ushered into a more intimate time of worship with Christ as we focus more intently on His sacrifice for us and what that can mean for how we live our lives now.
I hope this helps. We have Communion the first Sunday might of each month ― unless that day falls on a holiday (or Superbowl Sunday ― because few attend).