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Welcome to Alachua First Presbyterian Church!
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We're glad you found us online!
Please join us for worship, Sundays at 10:30 a.m.
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First Presbyterian Church of Alachua
14623 NW 140th Street
Alachua, Florida Food 4 Kids - click here
(386) 462-1549
presfirst@hometc.com
Rev. Virginia McDaniel, Pastor
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Worship in August
August 3 Waterdance (Romans 6:1-11)
August 10 No Longer Bound (Romans 6:12-23)
August 17 Missing the Cues (Romans 7:15-25)
August 24 Adopted by God (Romans 8:12-25)
August 31 Spirit Song (Romans 8:26-39) Rebecca Brown preaching
August 24, 2008
First Presbyterian Church of Alachua
A sermon preached by the Rev. Virginia Ann McDaniel
READ: Romans 8:1-17
Last Sunday I mentioned the contrast between the feel-good, be-happy-attitudes, power-of-positive-thinking preachers and the realism of Paul, who describes the human predicament in these memorable words… “the good that I would do, I cannot.” I think we’re all probably aware of our failures to live up to God’s ideal, even when we’d like to think otherwise about ourselves.
By coincidence, I came upon something Joel Osteen wrote. He’s one of those preachers of the prosperity gospel, and I thought I would share it with you so you can be mulling over its truthfulness as we listen again to Paul.
Here’s what Osteen writes in Your Best Life Now:
“I heard a story about a man on vacation in Hawaii with his wife. He was a good man who had achieved a modest measure of success, but he was coasting along, thinking that he’d already reached his limits in life. One day, a friend was driving the couple around the island, showing them the sights. They stopped to admire a gorgeous house set high on a hill. The property was replete with beautiful palm trees and lush green gardens in a picturesque, peaceful setting with a panoramic view of the ocean. As the man gazed at the magnificent home, he commented to his wife and friend, “I can’t even imagine living in a place like that.”
“Right then, something inside him said, “Don’t worry. You won’t. You will never live in a great place like that.”
“Startled at his own thoughts, he asked himself, “What do you mean?”
“As long as you can’t imagine it, as long as you can’t see it, then it is not going to happen for you. The man correctly realized that his own thoughts and attitudes were condemning him to mediocrity. He determined then and there to start believing better of himself, and believing better of God.
“It’s the same way with us,” Osteen continues. “We have to conceive it on the inside before we’re ever going to receive it on the outside. If you don’t think you can have something good, then you never will. The barrier is your mind. It’s not God’s lack of resources, or your lack of talent that prevents you from prospering. Your own wrong thinking can keep you from God’s best. You must rid yourself of small-minded thinking and start expecting God’s blessings, start anticipating promotion and supernatural increase.”
Well, what do you think? Do you agree that it our tendency to “think small” that keeps us from attaining everything we want in life? Is it really our failure to imagine better things that keeps each of us from owning a mansion in Hawaii? Apparently a lot of people think so, to judge by the sales of Osteen’s books. According to Osteen, the only thing between us and prosperity is how we think. If we want that mansion with a view we have only to believe we deserve it, and trust God to do the rest.
Certainly there’s some good advice buried in there. Our attitude toward life can make a big difference in how we face life’s inevitable challenges. But when I read those paragraphs from the opening of Osteen’s book I am struck by the difference between the view he articulates and the words of Paul in the eighth chapter of his letter to the Romans. And that difference starts with these powerful opening words… “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” and concludes with these words in verses 16 and 17: “… you have received a spirit of adoption… we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if in fact we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” Writing to Christians in Rome, Paul makes no mention of some kind of “attitude adjustment” as the route to owning a villa with a view of the Coliseum!
Paul, as we have heard these last few weeks, goes to great lengths in this letter to describe the human predicament. He begins looking at our situation through the lens of Judaism and fulfillment of the Law, and then presses that view out to all the world. He has painstakingly described the human inability to live up to the divine ideal. But it’s not only Israel. Paul states that there isn’t ANYONE, inside or outside of Israel, who could be considered truly righteous. Paul reminds us that when the human race embraces and affirms some moral code—whether it’s the Torah or any other moral code, living up to it proves to be impossible. There is something about being human that distorts and undermines our very best intentions. But there is also something innately human that convinces us if we just work harder or pray better or make different friends or wear trendier clothes… if we just work out the secret combination… then ultimately we’ll achieve that lofty ideal. It’s up to us to work it out—or as Pastor Osteen puts it, to rid ourselves of small-minded thinking in order to hit the jackpot of God’s blessings.
You can see it in the way people plan funerals. There is a trend these days to request not just religious music but also popular secular music. People in the funeral industry have been observing this trend for many years, explaining that memorial services and funeral services have been moving steadily towards more secular themes. While many families still choose to incorporate hymns and religious music into the services, more are choosing to express the personality of loved ones through more contemporary music that captures the essence of the person being honored. Music certainly does have the power to evoke powerful memories and associations. But do you know what one of the most-requested songs is? Frank Sinatra’s hit “I Did It My Way.”
Or as the New Jersey rock star Jon Bon Jovi put it:
It’s my life, it’s now or never
I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive (It’s my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said I did it my way
I just wanna live while I’m alive
It’s my life.
It’s my life? Really?
Paul points out the fallacy of this position. We can live this life as if it’s ours, bound to the ways of the world… hoping for the mansion with a view. OR, we can acknowledge that it’s NOT my life. It’s not MY life, because life itself is a gift. We don’t own it. We won’t ever live fully on our own—and if we say we do, we are deceiving ourselves. The only way to live fully, Paul says, is to recognize the one who gave us life in the first place and saved us from the hell of self-deception by the completed act of God in Jesus Christ.
Baptism is the ritual through which we are “joined” to God through Christ. Of course, you and I remain “children of the flesh,” as Paul described our mortal state. Baptism doesn’t change that. We live out our lives influenced by our sinful human nature, often absorbed in the pursuit of worldly human things. But that life has a sure and certain end to it. And it is a pointless striving when we seek to control our lives but never really do—or can. But when we are baptized we are marked as God’s children. In our passage today Paul writes of the joy of baptism.
“For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if , in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”
Perhaps we can imagine, as some scholars suggest, that this cry, “Abba! Father!” was the Spirit-filled cry of the ancient believer as he or she emerged from the waters of her baptism. It is a joyful moment to recognize and call upon the name of the one who created you! And it is the joy of being claimed by baptism that gives rise to our confidence.
This is a central point in Paul’s thought. There’s a world of difference between self-confidence and Christian confidence. This is not the power of “positive thinking” – it’s the incredible power of positive knowing, knowing that God alone is the one who declares that there is no condemnation. Knowing that even though I am a sinful human being, and continue in this world where sin runs strong, I am not abandoned. I belong to God. I am claimed by God. I don’t have to think my way into a new life; the work is done. It is a fait accomplis. There is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ.
But did you notice the dark and somber note in the midst of this joy? Did you notice how Paul ends this passage? He writes that we are joint heirs of Christ if in fact we suffer with Christ so that we may also be glorified with him. Why must Paul inject this note of pain and sorrow into his celebration of our baptismal adoption as children of God?
The reason is that Paul recognizes that the power of death is not yet fully undone. The power of death is still operative in our fallen world. We see evidence of this continuing reign of death in a thousand places—not only where age, disease, accidents or natural disasters steal life—but anywhere that stronger powers exploit the weak, or anywhere that trivial things gain the status of gods in our lives.
But the “spirit of adoption” fills us with confidence because it brings with it a promise of victory. With Christ there is hope. There are signs of new life. Yes, there is even joy in the midst of suffering, because we are united with one who has overcome these forces of death. The act of baptism marks our freedom to live in the power of life instead of the power of death.
Bob Sumner is a retired dentist who has taken time off every year for more than 40 years to go to places like Malaysia to perform oral surgery as a volunteer, sometimes for as many as 16 hours a day. Now when I go on vacation, I don’t go somewhere and preach all day long just for the love it. I read junk novels and explore new places and fill myself with rich food. When Bob takes a vacation, he practices dentistry.
When Bob developed some cardiac problems, his biggest concern was not his health; it was that maybe his doctor wouldn’t let him take the flight to Honduras with a group of people from his church to visit a health clinic they had helped to establish. Serving other people is second-nature to Bob. It is his passion. And I am confident he lives his life that way because he knows WHOSE he is.
We are free to live today, joyfully, gratefully and with the same confidence that Bob Sumner does, because we have been adopted as children of God, joint heirs with Christ. If the reality of our situation is like that book that I quoted at the beginning of worship describes… that it’s all about positive thinking… then we’re in trouble. “If you just had enough positive thinking you would get the mansion…” “If you just had enough positive thinking your cancer would be cured…” If we just get our thoughts right then God will make everything alright? No!
You and I know faithful people who suffer terribly and yet live with confidence because they KNOW there is no condemnation in Christ, whether they get well on this or the other side of the river. They KNOW whose they are. They know they are in God’s hands. That’s what it means to be a child of God.
Paul would be shocked to see Christians who do not exhibit a spirit of liberation but rather mope and moan and focus only on themselves. Because Paul knew that death does not reign. Life does. There is now no condemnation. The Spirit of God has been given to me and to you! Imagine if the world looked at us and said that it’s obvious whose we are because we know we are free. Free to live as children of God today. Joyful because we know that life is a gift. Not worried about the mansion on the hill in Hawaii or whether I’m going to be cured. Just… “God, if you give me another day, it is a day to be free in your love and to share it.” What would happen if people saw that? Thanks be to God that it happens in this congregation and in God’s kingdom in so many ways. Let’s continue to be those children.
A sermon preached at the First Presbyterian Church of Alachua
by the Rev. Virginia Ann McDaniel
Who we are...
We nourish our spirits:
In addition to inspiring services every Sunday we offer several special services throughout the year… Thanksgiving eve, candlelight Christmas Eve, Maundy Thursday supper, Good Friday and others. Adult education takes place on Sundays before worship and Thursdays at noon.
We nourish our local community:
Following in the small town tradition of the church as community center, our buildings are used for Girl Scout meetings, support groups for Alzheimers Caregivers, Alcoholics Anonymous, and others. We join with the First Baptist and First United Methodist Churches on the third Monday of each month for PEP – People Enjoying People! – hosting this lunch-time ecumenical fellowship in February, May, August, and November.
We nourish our wider community:
Whether through special offerings or as part of our annual budget, we support disaster relief and development projects around the world as well as providing food and clothing for needy families right here in Alachua.
We nourish our bodies:
Of course, we could be the most loving and food-oriented community of faith you’ll find. In addition to delicious Fellowship Hour repasts each Sunday, we enjoy frequent luncheons and covered dish suppers, picnics, pie socials…and let’s not overlook the annual Easter egg toss!
Food 4 Kids of Alachua
A partnership of local churches, businesses and individuals
Hunger and under-nutrition contribute to a number of negative health issues and can seriously impact a child's ability to learn.
Food 4 Kids of Alachua is a pilot program during 2008-2009, in partnership with Alachua Elementary School, to provide hungry children with food each weekend during the school year.
Every Friday, children who participate in the program will take a home a backpack on wheels with food for the children in that family. Every Monday they return the backpack to the school empty.
Contact Rev. McDaniel to learn how you can help.
Remember...
- You can sponsor one child for $6 a week
- You can sponsor a family for a contribution of $20 a week
What goes into a backpack:
- canned meat (tuna, chicken, etc.)
- canned pasta
- canned soup
- canned vegetables or beans
- milk (shelf-stable)
- juice boxes
- macaroni and cheese (boxed)
- pudding cups
- fruit cups
- peanut butter
- cereal (single-serving boxes)
- snack bars
- cheese or peanut butter crackers
Newsletter
AUGUST 2008
As you have been hearing, July was a busy month trying to get “Food4Kids of Alachua” off the ground.
The idea for Food4Kids came from Interfaith Emergency Services in Marion County. That group has provided food for hungry people for several years now. Their backpack program currently reaches more than 550 children in 15 Marion County schools.
My exploration into the need for such a program here in Alachua began with Principal Jim Brandenburg of Alachua Elementary School. Is there a need? YES! Fifty-three percent of the 475 students at AES are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Of those, there are probably about 50 children whose families live right on the edge. At one time Jim was able to employ a full-time “Family Services” director , someone who knew the children in the school and their families, and could provide emergency help when there was a need. But that position went the way of many important programs in this time of extreme budget cutting.
So, with Jim’s enthusiastic support, we have begun to reach out to the community. I’ve met with representatives from Wal-Mart and Sysco, with clergy, bank presidents, and city commissioners. Alan Hitchcock has agreed to have us set up a collection point for donated food in his Alachua store. I’ve made a presentation at P.E.P. and during the next few weeks I’ll be describing Food4Kids to the Alachua Chamber of Commerce, the Alachua Business League, and Lions’ Club.
The response has been very encouraging! People seem to realize that even a little bit can make a big difference… whether they are able to donate canned goods (think about buying extra when there’s a Two-for-One sale at the market!) or sign up to sponsor a child for $6 a week.
This month we continue to build community-wide support (hopefully to be ready to begin the program in September). This newsletter contains a copy of the Food4Kids flyer which I urge you to share with friends. And remember Jesus’ words: “As you did to the least of these, so you did to me.”
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