What If I fail...

Fear of failure can cause each of us to be frozen in time. Each of us carry in our vivid memory of times, situation, and circumstances when we have failed at something, messed things up, or really goofed. Successes, accomplishments, or goals completed can not erase those mistakes we have made. Doesn’t really matter our intentions, we have all at sometime in our lives failed. Our failure or fear of failure can keep us from trying again or acting. The damage of a bad relationship can hinder us from loving or trusting another person. Negative words about a dish we have cooked and created can cause us to never make it again. Pain from an injury can cause us to never play the sport again, even if we are physically able. The concept is universal as it makes no difference if we are talking about our relationships, finances, business decisions, health, hobbies, or vocation; we have all failed at least once. We have all sinned and we all keep track of those failures and sins.
So how does God through Jesus Christ set us free of our failures? Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. He gave us a pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it's now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.

“The What Ifs?”

When we are full of fear, a million questions pop up, what if this happens, what if that happens, what is going to happen to me when I don’t have much hope for the future. Our society in which we live is ever changing. The hope for the future seems to be dwindling each and every day with each news report. Security is an uncommon commodity in the times in which we exist. It is in times like these we desperately need to turn to God for hope.
This Sunday we will begin a new sermon series on the “What If’s.” We will explore the “What if’s” of our: future, commitment, failure, God, and death. We will seek God’s guidance as we explore what if the future is not what we intended. We will seek a deeper understanding of what if I fail. We will discover spiritual direction as we ask what if I can not commit. We will worship God and search for reasoning if we ask: what if I fear God. As we worship as a faith community we will end our series address the fear in what if I die.
A sermon series provides a tremendous opportunity for us to turn to God in times of fear. It provides for us an avenue for our faith to become relevant in the life we live each and every day. This series opens an avenue to invite someone to share in this awesome experience. Even if you know they attend another congregation regularly, invite them to join you for one service or the entire series. It will provide healing for them if you know they are struggling on one of the “what if’s” we are addressing. They can then return to their home congregation with a clear sense of renewed hope. This series gives an occasion for God to restore hope into their lives. Give someone you know a call and invite them to join us as together, in the presences of God, as we explore the “what if’s” in our lives. Call, drop a note, or email to friends, family, neighbors and strangers as we tackle “the what if’s”.

Until we meet again, take care of yourself and one another..

Shalom,

Tommy

Please Be Informed

We as Amercian all agree that something needs to be done for better Health Care for all God's children. Please read so you can be fully informed. This is a letter written by Dr. Stephen Fraser to Senator Bayh. If you would like to send it on to your Congressman, he says to feel free to copy it and send it around to our friends and to senators and representatives."


July 23, 2009

Senator Bayh,

As a practicing physician I have major concerns with the healthcare bill before Congress. I actually have read the bill and am shocked by the brazenness of the government's proposed involvement in the patient physician relationship. The very idea that the government will dictate and ration patient care is dangerous and certainly not helpful in designing a healthcare system that works for all.. Every physician I work with agrees that we need to fix our healthcare system, but the proposed bills currently making their way through congress will be a disaster if passed.

I ask you respectfully and as a patriotic American to look at the following troubling lines that I have read in the bill. You cannot possibly believe that these proposals are in the best interests of the country and our fellow citizens.

Page 22 of the HC Bill: Mandates that the Govt will audit books of all employers that self insure!!

Page 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get.

Page 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill: YOUR HEALTH CARE IS RATIONED!!!

Page 42 of HC Bill: The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits for you. You have no choice!

Page 50 Section 152 in HC bill: HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

Page 58 HC Bill: Govt will have real-time access to individuals finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!

Page 59 HC Bill lines 21-24: Govt will have direct access to you ur banks accounts for elective funds transfer.

Page 65 Sec 164: is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community organizations: (ACORN).

Page 84 Sec 203 HC bill: Govt mandates ALL benefit packages for private HC plans in the Exchange.

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare!

Page 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill: Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services. Example - Translation: illegal aliens.

Page 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18: The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Govt HC plan.

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members - your Health care WILL be rationed.

Page 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill: Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

Page 124 lines 24-25 HC: No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt Monopoly.

Page 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill: Doctors/ American Medical Association - The Govt will tell YOU what you can make! (salary)

Page 145 Line 15-17: An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE!

Page 126 Lines 22-25: Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.

Page 149 Lines 16-24: ANY Employer with payroll 401k & above who does not provide public option pays 8% tax on all payroll.

Page 150 Lines 9-13: Business's with payroll btw 251k & 401k who doesn't provide public option pays 2-6% tax on all payroll.

Page 167 Lines 18-23: ANY individual who doesn't have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income.

Page 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill: Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay)

Page 195 HC Bill: Officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access to ALL Americans finances /personal records.

Page 203 Line 14-15 HC: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that!

Page 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill: Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid Seniors, low income and poor are affected.

Page 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill: Doctors, doesn't matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same!

Page 253 Line 10-18: Govt sets value of Doctor's time, proffession, judgment etc. Literally value of humans.

Page 265 Sec 1131: Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries.

Page 268 Sec 1141: Federal Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs.

Page 272 SEC. 1145: TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!

Page 280 Sec 1151: The Govt will penalize hospitals for whatever Govt deems preventable re-admissions.

Page 298 Lines 9-11: Doctors, treat a patient during initial admission that results in a re-admission -Govt will penalize you.

Page 317 L 13-20: PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Doctors what/how much they can own!

Page 317-318 lines 21-25, 1-3: PROHIBITION on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand.

Page 321 2-13: Hospitals have opportunity to apply for exception BUT community input is required. Can u say ACORN?!!

Page 335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339: Govt mandates establishment of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing.

Page 341 Lines 3-9: Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Advance Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing people into Govt plan.

Page 354 Sec 1177: Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs people! Unbelievable!

Page 379 Sec 1191: Govt creates more bureaucracy - Tele-health Advisory Comittee. Can you say HC by phone?

Page 425 Lines 4-12: Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life patients.

Page 425 Lines 17-19: Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!

Page 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3: Govt provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death. (assisted suicide)

Page 427 Lines 15-24: Govt mandates program for orders for end of life. The Govt has a say in how your life ends.

Page 429 Lines 1-9: An "advanced care planning consultant" will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates.

Page 429 Lines 10-12: "advanced care consultation" may include an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOVT!

Page 429 Lines 13-25: The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.

Page 430 Lines 11-15: The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life!

Page 469: Community Based Home Medical Services = Non profit organizations. Hello, ACORN Medical Services here!!?

Page 472 Lines 14-17: PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORIGINATIONS. 1 monthly payment 2 a community-based organization. Like ACORN?

Page 489 Sec 1308: The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. This means they will insert Govt into your marriage.

Page 494-498: Govt will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, and rationing those services.


Senator, I guarantee that I personally will do everything possible to inform patients and my fellow physicians about the dangers of the proposed bills you and your colleagues are debating.

Furthermore, If you vote for a bill that enforces socialized medicine on the country and destroys the doctor/patient relationship, I will do everything in my power to make sure you lose your job in the next election.

Respectfully,

Stephen E Fraser MD

Don't Panic!

Don’t panic.
While on vacation, the family went rafting down the Spring River in Arkansas. While the rapids were pretty tame we managed to make it down the river still loving each other at the end. There was one point in the river as we attempted to go over a rapid, the raft got stuck. The water was only a few feet deep but was rushing past us at an incredible force. We were still stuck on the little water fall. As I was by far the heaviest, I stepped out of the raft to free us. As I stepped out the raft, it jetted down the rapid leaving me standing in the cold rushing water. While Abby yelled “We are leaving Daddy.” Will took charge to save his father and paddled in circles, and Kellie laughed at all our lack of rafting skills, I stood on the ledge watching them float to safety. Abby was worried about my safety, I was concerned about their safety, and we all seemed to be stranded in this perpetual moment in time. After the moment subsided, they paddled to calmer water, and I proceeded to walk to the comfort and safety of the raft to rejoin our family adventure. I was quiet and clam walking to the raft focused on our reunion until I stepped on a snake. (I really don’t like snakes.)
In the 6th chapter of the gospel of John, we are told of a story of Jesus teaching and preaching the good news to thousands of people. The apostles approached him in a panic as it was getting late and the people had not eaten. They were only focused on the physical needs of the people. Jesus tells Philip to go and buy them something to eat. Philip reminds Jesus only of the financial sacrifice or commitment needed to feed that many people. Jesus calmly lays out a plan for God’s miracle to feed the thousands. It was all possible with the resources of a young boy. God fed all those that day with what little was offered. All the people were nourished both physically and spiritually with plenty left over. It reminds us that miracles are carried out by God and giving what resources we have no matter the size is the necessary ingredient God needs to initiate the miracle. Occasionally we can’t see past our own fears or our present predicament to allow Christ to touch others. Ever so often, we are only focused on the physical (only what we can see with our eyes) and not focused on the spiritual needs of others. We forget that the One who feeds the thousands, walked on water, and offers grace and mercy, also has a plan for you and our faith community. Our security is found in Christ’s plan for us. Only if we are willing to give up whatever we have for others.
Watch out for snakes, see ya in church, and take care of yourself and one another.
Shalom,
Tommy.

"Why Are Things Like They Are?”

If you are like me, I have begun to find the news media coverage of current events very disturbing. There has been a rise in the coverage of family murder/ suicides. Some people blame the decline in the economy, the government, and even the change in climate but statistically there have been more of these tragedies that have taken place in the last few months. Anxiety, fear, and uncertainty seem to be the underlining cause of most of the problems we face each and every day. Lack of resources for the availability for help for those individuals struggling adds this toxic environment. So who or whom is to blame? The answer might surprise you. It is us, the church. In researching FCC’s role in the future I came across an article written by George Barna a researcher and the leading expert in church statistics and growth. “We have shifted our energy from a willingness to work hard toward achieving significant outcomes to an attitude of entitlement,” Barna noted. “We expect the market to pander to our needs in customized and personalized ways, producing a fragmented marketplace. We have transitioned from having a commitment to the common good based on shared values to an emphasis on personal good and individual values.”
“In the midst of all these – and other – transitions,” Barna continued, “our religious communities have not adapted well to the challenges of the day. Rather than facilitate people’s commitment to positive, life-affirming values and dedication to serving others, and living a balanced and moral life, churches and other ministries have fallen prey to the competitive spirit of the American system. Many of our religious organizations have focused on competing for bodies, dollars and talent rather than upholding core values. Without our faith communities playing their historic role as the moral and spiritual leaders of the nation, we have taken our values cues from the political and business sectors. That has lowered the bar on character and vision. That, in turn, has led the nation to deteriorate from a place on unity amidst diversity to a place of individualism amidst competition for personal comfort and supremacy.
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” In our lives our ears have to be fixed on the voice of the one who leads us, our Savior Jesus Christ. It is critical we live out our core values: integrity, compassion, grace, service, unity, spirituality, and identity in all we do. If not we are contributing to the decay of what we hold so dear. See ya in church but until then listen to the good shepherd.

Until we meet again take care of yourself and one another,

Shalom,

Tommy

It is About “It.”

We live in a complicated hectic world that leaves me in a constant state of confusion most of the time. I believe it is because I have too many choices and decisions to make. I desperately find myself wanting to return to my youth when things were simpler. Watching television is just one aspect of our lives that have become greatly complicated over the years. Growing up we had a black & white television with three channels. Today we have a HD television with over 200 channels. As a child the decision was simple to watch television, play outside, or bang on my drums. Not channel surfing through all 200 channels to see if anything catches my interest or can hold my already very short attention span. (Not to mention deciding which shows to record and watch later.) If our family watched television together, we talked during commercials; we did not fast-forward through them with the remote. Being the smallest in the family, I was the remote control. “Tommy! Change the channel, turn it up, turn it down, etc.” I even got some exercise as well as being entertained as an escape from reality.
Sometimes we try to make Easter more complicated than it should be. When we look at Jesus’ life and teaching, he made things really simple. During this Lenten season as we moved towards our destination, we have tried to keep it simple. It is about “it”. It is the love of Christ. Mary Magdalene was the model for “it” and a model we need to pursue in our faith journey as well. First, she had to lose it; she was healed by Jesus for the seven demons she possessed. When she experienced Christ’s healing touch she had to lose her past reputation, the guilt, and the chains that bonded her to her past. She lost her past life, she supported Jesus ministry and was a faithful follower until his death. Second, she had to find “it”. Mary Magdalene was the first to return to Jesus tomb. She was the first to find that Christ had risen but she did not understand the power of his love. She kept asking until she understood what had happened. Third, she had to get “it”. Although she found the tomb empty, she did not understand what had happened. She thought the risen Savior was a groundskeeper. After she encounters the risen Christ, she understood the significance of what her eyes had seen. Last, she had to pass “it”. Jesus instructed her to tell the disciples that he had risen. Out of all the disciples, all of Jesus’ followers, it was Mary Magdalene that He chose to reveal the good news. It was because out off all those there that day, she was the only one that lost it, found it, got it, and passes it on. Maybe it is that simple for us if we don’t allow our life to become too complicated. Has Christ’s love allowed you to lose your past? Have you found grace, unconditional love, and forgiveness in Christ love for you? Do you fully understand what Christ has done or can do for your life? Have you passed it on to others through your actions and words? Lose it- Find it- Get it- Pass it- It is that simple.
Shalom,
Tommy

I Want To See Jesus!

While we are nearing the finishing line of the Lenten season, I find myself full of more questions than answers. The end is in view. We have had huge success in all the programs of the last few weeks, we have experienced the Holy Spirit catching fire, and people are responding to it. In the midst of the excitement, enthusiasm, and pageantry I find myself with many questions. As we approach Easter and Jesus approaches the cross, what do we want out of the experience? What is it that we want to experience as we go through Holy Week? When we choose to follow Christ what is it that we want out of this relationship? Is Easter a time of spiritual renewal, a time to reflect on your own life, and acquire strengthen to face the future? Do we have any expectations about Easter or is it just a Holy time of the year?
If you are like me and your life is like mine the answer is simple. I want to SEE Jesus! When it comes to looking at Jesus, what do we see? Here are a few possibilities. We might see Jesus as miracle worker, and then wonder why we don't see miracles in our own life. We might see Jesus as a teacher and try to hear what he teaches and try to follow his teachings. We might see Jesus as the best example of how to live and attempt to emulate his life. We might see him as the Savior who gives us eternal life. Or, we might see him as all of these things, and perhaps even more! No matter how we see Jesus we all yearn to be in His glory. When we see Jesus on the cross, witness the pain, observe the destruction, we fail to see God’s glory. We miss the victory. We miss God’s unconditional love He has for us. We overlook the need to lose our life in order to gain it. The cross as the example of God’s glory is the single place we find the hope needed to make it to tomorrow. I want to see Jesus! What do you want?
Shalom,
Tommy