Author: fairhaven

Sermon on Jonah

Sermon from Sunday, September 6, 2020

Call to Worship: Proverbs 16 on being at peace with one another.

Music: Oceans by Bri Babineaux https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7Jff1fWJO0

Sermon: Teaching on Jonah by Eric and Kelly Frey Martin.

  • The link leads to the sermon Powerpoint, which has the slides in Spanish and English. Sermon para Berna
  • Bible Project teaching on the book of Jonah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLIabZc0O4c
  • Further reflections discussed during the sermon:
    • Jonah is a story about missing the point about why we follow God.
    • God’s questions to Jonah are questions to the reader.
    • Micah 6:8 says, “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” When we follow the temptations discussed in the Powerpoint and warned of in the story of Jonah, we trade in vengeance for doing what is right, we trade oppression for mercy, and we trade walking proudly for walking humbly with God.
    • What is the point of following God?
    • What can we learn from the writer of the book of Jonah?

What does Jesus say about women?

Notes from a sermon by Betty Collins given August 30.

  • Anabaptists do not have a flat Bible. Jesus interprets the Old Testament. The ultimate revelation comes in Jesus. We cannot pull a verse out and say, “This is what the Bible says.” We have to interpret every verse and every even through Jesus as he shows the heart of God.
  • Book recommendation: The Bible Unwrapped: Making Sense of Scripture.
  • Jesus chose 12 disciples as an object lesson that he is the new Israel, which had 12 tribes in the old time. Luke 8:1-3 shows there were women who traveled with and listened to Jesus, taking part in his kingdom.
  • In the story of Mary and Martha, Jesus defended Mary’s right to get a theological education.
  • Jesus gave illustrations that men would understand and illustrations that women would understand. Jesus was sure both men and women could grasp his message.
  • As the cross approaches, women have more prominent roles. A woman anoints his feet. Women are in front of the cross with John. At the resurrection Jesus appears to the women and tells them to go tell the men.
  • A servant submits as Jesus did. So women submit to men, and men submit to women, and church members submit to each other.
  • Different ways to submit:

Who Am I & What Am I Doing With My Time?

Notes from sermon by Bill Case given August 2 virtually. 

  • Who am I? What am I going to do with the rest of life? What am I doing now?
  • Psalm 39:4-5
  • Psalm 103:15-16
  • James 4:13-15
  • We pay so little attention to time. Time passes so rapidly. What you do with now determines what your future will be.
  • Nothing matters in life other than love of God and love of neighbor.
  • All of us have passions about something. Be aware of what you are called to do and honor what each are doing.

Examining Scripture about Women

Sermon from Betty Collins.

  • Acts 17:10-11. We must examine the scriptures.
  • Genesis 1:27-31
    • To really understand God’s image it takes male and female characteristics or we have a distorted image of God.
    • God gives them the same responsibility to care for the earth they were given.
    • When man and women are together then creation is very good.
  • Genesis 2:20
    • God made a helper suitable for Adam.
    • Hebrew word for help in this verse is ezer. When ezer is used in scripture it refers to God as an ever present helper in time of need. Psalm 118:6-7. This word helper refers to a powerful figure and not a lowly assistance.
  • Genesis 3:1-6
    • Serpent says enough to plant a see of doubt. “Could God know what I need as well as I know what I need?”
    • Can all blame be placed on Eve if Adam was there with him?
    • Both Adam and Eve have to decide if they will believe God and if they will have faith. Throughout the Bible God is looking for faith.
  • Genesis 3:16-19. As long as God was the center of their life there was paradise. But when own desires were at the center then the focus became on who has the most power to get what they want.
  • Jesus came, won victory over sin, and welcomed us into a new kingdom. Does this change they judgment that was given in Genesis?
  • Mark 10:43-45
  • Life should be different when love is in control.
  • 1 Corinthians 11
    • Paul responded to a letter about a scandal going on in the church where people were not listening to the women because of concern about what the women were wearing.
    • The men and women were both leading public worship. Paul took no issue with that and gave information on how to handle the way women were leading.
  • Galatians 3:28

Sermon On Betrayal

Sermon notes from virtual Zoom service on Sunday, July 12 by Tom Edgington.

  • What do you do when you are the one who betrayed someone?
  • What are some of the different forms of betrayal? Confidentiality and trust. Breaking a promise. Lying or not giving whole truth.
  • All of us have betrayed someone. We all need forgiveness. We all have been victims and perpetrators.
  • The cross is more about our perpetration than about our victimization.
  • Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75
  • Until we are in the circumstance we do not know what we will do.
  • Matthew 26:47-50
  • Betrayal can be even worse when it is done lovingly.
  • Matthew 27:1-5
  • Peter did not hurt himself while remorseful and Judas did. The difference between the two is hope.
  • We still have hope, God’s love, and forgiveness even when we betray. 
  • John 21:15-16
  • Jesus communicating that Peter is loved and useful for God’s purposes no matter what is done.
  • 7 Important Principles in Dealing with Betrayal You Have Committed:
  1. Face the pain.
  2. Feel the pain. If there is no deep remorse, then there will not be true repentance.
  3. Don’t try to kill the pain. God is going to use the pain.
  4. Realize there is hope.
  5. Act accordingly. Apologize and make amends, if possible.
  6. Do not try to force the other person to forgive or reconcile with you.
  7. Remember the feelings will come and go.

Plundering of Your Property and the Power of Hope

Fairhaven’s virtual service on June 21, 2020 began with readings from Psalm 33 and Psalm 34. Music was the song Ever Be from Aaron Shust.

Bill Case delivered a sermon titled “Plundering of Your Property and the Power of Hope.” Highlights are noted below.

  • Hebrews 10:32-36
  • The church is slowly awakening from the distortion of 300 years of  dominance and prosperity. The idea is that if you are a Christian you rise on the ladder of prosperity and things will go well for you. That has been our dominant ethos. We have been suffering from that because it is unbiblical.
  • We are comfortable here in America as if this is our home. We have had the mindset that Christianity equals success. We are focused on what feels good and ignored eternal values.
  • Christians are aliens and sojourners in this world. Enlightened in Hebrews 10:32 means both conversion so we see clearly and that we then shine that light out. Some are enlightened by our light and some are incensed. Matthew 5:11 says, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” How we respond to insults matters.
  • In Jesus Christ we are one hope and one church. We are enlightened to a reward not on earth, but to a better, eternal reward. Our identity is in Christ, not in this world.

Loving Each Other As Brothers and Sisters

Notes from the virtual Fairhaven meeting on Sunday, June 14 are below.

Call to Worship from Faith Bell

Worship

Sermon from Ron Collins

  • I am the lost. I am the doubter. I am the questioner. Christianity is one bigger telling another bigger where to find bread.
  • Hebrews 13:1-3,18-21
  • Love is not an emotional jump of the heart. Love is about caring about the well being of the other person whether you like them or not.
  • Angels are messengers telling us to care. Who are our angels today? Could they be the protestors and demonstrators today reminding us of our sins?
  • Pray to become aware of all that blinds me.

Are We Walking The Right Way?

Service on Sunday, June 7 began with a reading of Matthew 11:28-30 as we were reminded of the need for rest in these stressful times. We have a savior who carries this loan with us. The song selection was a Worship Medley by Tauren Wells. The sermon was given by Matthew Cummins and you can review the PowerPoint version by clicking this link: Are we walking the right way?. We hope this helps you to determine God’s vision for you and encourages you to focus on God’s promises.

Contextual Reading of the Bible

The Fairhaven virtual service on Sunday, May 31 began with the reading of Psalm 22. This lament was made in recognition of the killing of George Floyd and the protests of continued systemic injustice. During our time of music we sang Stronger.

Eric and Kelly Frey Martin led our discussion. Eric is a recruiter for Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) and Kelly is a nurse. A few months ago they returned to the US after serving in Colombia with MMN. Here is a link to their Contextual Reading Presentation. It gives information about their time in Colombia and walks us through a contextual reading of Esther 2:1-18. If you would like to learn more about doing Contextual Bible Study, click here for a resource manual by The Ujaama Centre that developed this practice in South Africa after the fall of apartheid.

Here are some notes from our discussion of the presentation:

  • Shalom is the combination of justice and peace. We usually think of peace as the end of conflict. Shalom is not just the lack of conflict, but it is everyone living in right relationship.
  • We all bring perspectives with us when we read the Bible. We should recognize what perspective each of us brings.
  • After reading Esther’s story as a part of a workshop with Eric and Kelly that used contextual reading, Colombian youth pointed out that this story contains racism, kidnapping, machismo, and sexism.
  • The Bible is something we can relate to. It speaks to our reality.
  • Some parts of the Bible are prescriptive and some parts are descriptive.

God acts even in the midst of a difficult situation. In the story of Esther people acted for justice even in the midst of an unjust society. We pray for our church community, our city, our nation, and our world that we may be agents of peace and justice. We follow the example of Jesus who always noticed and acted on behalf of the oppressed.

Why Faith Is Necessary

The following are notes from Fairhaven’s virtual meeting on Sunday, May 24. May it be a guiding light for you this week.

Call to Worship from Christine Bailey

  • “For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it.” Jesus is recorded as saying about the same thing in all four Gospels. Matthew 10:39 and 16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24 and John 12:25.
  • Are there things in your life that God is calling you to let go of/stop trying to hold on to or save?
  • There are things in this world that we can hold on to that can keep us from moving forward.
  • We may not always know what the results of obedience in letting go of certain things may be. It is a leap of faith.

Sermon from Bill Case

  • Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
  • Faith is necessary to please God. Faith is a response to the nature of God. 
  • Miracles are not good proof for people to believe in God. Jesus did not want people to believe in Him on account of what they saw him do.
  • Faith reveals God’s presence.
  • Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
  • Faith releases God’s power.
  • Isaiah 26:3 God will keep you in perfect peace because your mind is stayed on Him.