Flowered Cross at Northwood Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Beaumont, Texas. Taken by Rev. Evan M. Dolive.
Below is my Easter sermon based on John 20:1-18.
Easter blessings to you and yours.
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they could go and anoint Jesus’ dead body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb. They were saying to each other, “Who’s going to roll the stone away from the entrance for us?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. (And it was a very large stone!) Going into the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right side; and they were startled. But he said to them, “Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He isn’t here. Look, here’s the place where they laid him. Go, tell his disciples, especially Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.” 8 Overcome with terror and dread, they fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. Mark 16:1-8 (CEB)
Happy Easter!
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
Let’s face it… humanity is pretty selfish. We want more than the next person, we covet other’s wealth and fame and some people will stop at nothing to make sure they (or someone they love) is a better place or position regardless of the consequences. Wars have been waged over land and resources, people have been killed over little league playing time and people rush out to buy the new Apple iPhone or iPad or any other device to make sure they stand at the pinnacle of humanity’s shallow standards.
This unfortunately has found its way in the church through a number of doors.
Because of this we fail to remember the call of Christ to become self-less.
We are called as followers of Christ to be the hands and feet of God at all times to all people. When are humanity kicks in and overshadows are call we can say, act and even do things we regret.
My sister, Haley, tweeted some nice pieces of self-less theology.
[tweet 583649994378383360 align=’center’] [tweet 583650032710131712 align=’center’]Much like humanity, the church can be the best thing for society and the worst for people all at the same time. I hope that for our world’s sake we focus on others over our own. Haley is right… the world would be a much better place.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu once wrote:
Do your little of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
Let’s not forget our own call to serve God in the world and through this interactions with others we will then show them the light of Christ. This the most effective evangelism ever conceived.
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
Can you find religion in the American made tradition of a fortune cookie? After church we went out for Chinese by request from my now 5-year-old; I opened my fortune cookie and found this message.
Generally these fortunes aren’t really fortunes at all but often cliché sayings that are supposed to make you feel better for eating too many egg rolls. They have become so silly that people have even started making games out of these feeble sayings.
This one, however, was different; maybe it was different because I needed to hear it. We all need a reminder from time to time that our faith is something that is not static but ever-changing and growing.
We turn to it in our times of need and in our times of sorrow.
Can faith really drive out fear? I think so if we remember that it is there to begin with.
This little piece of paper reminded me that while the future is always uncertain, my reaction to it is not.
My faith might be shaken or even shrink to the point of non-existence but there is something that will always call me back, something that will point to something greater than myself. In a world of 10,000 emails, productivity software apps, deadlines and commitments, we can forget that the simplest thing is to have faith like a child. We don’t have to have all the answers, run around with an “I love Jesus” t-shirt on or even attend a local congregation. The faith that we have can be simple or it can be great; all that matters that we have that faith.
Every person as a part of their faith journey has some reason why they keep coming back to God even when facing adversity or doubt. There is something that calls us back into communion or relation with God that undeniable. There is a moment in every person’s life when the Divine was so real, so tangible, you felt as if you could almost reach out and touch God. Our hearts our filled, they are overwhelmed with God and God’s grace or mercy or love or forgiveness. That is that calls us back… that is where we find our wholeness and completeness. This faith drives out our doubt and fear; this faith is undeniable and the bed rock of our understanding of God.
Over time we can lost sight of it or think that we should be doing more, but more times than not we will return this place to recharge and reconnect.
So yes maybe you can find religion in a fortune cookie. The next time you stuff your face with Lo Mein and spring rolls and before you learn your lucky numbers and how to say “sugar” in Chinese, be sure to look for the message that awaits you, you never know what you might find.
Keep the faith.
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”– Saint Augustine, taken from The Confessions
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18 Common English Bible
In the Protestant Canon there are 66 books:39 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament. Found with in the sacred pages are words, stories, sayings and teachings that have inspired billions of followers of Christianity spanning millenia.
The church today proclaims the teachings of the Bible through the giving of the message or sermon. Ministers from all walks of life go to the Bible to pull out a message from God about what it means to live a faithful life today. People turn to these words everyday as a way to hear the story of God anew and/or have a new hearing on familiar words.
However, over time the some ministers (myself included) have left out some books when it comes to these proclamations, either intentionally or not. We tend to gravitate to certain books time and time again. By doing this we have shrunk our canon from 66 books to only a handful.
Because of this I have decided to preach sermons from books that many people have more than likely never heard a sermon from before.
I am calling it “The Forgotten Series.”
Over the next five weeks, we will be exploring some of the lesser preached from books of the Bible to see what messages we have been missing.
The series will include (in no particular order):
I will be posting the Sermons page each week if you would like to follow along.
In Christ,
Rev. Evan
Below is an article I wrote for a newsletter for the hospital I am working for.
2013 has come to a close we find ourselves in the midst of 2014. Every year people resolve to make the New Year better, more fulfilling or even less hectic than the one before. These resolutions or promises are guides that will help us reach our goal of bettering ourselves, our family or our community. Some people want to exercise more, learn to cook or stop biting their nails. Others want to volunteer more, worship more fully or step out in faith by responding to a call or stirring of their heart. And yet some can be quite different like the woman who ate every meal at Starbucks for an entire year.
The New Year is a way to reflect on the life that has gone by in the previous year: the struggles, triumphs, blessings and heartaches that we have felt. All of these events and emotions form us into the person we are today. We are not the same person we were on January 1, 2013 and we will not be the same person on December 31,2014. We are being transformed and changed by the power of God and the experience we have with God through worship, nature, prayers, the sacraments and the scriptures.
Every day is a possibility to see how God is interacting with the world and in our lives.
In the Bible, at the end of the Book of Revelation, we find that God declares that one day God will make all things new. This is the declaration that is given to all of humanity. One of my favorite hymns, “This Is the Day of New Beginnings” speaks to the power of new beginnings and how we are not alone in them. The words are printed below.
This is a day of new beginnings,
time to remember and move on,
time to believe what love is bringing,
laying to rest the pain that’s gone.
For by the life and death of Jesus,
love’s mighty Spirit, now as then,
can make for us a world of difference
as faith and hope are born again.
Then let us, with the Spirit’s daring,
step from the past, and leave behind
our disappointment, guilt and grieving,
seeking new paths, and sure to find.
Christ is alive, and goes before us
to show and share what love can do.
This is a day of new beginnings;
our God is making all things new.[1]
As we journey in 2014 not knowing what is ahead of us, let us go in faith and know that God will be with us every step of the way.
In Christ,
Rev. Evan Dolive
[1] Copyright © 1983 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission.; Words © 1975, 1995 Hope Publishing Co
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In Christ,
Rev. Evan
Rev. Dr. Evan M. Dolive 