Monday Morning Quarterback

Dec 15th 2010

For those not up on football lingo a Monday Morning Quarterback is “one who critiques from a position of hindsight.”  mmqbI know it’s not really Monday, but it’s still a look back on this last weekend. So here are my thoughts looking back…

1) Last week’s message was all about family — the “us” in Christmas.  Different phrases stick with different people, but I think the phrase that has stuck with me the most is “pass it on down the table.”  Here is where that came from… I said,

It’s been a tough year in Myanmar, a lot of emails from leaders asking me to pray that God would provide food for the kids. You know if Sarah called me from Pittsburgh and said, Dad, please pray for me, I don’t have enough money for food this week. I would sell my tv — maybe not the hi-def flat screen, but for sure the little one in the bedroom. No you know I would sell whatever I had to sacrifice. I would sell my jeep. I would sacrifice to share what I have to meet her needs. She’s my daughter. She’s family.

So I was asking Lynn, why haven’t we sold our tv, sold our jeep? Why haven’t we been willing to sacrifice more to help the kids in Myanmar. I know them. I love them. I think
part of it, is that I haven’t yet, quite made them family. But you know what…the child who was born unto us…was also born unto them…we are family.

As we close this weekend…as we make our way to communion, sometimes we call it The Lord’s Table. Just imagine with me…we’re setting down at the Lord’s Table for Christmas dinner. It’s a big table. It’s so big you need google chat and skype to talk to the people at the other end of the table…but it’s just one table… It’s the Lord’s table. It pleases him when his kids are all home..sitting around his table. Can you imagine, sitting at that table and on one end, — thankfully the end that you are sitting on — on that end, is all the food. So you start to eat. It’s so good. The food at the Lord’s Table is always sooo good. But as you fill your plate, you start to eat… and you get a text, an urgent skype call…nobody is passing the food down the table…it just stays on your end.

Once upon a time these words were written in I John…”We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion — how can God’s love be in that person? (It’s not enough to say we love each other; we must show it by our actions.) I John 3:16-18 (NLT)

In other words, we need to pass it down the table. That’s what the 1% offering is all about, passing it down the table so that everyone can eat.

If you weren’t here and would like to listen to the whole message, click .

2) Last Saturday we held our Christmas Cookie and Breakfast Sale.  We raised over $4000 for the kids we serve in Myanmar, Rwanda, and the Dominican Republic.  Around 650 dozen cookies and Christmas candy, not to mention breads, rolls, and Gingerbread Houses.  An amazing sight, and quite tasty!  Which could be equally well said of the breakfast!  A huge thank you to all those who helped, bought and ate!

3)  Speaking of the cookies sale, perhaps my most encouraging moment involved some of the unsold cookies.  With close to 8000 cookies and pieces of candy, you can imagine a few items were left over.  What to do?  A volunteer packed up 40 boxes of goodies and personally delivered them to two local mobile home communities.  How cool is that!  You served so many kids last weekend in so many different ways.

4) I had the opportunity to speak at Tuscarora — where Lynn’s folks are involved in ministry — last Sunday.  Through the miracle of technology — while you watched me on video, I was speaking to a church on the Delaware River.  And you know what?  A number of people came up and wanted to help with our ministry in Myanmar.  God always has a plan.