Dear Bearcreekians,

I couldn’t fit all the thoughts I had into the sermon, so I am giving you a pre-sermon with the little thought that wouldn’t fit. The scripture is 1 John 3:1-3. In the first two verses John talks about us being the children of God and becoming ever more like Jesus. Then in verse 3 he says, “All who have this hope (what hope?) in Jesus purify themselves (what does pure mean here?), just as Jesus is pure.”

The hope is that in really seeing Jesus we see who we are becoming.  And to become like Jesus is our hope.

Originally the word we translate purify was in Judaism and early Christianity a cultic practice of preparation to enter the temple. When going before God one wanted to be as clean as possible. Purification could involve a ritual bath, a proper sacrificial offering, or prayers. If there had been contact with any of the things that cause impurity, such as contact with non-Jews, death, or the ill, then it was desirable to clean up before appearing before God.

We do the same thing. Most of us bathe and dress a little nicer before we come to Sunday worship. We also try to check our attitudes a little more closely before we approach God in song and prayer.

Over time the cultic understanding of purity faded as Christians recognized that all life was lived before God and so purity became not just a ritual done before coming to the temple, but the practice of daily life as we clean up our act and are transformed to be pure in the way Jesus was pure; that is, as we become ever more pure in our servant love.

By the hope of seeing and becoming like Jesus we are purified before God and become pure before God just as Jesus is. So a first step in being a follower of Jesus is the prayer and hope that we become like Jesus.

I pray daily to see Jesus. I hope constantly to be more like Jesus.  And by my prayers and hope I am gradually made pure in servant love.

Shalom,

Pastor David Orendorff

Dear Bearcreekians,

It always surprises me when I am away the number of people that think that, since I am gone, they can be gone and skip Sunday worship. Since approaching being an adult, I have never not been a pastor, and so I have no real perspective on this except it seems weird to me. I would think that my presence is totally separate of anyone else’s attendance. I would think that the chance to hear an Andy or Joan Pierce, or some other guest preacher, would be a reason to attend. I would think that spiritual formation is about attending to the public worship of God, not listening to a preacher who only has one sermon anyway.

I just don’t get it. See you in church.

Shalom, Dave O