Author Archives: Andy Stoddard

Andy Stoddard ~ How to Live Today in This World: A Letter

Dear Church Family,

It seems as though we are living days where each new day spins further out of control than the last. It is easy to feel like society is fraying at the seams. So many of us are afraid. Angry. Unsure of the future. Worried for our kids, our grandkids, our nation, everything.

It is so easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. I feel that way sometimes. When I think about the world that I will be handing to my children, I get worried. I am afraid of what they are going to have to deal with, the struggles they will face, all the uncertainty of it all.

It seems as though our nation is divided, people are divided; communities are divided. What are we to do? As Christians, as the church, what are we to do?

One of the things that I try to remember when we face huge trials is that we are not the first to deal with issues like this. We are not the first people to deal with divisions, with uncertainty, with all of these things. Many of us have lived through trying days before. And it isn’t just us. When we look at Scripture, we remember the trials that the people of God have always had to deal with. When we look at Paul’s world, we must remember that every word he wrote, he did under tremendous stress. He (and other believers) faced persecution from the world, from cultural and religious leaders, from so many places. Always remember what Paul went through when you read his words. Remember that, as you read this part of Romans 12:

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Paul and early Christians lived in a divided world. A world with much hatred. A world with much violence. A world that was big and mean and nasty, and didn’t much care for Christians.

And how did Paul tell believers to address that world? Love. Be patient. Show hospitality. Weep. Rejoice. Be humble. In as much as you can, live in peace. Vengeance is the Lords (NOT OURS). Feed, love, and care for your enemies. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Paul did not write this while life was easy. He did not write this without enemies, without those that wanted to cause him great harm. He wrote it while it was very, very hard.

He knew that Christians had to be different. In spite of persecution and fear and danger, we have to love. We have to make a difference. We have to be patient. We have to show grace. We have to be Jesus’ hands and feet. We have to be salt and light, we have to be life changers.

Hold on, Church. Believe. Hope. Pray. Show grace. Be Jesus to someone. Love everyone, even those with whom you disagree.

Don’t lose faith, don’t lose hope, don’t lose love. These three remain. God wins in the end. Someone in your path needs grace. You can’t control all the world, but you (and I) can control our living out grace today. And if we each live out grace, who knows what may happen and change.

Our community, our state, and our nation needs us now more than ever. Let’s live out our calling today.

Peace of Christ,

Andy

Andy Stoddard ~ Your Behavior Matters

One of the most common phrases in our culture, and in the church as well, is “you can’t judge me. Only God can judge me.” And yes, there are many verses in Scripture that tell us that we should not judge each other, and that God is the only judge of our behavior or intentions. (By the way, none of us really want God to judge us; as one of my professors in seminary used to tell us, when the Holy God of Heaven comes in judgment, we will all be found lacking.)

But I think that when that phrase is uttered, something else can be implied. “Only God can judge me” can quickly morph into, “you don’t matter.” Your opinions, your thoughts, your feelings, they don’t matter. And that simply isn’t what we are taught in Scripture. Listen to what Jesus tells us today in Matthew 18: 6-7:

“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!”

Jesus is telling us we should not be a stumbling block to others. In other words, you matter to me. My life and behavior affect you. How I live, how I act, what I do – my behavior will have an affect on the lives of those I know, those I love, those I’m in relationship with.

You matter to me. I want to live in a way that helps you, that strengthens you, that helps your walk with God, and with other people. You matter to me.

So yes, only God is the righteous judge. But may we never be so concerned with doing what we want, how we want to, that we forget that other people matter. May we never be a stumbling block to each other.

You matter to me. May I live in such a way that my life is blessing to you.

Andy Stoddard ~ How to Get A Good Name

I really do love the book of Proverbs. There’s just some really good stuff within this great book: wisdom that can help us live our lives in ways that are just so powerful and so good.

Ways that are just so true. Listen to what we are told today in Proverbs 21: 1-2:

1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
and favor is better than silver or gold.
2 The rich and the poor have this in common:
the Lord is the maker of them all.

In this passage, we see what is truly priceless in the world. Not power or wealth or status, but this. A good name. It is better than anything else you can have in all the world.

A good name is not for sale. A good name doesn’t come from ill-gotten gain. A good name speaks to who we are as people. A good name is one of the few things that really does matter.

But how do we get a good name? Verse two tells us.

We see in verse two where our worth comes from. It comes from this fact: God is our maker. He is the maker of the rich. He is the maker of the poor. He is the maker of us all.

Everyone matters. Everyone is important. Everyone is made in God’s image. And Jesus died for everyone.

You have never met an unimportant person. You have never met what C.S. Lewis calls a “mere mortal.”

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors… Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.

God is the maker of us all. Everyone matters. Treat everyone like they are that sacred. Because they are. Treat everyone with the worth that they have. That’s how you get a priceless treasure. That’s how you get a good name.

Andy Stoddard ~ Can We Really Have Peace?

I’ve been thinking a lot about peace recently. We are in the midst of Advent, a season of hope, peace, love, and joy. It’s in this season when we proclaim the words of Isaiah 9:6-7:

For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The Prince of Peace is born! That’s what we say. That’s what we believe.

That’s what we believe: as Christians, as the church, that’s what we believe. And in the world that we live in, that makes us look different. Off. Odd. And you know what? Good. We are supposed to. We aren’t supposed to be like the world. We aren’t supposed to be like the culture.

We are supposed to be different.

As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:10 – we are fools for Christ. We are supposed to look differently, believe differently, act differently. We are called to have a different hope, joy, love, and peace.

As I regularly say, if you tell folks you are Christian and they say, “really?” that’s not a good sign. We have to look and to be different from the world.

I’m not saying that there aren’t things to be afraid of. I’m not saying that there aren’t things that can take our peace, take our joy, take our hope, take our love. Of course there are! There are big, scary, worrisome things. But please hear me.

God is bigger.

God is stronger.

God is more mighty.

He is bigger than your fears.

And as Christians, believing that is who we are.

And the world needs us to believe it and know it.

Your peace will not come from an absence of conflict or absence of things that are you are afraid of.

Your peace will come from the trust and assurance of this truth: no matter what you face, no matter what you are afraid of – God is bigger. And God is good.

Jesus Christ is the prince of peace.

Yesterday.

Today.

Forever.

He is our peace.

Will you trust him today?

Featured image courtesy DAVIDSONLUNA for Unsplash.

Andy Stoddard ~ From Projects to People: Serving with Christ’s Heart

To get a better picture of Jesus, let’s look at two stories together, Mark 10:32-34 and then verses 35-45:

They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.”

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

What we see here is two contrasting ideals with Jesus trying to reconcile them. We see Jesus teaching about what must happen, that he must suffer and die to save the people from their sins. His purpose is to teach us to love, to care, to serve, to forgive – and ultimately, his purpose is to go to the cross (and the empty grave) for our sins.

Jesus is teaching them that. But they aren’t getting it.

Then we see in the second portion James and John trying to wiggle their way into being the greatest in the kingdom. And Jesus says (paraphrasing), “guys, you are missing the point here.”

Your life, your greatness, it doesn’t come from power or prestige or titles. It comes from serving. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve. That is the path he walks. And that is path that he calls us to walk.

Serve. We are not like the world. It is “not so among us.” We’ve got to be different. The only way that we change the world is to be different. The only way that we can make a difference in the hardened hearts of this world is through service: to love God and love our neighbor.

That’s what Jesus calls us to. That’s the path to greatness for us as Christians. Not in power, but in service.

Today, and in this soon-to-be Advent season, may we live out that love of God. May we serve.

Andy Stoddard ~ The Healer: Healing the Spirit and Flesh in the Gospel of Mark

You can look at some of the big picture issues of location and context and fear within Mark 5:1-19. Today I want to look at little bit a the people involved in this story:

Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac
They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.

The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.”

First, we see the man. Look at the torment he had been through. One of the things that we see Jesus do over and over again in the text is to bring healing. This man needed physical healing: he was cutting himself, harming himself, and in great pain, but his physical needs came from a spiritual place.

Jesus cast out the demons and in doing this brought spiritual and physical healing to this man. Healing always starts with the spiritual. In this life, the physical may, or may not, be healed. But, through Jesus, the heart and the soul can be healed. Jesus wants to bring healing. He wants to bring grace. He wants to bring forgiveness: forgiveness for us, and the ability for us to forgive others. He longs to restore our soul and restore our lives.

Jesus saw this man in pain, and he brought healing.

And look what the man wanted to do. He said – let me follow you. And Jesus said, no. Do something even harder. Tell your friends what God has done for you. Why? Why didn’t Jesus let him go with them?

Look at the reaction of the people in verse 17. The people begged Jesus to leave. Why did they want Jesus to leave? Well, we see that their swine had been destroyed (by the way, sidebar – why did the demons want to go into the pigs? There are lots of opinions on this, but I’ll give you mine. They were destructive. They wanted to destroy as much as they could. When they could no longer destroy this man, they wanted to destroy something else). The people also saw Jesus’ power. And they were scared of it. It was bigger than them.

Jesus was other. And the didn’t know what to do with him. So they asked him to leave.

We would never do that, would we?

Well, how many of us have felt God calling us to something? We know, we know, we know that there is something that God is calling us to. And we run. We run from it, we run from God.

Why? A thousand different reasons, different reasons for all of us. But for me, and probably for many of us, it’s control. We like being in control and to let God lead and to follow him with abandon means losing control, giving him full control. And that’s terrifying. Even though we know he is good and only wants the best for us. It’s still scary.

And that’s why we’ve got to trust him and follow. And sometimes we follow, not to far away places, but to our own town.

Today, no matter where he calls, may we faithfully follow.

Andy Stoddard ~ Are You John the Baptist?

As we start our journey through Mark together, today we are going to look at Chapter 1:1-8: In the NRSV this section is entitled The Proclamation of John the Baptist:

1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”

4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

A few things that jump out to me in this passage. First, in verse 1, the “good news.” That’s what the word Gospel means. It is good news. Jesus is Good News. The grace of God is good news. When we tell folks about God, we are telling them about good news! God loves you! Do we communicate that “good news” like it is actual good news?

In verses 2-3, we see a quotation from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. Mark’s Gospel doesn’t have as many Old Testament quotations as Matthew does, but he does quote from the Old Testament a good bit. Why? Well, a couple of reasons. First, this shows the Jewish believers that this “new” Christian faith is really the same faith that their ancestors were pointing to. It is actually what Abraham and Moses and others were hoping and longing for.

And second, it shows us non-Jewish (i.e. Gentile) believers that God was at work for a long time. We aren’t the first believers in God ever. God was working all of history towards the coming of Jesus Christ. And we as Christians, we should not forsake the Old Testament. We should treasure it and read it as well. It is our story as well. We believe that all the Bible is inspired. The Old Testament matters to us as well!

In verses 4-8, we see the entrance of John the Baptist. Can’t you just picture him with this description. And you know what? He looks different, doesn’t he? Mark makes it clear to us that he is not like the other religious leaders. Not in his dress, not in his actions (baptism of repentance) and not in his message – the savior is coming.

John was different. But what was his purpose? To prepare the way for Jesus. To get folks ready for Jesus. To make sure that people knew Jesus and were ready to follow him.

In fact, you and I have the same purpose. To make Jesus known. So, we too have a different message and a different purpose. Just like John, we are called to be different. And we are called to point folks to Jesus.

Today, we share that same mission as John. To point folks to Jesus.

Andy Stoddard ~ Happiness: Cause and Effect

How do you live a happy life? For you, what would result in happiness?

We may have a list. If I have this. Or if I have that. If I’m able to accomplish this. Or if this happens at work, or at home, or in my own life, then I’ll be happy. We’ve probably all got our list of what we want, or want to happen, in our lives, that will make us happy.

I was thinking about that today when I read what Paul had to say in Philippians 2: 1-4. Listen to what he shares with us:

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

He actually gives us the secret to happiness. As tempting as it would be to think that our happiness will come from getting what we want, or doing what we want, our having our needs or wants met, Paul turns that on its head.

If there anything good, be of the same mind with each other. Don’t be selfish, don’t act selfishly. Regard others as better than you, and look to their interests first.

That sounds good, until you actually think about it. Regard others as better than you. I don’t (and don’t want to) do that. I want to do what I want when I want it. We all do, don’t we, to some extent.

And that’s what our culture tells us. Our culture tells us that happiness comes from our stuff, from us being in charge, from us being number one. Live your life the way that you want, doing what you want, achieving what you want because it’s all about you, your life, your contentment.

Today, though, we see the secret. We see the secret to true happiness and life. It’s not about us.

The Gospel is so countercultural. The Gospel says – it’s not really about you. In fact, to find life, give it away. To find happiness, stop worrying about it. To really live, live for others.

And I guarantee, if we try that Gospel-life we will find happiness a lot faster than any other way. We think in living for what we think we want, we will find that happiness we desire. We won’t.

But when we live that Gospel-life, living for Jesus, loving others, serving, giving, we find abundant, eternal life.

Today, you were made for that abundant, Gospel-centered life. Today, live thinking of others first. Give it a test drive. Try it and see. And see if you aren’t, in the end, happy.

Why You Don’t Have to Be Anxious

I mentioned in my sermon here at St. Matthew’s that I really love the book of Psalms. They are honest, they are beautiful and they speak to the heart, and come from the heart. They really are some of the most powerful words on all the scripture.

So, often when I am reading the texts for each day, my eyes are drawn to whatever the Psalms for the day may be. Today was Psalm 37. Something about verses 7-9 caught me today:

Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For the wicked shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

Two times it mentions, “do not fret.” Do not get anxious. Do not get all roiled up. Just breath. Relax. Just take a moment and breathe in and breathe out.

Why? Why shouldn’t we get all kinds of anxious? Don’t you know what’s happening in the world? Don’t you know what’s happening in my life?

Sure, lots of things are going on. But here’s why we shouldn’t fret.

First, we don’t need to get anxious because of what that produces. “Do not fret – it leads only to evil.” Think about how much evil, how much done wrong, how much that causes pain to others comes out of worry and fear.

Fear is a dangerous thing. Fear leads us to do things we normally wouldn’t do.

As Christians, as the church, we can’t and we shouldn’t be fearful. First, because it can cause us to act in ways that just aren’t Christian. Fear affects our tongue. It affects our actions. It affects so many things. Don’t fret – it leads only to evil.

And second, we shouldn’t fret because we know Who is in control. God is not surprised by anything that happens in our lives; God is not surprised by anything that happens in the world. He has it. Seriously. Don’t fret. Don’t be afraid. Don’t worry.

Live a life guided by confidence in God, not shaken by the fear of the unknown, or even the known.

Don’t fret.

Trust.

Obey.

It’s ok.

God has it.

Be faithful.

He’ll take care of the rest.

Grace Upon Grace

Grace is not a one-time thing. God doesn’t just see our sins, forgive us one time, and then choose to be done with us forever. No, God constantly gives us grace.

God gives us grace to forgive us, He gives us grace to empower us, He gives us grace to lead us. For us, and for the world, grace is not a one-time thing. It’s over and over and over again. I am thankful that God is always lavishing us with grace and mercy.

That’s how it works between us and God.

But how should it work between us? God always forgives us when we ask Him, but what about you and me? What are we to do when we keep messing up and falling short? I mean, really, can’t they get it right? How much grace do they get? Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 18: 21-22: “Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.'”

Now, notice what Peter asks. He says, what if another member of the church sins against me? Two things pop out. One is, “sins against me.” That means does something to harm that relationship. Something that’s not good, something harmful and destructive.

Something that may leave a mark. Something that really may just hurt.

That’s tough to deal with. Tough to work through. Tough to process. It’s not easy.

What else jumped out at me? “Another member of the church.” Someone that’s family. As Christians, we are called to love. That’s one of our main commands and duties as believers, to love. We are called to love, because God is love. That’s our purpose and our mission.

Love the world. Love each other. But especially love each other, because we are family.

Church, we’ve got to love each other. If in your congregation you are always fussing among yourselves, then why would the world want to be part of you? Sometimes the fights are over worship, or leadership, or a million different things.

Jesus tells us what to do: Love. Forgive. Show mercy. Be graceful.

Even when “they” don’t deserve it. Because we don’t deserve it either. That’s why it’s grace. It’s never earned or deserved. It’s always, always, always given and received.

Today, you and I have received grace from our loving God. Today, may we show that grace to the world, and especially to those we do life with. Because loving each other may be one of our biggest witnesses to the world.

In a world that is angry and bitter and hurting, folks want to know that they are loved. When we as the church live that out in our day to day lives, I truly believe that we can change the world.

Today, may we show grace!